Chief will be joining the HOPE Dog Program on Friday, March 10th! He is approximately a year old and has spent the last few months recovering from a broken leg. Since he’s now off crate rest, this playful puppy is showing his boisterous, goofy, and loving side. Chief will greatly benefit from all that HOPE has to offer and there is no doubt that smart puppy will immediately win over the hearts of all of the HOPE Family! Stayed tuned for more updates on this guy!
Chief is being sponsored by Furry Friends Network.
3/17/2023
New Kid on the Block, Chief, a.k.a. Mr. Ball-O-Fun got to know his handler and some of the other pups during his first week with HOPE.
Chief, Mr. Ball-O-Fun as I like to call him, has been just that and more during his first week! Overall, he was pretty great. His first couple days, we took it real slow. I did not have him out of the cell much, as I wanted to build that really strong bond with him. We worked on some basic commands, and he did well with that! He is still very young, so he loves to play. Keeping him engaged is not hard, but keeping him focused while being distracted is pretty difficult. He needs some work on that!
After the weekend, he spent some time with each handler, ran the fence line with Rocco, Jaida, Bella, and even Finn! There was some barking, but did not see any aggression, just more of a HEY COME PLAAAAAAAAAAAAAY with me! He’s just an excited boy. I had him out a lot just playing and running, burning off some of that energy. He definitely loves people, has little to no fears that I’ve discovered so far, and he’s very curious when it comes to carts…maybe I can get him to push one?
In the cell I have to keep an eye on him, as he LOVES to just chew on things. Let’s see, so far he has ripped some blankets, laundry bags, a pillow, chewed my shower shoes…but I don’t want to make him seem too bad. I did learn that once I bring out all his toys, he plays with those instead. He responds well to “no”, which I use to interrupt the naughty behavior and say, “leave it” and offer him a toy instead.
The most enduring thing about him is that this boy loves to cuddle! And when he wants to cuddle, you cuddle because he also thinks he’s a lap dog! I also learned that he does not like the bath, and wiping him down with a towel or wipe, gives me all the exercise I need for the week. He thinks its a game and will grab at the towel or wipe and rip them to shreds! So we are working on muzzle training, along with teaching him to enjoy bath time. He definitely doesn’t like his paws touched, so that’s another thing we will be working on too! He’s already learned to give me his belly and roll over! Towards the end of the week, I was able to put a dog bed in his crate he did not rip it (yet), but he still continues to nose and paw at the crate and tries to get out when I leave the cell. He’s getting better, but it will take time.
