Baz seems like a very sweet guy. He does a whole body/bum wiggle whenever you talk to him, and he's the biggest cuddler in the world! He slept cuddled up with me all night at the hotel. I'd planned to put him in the crate, but I could tell that he was too tired to even get up anymore and that he wasn't the type to chew things up. When we picked him up in the afternoon we put him in a crate in the car, then drove to an off leash area where we could do some proper introductions between him and Abby and Tycho. The introductions went way better than we'd imagined! Abby sniffed him, then went back to playing ball when it was her turn to meet him. Tycho went running up to him and decided he wanted to play after about 1 second of sniffing. Tycho and Abby both sometimes have issues with meeting new dogs, so we were very happy with the greeting that they gave Basil. All three dogs were racing around together within 10 minutes of meeting (with Basil on a long line and Abby and Tycho loose). At the hotel, they all had a great time jumping back and forth between the beds. Both Abby and Tycho wanted turns playing with the new guy! He fit in perfectly. Mia really likes him too - she met him last night when we got back.
So far Baz has behaved perfectly except for a few minor details. He greets people and dogs (big and small, intact and neutered) nicely - he is pretty good about not jumping on people, which is good. He is very easy to correct - a quiet "uh uh" stops him from whatever he's doing. He does seem to guard toys and laps from other dogs by snapping at dogs that come near. He was quickly removed from my lap when he did this, and had a toy taken away when he went too far with the snapping, so hopefully he will realize that nothing good comes when you are too zealous in your guarding. He also lunged at a kid who was running past him, but I'm not sure that he saw the kid coming. I have a feeling that he heard pounding right behind him, and lunged backwards without really thinking. He also growled at a wheelchair. The lunging at the kid had me the most worried, but it's too soon to tell anything yet.
Today we took Abby, Mia and Baz to the beach for two hours and they loved it! It was fun to watch the dynamics between the three dogs. Mia was definitely less into playing that Abby and Baz. She was more into sniffing and trying to convince someone to throw her toy. Abby and Baz raced back and forth across the sand and played almost the entire time. I tried playing ball with both of them, but Baz needs some work with that before it will go smoothly. He will chase the ball and bring it back if I throw one ball for both Abby and him, but if Abby gets it he tries to get it out of her mouth and vice versa, and some snarling ensues. If I throw a ball for each of them he doesn't bring his back, so we'll work on that. His recall was pretty good. He would pause for a second when I called him, as if he was remembering what to do, then he'd come racing back to me with his tail whipping back and forth (it keeps hitting Abby in the eye! Poor girl).
He seems to have nice house manners, and he settles well. I'm not sure if he'll have more energy once he is used to being here, but he sure doesn't seem like an 8/10 on the energy scale, like I was told. Maybe I'm just used to Abby and Mia? When I showed him the bed in the living room last night, he lay right down and fell asleep, and he and Abby have been asleep together on my bed all afternoon since getting home from the beach. I hope he stays this calm!
The only command he knows well is sit. He will lie down if he's lured into position, and he'll go into his crate but he isn't comfortable enough in there to want to eat treats (he spits them out). I'll have to practice leaving him in there so he isn't in complete shock when reading week is over and I go back to school.
I wonder what he's mixed with? He definitely doesn't have a Border Collie face. One of the people who helped with his transport thought he might have Pit Bill in him, but I don't see it - his nose seems way too long. He does have a big blocky head and face attached to a BC looking body.
What a cutie! *Repeating mantra: foster dog, foster dog, foster dog*
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