Oooo.... fun!
Gonzo
- Obsessively herds dogs that he doesn't know or doesn't like. I mean, OBSESSIVELY. And it isn't just stalking, it's chasing/circling/barking. He never touches the other dog, but dogs still don't appreciate it and it's frustrating for me, because re-calling him off of that is very difficult. A lot of Obedience work has made his recall off of herding other dogs very solid, but sometimes it's like he can't even hear me, he is so over-stimulated and "on".
- Has difficulty passing other dogs in Flyball. He has come a long way with this, but I don't think he'll ever be 100%. He knows not to chase, and he acts embarassed afterwards and quickly checks himself, but once in a while he will just do it as if it's a knee-jerk reaction.
- Becomes infuriated when other dogs are playing fetch or interupt him playing fetch.
- Very fearful of large, boisterous dogs.
- Fearful of children. (he is much, much better with children now and even gives kids kisses, but when I adopted him, he would pee at the sight of little boys)
- Extremely sensitive. This is something that will never change. He is very quick to shut down, if anyone is stern with him... his sensitivity has it's upsides and it's downsides.
- Wary of strangers in our house. Again, this has it's upsides and downsides. He has to be slowly introduced to most people, particularly people who are not dog-savvy.
- Obessive about cats/ferrets/bunnies/small animals. This is to be expected with his breed, and with some work and desensitization he gets over it. Luckily, he is very gentle with small animals, he just enjoys staring at them.
Fozzie
- Mildly guards food from other dogs. I say mild, because he doesn't ATTACK them, he just gets pissy and this is the ONLY thing he gets pissy about. If I'm giving him a treat, and another dog tries to push him out of the way and steal it, they are going to hear about it!
- Ignores me. He is very much a dog who wants to know what's in it for him before he complies. He is, however, super food motivated and somewhat praise/tug motivated.
- Will not fetch for the life of him. After hours and hours of trying and practicing, I still have to go through all of the basic steps (get him super amped, throw, race the other way, treat him) for him to complete a fetch. He just doesn't find joy in it.
- Is obsessed with chasing the hose. At first he was scared of the hose, then he realized he liked it, now he worships it! Even if it's 40 degrees, he will run up to the hose when I let them out and stare at me with pleading eyes. If another dog tries to chase the hose while he's doing it, and they get in his face, he gets a little bit snarky.
- Digs. He really, truly loves to dig... massive holes. Every fall/winter, he goes excavating in the woodsy part of our backyard. It's not like he's ruining the grass or trying to escape the backyard, but it's annoying to clean him off when he gets caked in red, clay-like mud. D;
