Ricardo
	Gender: Male Age: 1 1/2 years Height/Weight: 18" / 39 lbs House-trained: Yes Fenced yard required: tbd Location: SE Michigan Foster Home: Jo	Crate-trained: tbd Treat-motivated: yes Toy-motivated: yes BC Experience Required: yes Good with dogs: yes but plays rough Good with cats: tbd Good with kids: 14+ Commands: Knows sit, down, no, come, crate. Working on leave it (60%), stay (50%), off (50%)

Ricardo is making positive progress. He is smart, adorable, cuddly, energetic, unflappable and sweet.

Although he will play with other dogs, he prefers his human. Playing rough is his MO but he is learning not to body slam his foster siblings and they are beginning to play with him more. His recall is good, particularly if you have a tennis ball in your hand. Though he loves playing with his human, he will also entertain himself by tossing a ball in the air and catching it. He does the same with stuffed animals. Anything with a rope gets him turning circles and shaking the toy.

This bundle of energy loves to play but he is also learning that quiet snuggle time is a good thing as well. He will curl up next to you on the couch or he will literally lay across you.

One night his foster mom fell asleep and he was left out of the crate all night; he did fine. Daytime, he is still in his crate when being left alone. He will counter surf if something interests him.

He now waits for his food instead of knocking it out of your hand. Once his food is on the floor and the 'leave it' command is given, he will watch you for the release. The same process is happening regarding the crate; he must wait to be released before coming out.

Because he has great eye contact and energy, I believe this boy would be great for agility, dock diving or disc competitions.

Ideal home: Active owners or family (no small children), elementary school age kids and older, only dog or with an active female, pool or lake.

Ricardo arrived in foster care on October 5, 2019, after being relinquished by his owner. This boy had NO house manners. Previous training included: sit, down and crate. His owners did a courageous thing and let him go. Counter surfing and jumping AT people and dogs was this guy's level of interaction. Play was constantly in his mind and, like a bull in a china shop, he didn't care what he had to knock over to get the toy you threw.

After 10 days, he is settling in and has become calmer and more cuddly. He is now 'waiting' for his food when I tell him to 'leave it'. When I open the crate door, he no longer bursts out like a rocket; he must wait until he gets the release command (for which my knees are very grateful). Don't get me wrong, this boy is all about movement and play. Balls are his favorite because they travel a greater distance. He can turn on a dime and leaps like a deer as he chases his toys.

Although he is friendly with other dogs, he would much rather be with his person. Playtime with other dogs can be quite physical at first; he body slams, muzzle punches or nips them (never aggressively though). One of his foster siblings ignores him because he plays too rough for her. The other foster sibling will try to play tug with him but he usually drops the toy unless his human gets involved.

Outdoors, Ricardo can be sound and movement driven so he is being corrected when he tries to bite at the lawn mower, garage door opening, etc. He also shows some interest in chasing cars. Indoors, he doesn't seem to have any sound issues at all.

At this point, the ideal home for Ricardo would be with an active household with a firm handler who will continue his training. He would not be suitable for small children. Older, dog savvy children would be great because this boy likes to play. This boy might also be a candidate for sport training.

Despite his current issues, he is very sweet, wants to be loved and rubbed and is absolutely gorgeous! He has beautiful dark, deer eyes.

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