Don’t let the name fool you, Chompers is a gentle giant, weighing in at 97.2 lbs, who found himself looking for love after he was left behind when his people moved. Chompers came about his name because he makes a cute chomp-chomp noise when you talk to him. He joined HOPE on 12/02/2022 and we’re trying on names as we get to know this big fuzzy bear! He seems to like people and other dogs, but stay tuned for future updates on him!
2/17/2023 Oreo has been amazing dog to train. He’s a gentle, giant, loving and extremely comical. For example, playing with his doggy friend Roxy, he literally went under her instead of walking around or over her. Roxy was just as confused as I was, but she just went along with it!
Another time, I was running after Oreo and he ran over to a table. I chased him around the table a few times, and when we just had a standoff, staring at each other from opposite sides. I thought to myself, “let’s change this up…” so I ended up running away from the table, and Oreo came chasing after me! I quickly ran back to the table and I chased him around the table a few times. We did this back-and-forth a few times until we both got tired and called it quits. I will miss Oreo. I already miss him and he hasn’t even gone yet. I love you Oreo!
Oreo’s fur-sister, Sadie, promises to keep Oreo active by continuing to play games of chase with Oreo around the table and the backyard. She also promises that when he gets tired and lays down, she will continue the fun and games with leap frogging over him until he’s rested enough to get up and get her again!
2/10/2023 Oreo had a great week! Oreo and Roxy like to play together, but this week I found out that Roxy likes to sit on Oreo. Roxy likes to mostly sit on Oreo’s body, but this week, she actually sat right on top of his head. Oreo isn’t really a fan of being anyone’s chair, but it was funny to see his reaction when she sat on his head. Oreo jumped straight up and looked at Roxy as if he was saying “Are you crazy?”
Oreo isn’t a fan of the warmer weather we’ve been having so when he comes inside, he likes to lay o the cool floor. He tries to locate as many cool places that he can to lay down.
Oreo had a home visit this week that went really well! The family fell in love with him, and Oreo seemed right at home. Stay tuned for pictures from his upcoming adoption!!!
2/3/2023 This past week I’ve been trying to find out what Oreo likes or doesn’t like when it comes to eating. As for the results? It’s been… Interesting to say the least! I don’t think I’ve ever met a dog who didn’t like chicken, but Oreo does NOT like chicken and it doesn’t matter if it’s chickenbreast, chicken pieces, or even baked chicken off the bone, Oreo will turn up his nose at it! Another surprising result is Oreo does not like fish either! Breaded fish was a “no go” unbreaded fish was also a “no go”. No wonder Oreo didn’t like the salmon and rice dog food!
This week we also learned that if Oreo has a brand new toy and another dog comes near it, he will tell them off! But after a few minutes, he’s willing to let the other dog look but maybe not touch the toy. But don’t worry, he didn’t hold any grudges either, and eventually let his girlfriend Roxy play with the toy!
1/27/2023 Oreo had a vet appointment this past week to get a few teeth pulled. They were all cracked. While he was under anesthesia, the vet did a complete dental cleaning, so his teeth are pearly white! He was pretty woozy walking back to the cell block after his appointment, so we went very slowly. Once we got there, Roxy seemed to know that Oreo wasn’t feeling his best, so she laid down next to him to try to comfort him.
Some people don’t know that when a dog has surgery, they have to shave part of their leg to insert the IV. Several people asked me what happened to Oreo’s leg. So, I told them he was getting ready to get his first prison tattoo. Some people looked at me weird, while others asked, what of? Of course I told them a Milk Bone. Duh.
No prison tattoos are going on Oreo, but it’s always fun to mess with people. Oreo just loves the attention from people asking what happened to his leg.
Oreo got Gold Stars this week for learning ‘back’ and ‘up.'”
1/20/2023 If you’re looking for an easy going, calm, sweet dog that gets along with everybody, even children, Oreo’s your guy! There’s isn’t a mean or aggressive bone in his furry body! Here’s an update from his handler:
“Oreo is a simple dog when it comes to playing with his toys. One would think he would be a retriever with his toys since he is a retriever mix. However, he might fetch a few times but then he gets tired of it and prefers to get the toy then lay on the ground. Doesn’t matter if it’s wet or muddy. When he’s done, he’s done. Actually, Oreo considers play as laying down on the floor and using his paws to retrieve the toy. If the toy goes too far out of his reach, he expects you to fetch the toy for him. If the toy is just out of his reach, he will pull on the blanket with his teeth to get the toy close enough for him to reach. Just my type of speed! My type of dog. Chilled out and easy going.”
1/13/2023 Oreo is an amazing dog for so many reasons:
- He loves to walk on the treadmill OR just cuddle and sleep with his head on your lap.
- He’s kind and great at reading people and other dogs. Oreo’s friend, Roxy, scraped her paw this week. Oreo walked over to her and started to lick her paw where it was injured.
- He’s smart. Oreo will go up to a stranger and sit, give them his paw, and expect a treat.
- He’s funny. He was playing with one of his toys in my cell. Trying to get my attention, he flung it up in the air, and it landed in the toilet. (Don’t know if he actually TRIED to do that or not!)
- Oreo is awesome for all of he above reasons, and so much more! He’d love to share his wonderful and funny personality with you!
1/6/2023 Oreo’s new thing over the past few weeks is walking on the treadmill. He loves walking on the treadmill at a nice, easy pace for about 15 to 20 minutes. He’s so good, in fact, that I can walk away for a few seconds and he’ll just keep walking by himself.
Oreo also loves to lay on the floor and play with the ball on the ground. He reminds me of sea otters using their front legs to break open their food. When the ball or toy goes out of his reach, he waits for me to retrieve it and give it back to him. I think he’s been training ME to retrieve the ball and give it back to him. Hmmmmm. . . I thought it was supposed to be the other way around?!
Oreo got Gold Stars this week for playing off leash with Roxy, walking on the treadmill, and being SO GREAT with all people he meets. He LOVES to be around people!
12/30/2022 Oreo has had a productive week with training and interaction with the other dogs. Oreo has learned to give paw on cue and has made a best friend with neighbor dog, Roxy. Oreo may be 100 pounds, but Roxy runs the show when it coms to playtime. It’s so cute when they sit or lay down next to each other when they are tired from playing.
Oreo got “Gold Stars” this week for playing off leash with Roxie, learning to give “paw” on cue, and performing basic obedience commands with verbal or hand cues only.
12/23/2022 Oreo, aka “Chompers,” has been settling in just fine. Oreo is just as happy as he can be.
With the cold weather we had, I wanted to try and put a coat on Oreo. I showed him the coat and his first reaction was very happy. Then, I put the coat on him. He looked at me with a face that said, “REALLY?”
I took him outside to the dog yard in the snow. He sniffed around a little bit then he pancaked on the snow and started panting. I got the point. Oreo was hot, and he didn’t need a dog coat. Not at all. The instant I took the coat off, he started tearing around in the snow like a puppy. Then he stopped and looked at me like everything was right with the world.
Oreo is starting to learn his obedience commands with verbal and hand cues only. At times, I still need to use treats, but he’s been excelling with his commands.
12/16/2022 Oreo’s, aka Chompers, second full week has gone great! More of his personality is coming out, and he is more friendly and loving with each passing day.
This week, Oreo got to meet the other dogs and run back and forth with them with the fence between them. Oreo wanted to play with Rocco so badly that at the corner of the fence he would try and dig under the fence to get to Rocco. A stern “nope” from me, and Oreo stopped his digging. He looked back at me like he was asking “Why did you tell me no?”
Oreo is friendly with the other five dogs in HOPE and loves to run back and forth with them with the fence between them. So far, Oreo has been the perfect dog. And. . . not only is he excelling with the “stay” command, but he’s also had no potty accidents this past week!
12/09/2022 Oreo, aka Chompers, has been AWESOME to work with! He’s extremely smart because he pick up on obedience skills fairly quickly. In the first few days he only knew sit. Now, he’s learned touch, target, wait at the door, and we’ve been working on his stay. Oreo wants to be around a person all the time, but can also be independent enough to be by himself without barking.
He loves to play with his Titan-type Kong but his favorite toy is a blue stuffed lion. On the second day he was in his crate sleeping and he was literally hugging the stuffed lion with both his front paws. So CUTE!!! He loves sleeping with all of his toys!
We are still working on his potty training, as he’s had a couple accidents. Every day he’s doing better and better holding his bladder and telling me when he needs to go. But considering the new environment, all the smells, and the dogs, he’s doing really very well!
