Hi, my name is PETER and I'm about two years old. I'm very playful and energetic. I love toys, and I love to fetch them. My foster mom says I'm hilarious to watch!! I'm very intense when I grab them and then run with them. It's great fun to pick one up like a baseball player in mid-run then run with it, occasionally throwing it up in the air and catching it. I'm very talented and athletic!
I've been known to snatch toys fro the other dogs, do a victory lap around the yard, then lay down and try to eat it. I'm amazingly good about letting humans take toys from me, considering my competitiveness. When the other dogs try to take toys from me, I play growl at them. I really like to play tug, too!
Just like other IRWS, I'm quite the athlete, and can jump four feet straight up in the air from a flat-footed stance. I tried to climb the six foot chain link fence once, but gave up quickly and laid down. My foster mom thinks I should have at least a six foot fence, just in case.
Another one of my talents is digging to China, but I gave up on that. It must be a long way away. Rest assured I was not trying to dig out, as my excavation site was far away from the fence. I just like to dig for little critters or good-smelling things.
I get along well with most dogs, but don't do well with dogs who are not resource aggressive since I try to steal toys. My best buddy is a young, active, submissive male, and we chase each other around the yard and jump up in the air like we're catching imaginary frisbees!
I've made great strides with crate training, housetraining, and leash training since I've been in foster care. I sleep in my crate all night long with hardly a noise. I've had no accidents in the house, and am earning my foster parents' trust. They've actually left me alone uncrated several times for brief periods, and I've been a good boy so far. We've been working on walking well on lead, learning to heel. I now think twice before I just take off. I sort of start to run, then step back and look up at the human when I remember that I'm supposed to walk WITH the human, and not blaze a trail into the next county :)! I know what "no" and "sit" mean, and I'm working on "lay down".
My foster mom knows Setters pretty well, and she suspects that I would countersurf or otherwise get into trouble if given a chance at this point, but that I could be trained to be trustworthy. It's not that I am bad, but rather that we active youngsters do need significant amounts of exercise and mental stimulation to keep us in check.
Did I mention that I'm a huge loverboy? I'm sort of like the child who misbehaves because he's craving attention. When I settle down, my foster mom will call me. I come to her with my head bowed, and bury my face in her lap while she loves on me. I must admit that I don't want to move cuz it feels so good to be loved. It's a good thing my foster mom thinks I'm so endearing with such a fun personality!
I do have some separation anxiety, so I really should have humans or other dogs (or both!) around me most of the time. I will bark and try to get out of the yard if left alone. Remeber when I tried to climb the fence? That's cuz I wanted to be with the dogs who were on the other side!!
I definitely need a friend with lots of energy, like a young dog with similar energy levels. An active human who will make sure I get plenty of exercise each and every day would be fine, too.
I've not been around little kids yet, but I would probably knock them down, so a home with bigger kids would be best. I've not yet met any cats, either. Since I do have a strong prey drive, that's probably a good thing - for the cats, at least!
Fostered by Shelly in MO.
Save Our Setters, Inc.
PETER
