THE WEEK WITH CHARLIE

Well it's been just over a week with Charlie and he's doing very well.  His fear of miscellaneous things is minimizing.  On day one, some firecrackers had him shaking for quite a while, but two days ago some shots went off in a farm field nearby and he alerted to it but no shaking and he went right back to sniffing the grass around him.   He rides so well in the vehicle.  He lays right down and is super well behaved.  He sleeps through the night on his own bed, without stirring.  I have hardly heard him bark.  He will let out a few barks in play but doesn't bark at noises outside, etc.   He is a great companion....very affectionate, stares straight into your soul, is playful and fun.

One night in the week we walked up to the local strip mall to hang out where there are lots of cars and people.  When we took 5 minutes to sit on a bench Charlie just planted himself near me and watched the world go by.  He settles very nicely when we stop.  He's never anxious to move on, he just wants to be with you.

Saturday was the Turtle Gardens dog run and Charlie spent some time with Susan who came to hang out and help.  She took him for a spin down the road for a bit and said he walked nicely on the leash and even jogged well alongside her.  I didn't have my camera out for the whole dog run but caught some pics of the dogs that Denise was transporting at the end:



AMOS - Fostered in Squamish



CHRISTIE - fostered with Denise in Vancouver

KOKO - fostered with Julia

After the dog run Charlie and I met my friend Matt and his dogs Rosie (former TG dog) and Booker.  I usually meet with Kathy and their two dogs but Kathy was out of town so Matt was happy to step in.  We wandered through the trails instead of the main pathways and Charlie stuck close by.  Up until that day I hadn't had him off leash at all, but when I fostered him a year and a half ago he had been very reliable off leash, and in his previous home they reported that he had always been reliable off leash, never any issues with dogs or people.  And so, he was unhooked and was a good boy.  Running ahead occassionally to investigate new smells and then coming back to walk along side or to follow behind.  By the end he even started to engage the other two dogs to rip around with him.  When we came up to people and dogs I put him on leash to better control his interaction and he did great!

On Sunday we went to a Dog event in New Westminster at Queens Park where Shannon (who volunteers her training skills to TG dogs) was setting up her agility equipment for people to try out.  We went for a visit and also for the opportunity to take Charlie around more people and dogs.  He was very relaxed and his interaction with other dogs was impressive.

A quick stop on the way home to meet up with Dave and Brian who are hanging out in Vancouver for a day to run some city errands before heading back home.  While there we saw Amos who is waiting to go to Squamish to his foster home on Monday and Christie who is being fostered by Denise.  

Charlie hadn't had much in the way of exercise on Sunday so we made an extra stop on the way home at Crowley Park.   Here are some pics from our walk: 

Charlie has good recall.  He comes back if he sees me crouch down or comes to a whistle

Great eye contact...and a big smile.  What a reward for me!