BHRR's Oakley is doing great in his crate now….zero whining, no digging and, Friday the 21st was the first night, I was able to leave a nice thick towel in his crate and, other than bunching it up, into a pile he felt was comfy, zero shredding. GOOD BOY!

He goes in without any issues and, I give him a treat, maybe, one out of five times when he goes in now.

His startle reflex is getting much better also. My son, used to our own deafies and, how far other deafies have come in our programs, almost made a very dangerous mistake a few nights ago. BHRR's Oakley was sleeping and, we were getting to lock up for the night, and, my son offered to help and, he reached down and, I managed to catch him in time for, he was going to lightly touch BHRR's Oakley's side to wake him up.

I told him 'no' and, reminded him as to why he was not to touch him, when he was sleeping and demonstrated. I took my foot and gently rubbed his rump and, after a few strokes, BHRR's Oakley woke up and whipped his head around and, did a bit of a snap and, when he fully 'woke' up, he jumped up and ran a few steps away for he realised what he had done was not what he should have done.

I was not angry or upset and gave him the 'calming' sign that I use for the dogs……to tell them that it is 'ok'. He came over to me and did one of his awesome leans…..I gently stroked his head towards the back and on his upper neck, just twice in the 'calming' touch style that I use.

I looked over to my son and, said, remember the 'new dog; rule please.

It is going to take awhile for BHRR's Oakley to be 'ok' with his startle reflex and to have trust….that is ok…..I am not in a rush….

As of the night of the 23rd, I put a blanket again into his crate and YAY! No touchies! He has now had a blanket in his crate for two nights, sans issue.

He is bright eyed, fully integrated with all the dogs, had a great time for the two nights our BHRR BOD member B. Cole was visiting and, he had an absolutely fabu first BHRR "EXPERIENCE" mini open house! Each of our 40+ attendees receives an detailed info. package prior to participating in this event and, I reminded all again to passively ignore(some, did not realise what that meant and, that it did not mean ignore him forever!) and, OMG! Other than, one space moment that was NOT his fault, good ol' BHRR's Ethel and her 'old woman ways', not one moment of anything less than perfection! GOSH! I was so proud of him!!

He is becoming more playful, eating better, having more energy, is more properly physically and mentally tired at the end of each day and, his eyes are clear and focused…he is beginning to show me some spunk in trotting away when I want to give him a 'rest' time in his crate and, he is not yet ready! LOL LOVE it! He does not do it out of meanness, just young boy 'I am not ready to come in yet Mom' 'tudeness.

Even as I type this, he is laying behind my computer chair.

He is wagging his tail more, much more steady on his feet, still has 'space' issues and, we are working on having self-control and, walking away and, not being so reactive……being more in touch with his emotions and, feeling like he has some control, he is making better choices. I am really proud of how far he has come to date….a LONG way to go, yet, a really nice boy!

AND, his previous home is correct, he LOVES LOVES LOVES kids! 😀

He is also learning to 'share'. He has learned that if he tries to resource one of the two massive water bowls, he has to sit and 'wait' for his turn.

Honestly, he backs down quite quickly in the face of a more dominant dog and, with the proper positive human leadership, he is trusting me more and, that what I ask of him, is in his best interest and, that my role is to protect him and, his role is to be a dog…..a young one….

He does not like to share a crate though or a blanket and, he has no boundaries against acting equally strong against my 16 week old GD puppy as he would one of the 3 year old adults. He has much to learn……………

I am also extremely careful that he does not begin to resource over myself…..

I am so enjoying this journey with him…….I really am…my heart is quite proud of him!