UPDATE: Rufus was adopted!
What a wonderful boy we have here! Last night was uneventful. I had Mr. Rufus sleep in a crate next to the bed and he was out like a light with zero issues. Today he has done so good! I believe he is completely house-trained, as we haven’t seen a single potty problem. No marking in the house! Here is a video I took today showing some of his training. He is a quick study and super gentle with food. Usually Poodles are pretty grabby and mouthy, but he takes any snacks with grace and gentle nibbles.
Things he is super great at right now! Going crate, house training, perfect car rider, easy to groom, gentle taking food, knows sit, greeting people without jumping up.
Things he needs to work on: Impulse control!! This is pretty much his entire issue. He puts his paws on the counter, pulling on his leash, runs out the door, barks at new noises / doorbell, can be rude to other dogs, doesn’t have a lot of ways to communicate with people that isn’t pushy. He does try to ask for things by sitting and looking up at your, which is great!!
How do we fix it? We teach him methods of calming himself and how to ask for things he wants by doing calm behaviors like sitting or laying down quietly. We correct the behaviors we do not like with a verbal “Ahh” or a tug on the leash, redirect to new allowed behaviors, and we rewards the behaviors we do like with tons of praise and love. In other words, we are giving him FEEDBACK on everything in his life right now. I’m constantly praising him for random things like laying next to me, chewing on a toy, doing normal good dog behaviors that most people do not pay attention to in real life. He is very LOVE motivated, so giving him attention when he is being a good boy works well for him.
I’m loving this dog. He is a joy to have and I cannot wait to see him blossom into the incredible loving pet he is meant to be!
Rufus is available for a small $200 adoption fee to the right family. Someone with kids needs to snatch this boy up! I’ll get some video of him with my twins later today.