For the first few days Oliver had his tail between his legs and was jumpy and scared. If we wanted to pet him, we had to approach him slowly and most of the time he took a few steps backwards. Now he greets us with tail wags, an occasional lick on the nose, and by jumping on us (I think he learned that from our Springer Spaniels)!
Three weeks ago if he heard any loud noises, either inside or outside, he would find a place to hide. When we went outside for a potty break we would have to coax him away from the door, and when he was done he went right back to the door to go inside. Now he races out the door with the other dogs, and even runs around the yard jumping on the other dogs and trying to play with them.
When he first got here if I needed to crate him he would run away from me. He just wouldn't let me near him, so I would have to leave him out of the crate because I didn't want to scare him any more than he already was. Now I line all three dogs up in front of the crate with treats in my hand. When I open the door to the crate Oliver goes right in and waits for his treat. I crate him every night at bedtime and he never barks or cries.
The one thing he liked right from the beginning, or should I say the two things he liked, were our dogs. He wanted to be in the same room with them, and if they went outside he went with them even if it was just to stay near the door. Now I think he likes us almost as much as the dogs! He jumps up on the couch with us to play. He loves tug of war, and he's learning how to fetch a ball, although he mostly just watches it roll by! He'll get the hang of it eventually!
Potty training has been a hit or miss. I let the dogs out a lot during the day, so sometimes he would do his business outside. Other times he didn't, and then I'd find a little present on the floor a while later. He loves treats, so now I reward him with a treat outside immediately after he does his business. Today is the third day in a row that we've had no potty accidents in the house, so I'm hopeful that he's getting the hang of it. I know he will!
It's awesome watching Oliver learn to trust people and just learn how to be a dog! He's come a long way ...
