Adoption Update: Hendrix (was James)

Hi Laura -

James (now Hendrix) is a riot, and a bit of an evil genius as well. I have about 218394792187 stories already. We enrolled him in a basic manners class that began with "parents" only on Monday. We're having a great time with him and can just sit and play with him and his toys. Here are some details on what's been good and what we're working on.

The amazing Hendrix:

• Hendrix learned his name in what felt like 12 minutes.
• He had his first vet visit yesterday and the staff were impressed with his demeanor.
• No accidents in the house!
• He completely understands how to get treats and food out of the Dog Spinny and is working on the Dog Turbo. No dog that has ever visited or lived with us has come as close to solving the Dog Turbo as Hendrix. He's very persistent as well.
• We have our last water at 9pm and bring it back out around 4am. Apparently he was thirsty and so he knocked over a plastic cup of water on the coffee table and lapped up as much as he could until I caught him and said "uh-uh." 
• He's a cuddle bug and always up for some snuggle time.
• He is very good at "go get your ball," fetching, and then "drop it."  Jessie taught him well.

Areas for us to work on together

• He's anxious in the car and a bit of a slobber monster. We hope 2-3x weekly short trips to the pet store, training,  and new dog walking areas will help.
• He's still a little nervous around new dogs and strangers. We are cautious about interacting on walks. We hope we can build his confidence through training, but haven't had a chance to look up other techniques yet.
• Although he can run on leash well, he's not mastered walking yet. We think he's overwhelmed by all the cars. So much for walk before your run! 
• Hendrix only goes in the back yard and not on walks. We're not sure yet what to do about that, but it's not a big deal since he's hasn't had any accidents.
• No more crate pads! He chewed his to pieces on the second day. It's all blankets all the time in his crate now. Live and learn.
• He's about 4 lbs close to outgrowing his current/travel crate, so we'll have to get a new one or two. Unfortunately, we're not sure how to get a larger crate to fit in our car, so it's time to whip out the tape measure.

Thanks,

Jen (and Clint)