Jessie James
	Gender: Male Age: 1 Year Height/Weight: 20" / 35 lbs House-trained: Yes Fenced yard required: Location: SE MI Foster Home: Jo	Crate-trained: Yes Treat-motivated: Toy-motivated: Yes BC Experience Required: Yes Good with dogs: Yes Good with cats: tbd Good with kids: Older Commands: see below

Jesse James was adopted in April, 2020 and is now known as Chauncy.

His Story: On 3/11/20, Jesse James came into his foster home leery and scared. Leash and collar shy at first (much better now). I am not sure of his whole story, but he soon warmed up to his foster mom and his foster siblings. With a cone on (neutering), he was a live wire crashing into things, bouncing around, basically freaking out. Acting like a rebel is how he got his name. On day two, I put a 'donut' on him and his behavior calmed about 70%. At that point, he was now trainable. Until he learns to trust you, Jesse James is cautious at first, sensitive to quick movements and can nip at what frightens him. Men will need to take it slowly with this boy as his energy is more positive with women than men. The good news is that he has the potential to be moldable and adaptable given time.

Inquisitive, attentive, playful, submissive, loyal and smart are good adjectives for this sweet boy. All he wants to do is please. Very trainable. He has been watching his older foster siblings to learn what he should and should not do. He readily accepts reprimands from other dogs if he is biting at them too hard or he tries to steal a toy that they refuse to give up. Jesse James will be your faithful shadow following you everywhere. He wants to be where you are and will happily lay at your feet while you are working on the computer. If you are watching TV, he will snuggle up next to you while staring you in the face to let you know he is there.

He's a bit of a contortionist and will curl up in some unusual ways sometimes causing him to fall off a couch, bed, my lap. It is extremely comical.

Commands: 'sit on the rug' (when he comes in from outdoors) 60%; 'sit'; 'down' (60%); 'touch' (touching his nose to your hand) 70%; 'no'; 'come'; 'crate' (with a treat) 100%; 'leave it' (80%); 'off' (about 80%); 'sit up' (about 25%). For his commands, he responds better to a happy voice, but will also respect a deeper, firm voice when he is being a dufus and the situation dictates.

Water: He playfully pounces through the standing water in the backyard of his foster home. Although he has not had a bath with me, he is curious about the shower/tub and does not shy away from it.

House Manners: This boy knew nothing when he came to me - a real live wire. Jumping AT me, squirmy and nippy with food. He has learned to wait for the 'okay' before he eats his food. 'Off' has been his command for leaping at me and he is learning more every day. He has earned his freedom from the crate at night and for short times during the day. Jesse James has been fine at night. Occasionally, he will still put his paws on the countertop to see if there is anything interesting up there. Once in awhile, if you are not paying attention, he may steal a rug or a pillow to wrestle with it. He has gotten much better about this in the 3 weeks I've had him. He is learning not to put his nose on shoes, plants, tables, etc. There has been a good deal of improvement.

Outdoors: Loves being outside and he has typical prey drive (not excessive) for chasing squirrels, birds, etc. He even caught a mole the other day; I'm not sure if it was dead before he got it or not. But he dropped it when I told him. He will fence fight if another dog starts it. With a happy voice, he will readily call off and come to you. He will chase sticks, leaves, bees, anything that moves. If he smells something in the ground he wants, he will dig at it. Jesse James is learning the command "no dig".

Food / Treats: Aside from learning to wait for the release command to eat his food, he can be a little forward when it comes to taking food from the hand so he is learning the same release command for treats. When he is calm, he takes food gently from the hand.

Leash: He walks fairly well. At first, he may want to circle you, but once you get into the groove (about 2 minutes) of your walk, he walks extremely well on a leash. He has not been off leash outdoors. On leash, he might look at ducks, squirrels, etc., but will not pursue them when on lead.

Toys / Chewing: He is quite the chewer. He has not touched my furniture but he loves Nyla-Bones, Kongs and sticks. If you give him a stuffed animal, he will happily disembowel it -- fluff will be everywhere!

Play: He will retrieve toys indoors and bring them back to you. He may try to play keep-away a little but will let you take a toy out of his mouth. Outdoors he may not always bring the toy back particularly if he gets distracted by other dogs. When he gets wound up, he may jump at you to get you to play.

Dogs: He likes to run and chase with other dogs and he is FAST. Though this boy is great with other dogs, he is JEALOUS! If one of his foster siblings is being petted, he will do his best to put himself between you and the other dog so that HE can get ALL of the attention. Again, this is not done aggressively, but he IS a TOTAL ATTENTION HOUND. He will attempt to remove anything from another dog's mouth so he would need a submissive playmate or one that won't start a fight.

Crate: Goes in easily with a treat. He might cry a bit at first (especially if you are still in the house), but he settles quickly.

Noises: I have not found him to be noise sensitive. Does not seem to be bothered by storms. Jesse James is interested in unusual noises such as a cuckoo clock, tea kettle and alarm clocks, but it is not a negative response -- simple curiosity.

Grooming: This sweetie enjoys being brushed and rubbed - everywhere. He doesn't seem to have an issue touching any part of his body such as his paws, teeth, ears and tail.

Ideal Home: Active household, lots of playing / walking / hiking, kids age 5/6 and up.

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