Cowboy is an absolute sweetheart! He loves to be loved and to snuggle with his humans. He definitely belongs in the “such a good boy” club!
Cowboy is still learning personal space. He will paw at you when he wants your attention. When he first came in, he constantly jumped on us. He has gotten much better with this, but sometimes he cannot contain his excitement and will still jump. This can usually be corrected with firm prompts and turning away from him.
Cowboy loves to follow his foster mom around the house like her shadow.
Cowboy is good with cats, but can be curious about them. He has never reacted to a cat when pawed or hissed at. He usually understands their cues to leave them alone. However, he will hastily follow a cat if they quickly run past him, but this is only out of curiosity.
Cowboy is great with kids, as he loves their attention. Again, he still periodically jumps and/or paws for attention, which can become too much for a child to correct. He loves to jump into my 11-year-old son’s bed at night to cuddle and sleep with him.
Cowboy is kenneled while we are not home. If you say the word “kennel,” he knows where to go. The longest time period he has had to remain in a kennel is eight hours. He has never attempted to chew the bedding in his kennel, nor escape. He does not bark while in his kennel, and he does not bark or scratch at the door to get him out. A lot of times he will choose to relax in his kennel throughout the day while it is open. He is fed in his kennel, as to keep all of the dogs separate at feeding times. However, he is not locked in and the door is open while he is eating.
He is allowed to free roam around the house during the night. He will sleep in different comfy spots; the dog bed in the bedroom, his kennel, the couch, or the ottoman.
His foster has never seen any food aggression from Cowboy. She can easily stick her hand in his food bowl while he is eating; he will either eat around the hand or stop eating. He is working on taking treats in a gentle manner; learning that he doesn’t need to use his whole mouth to chop the treat from your hand. He will invade another dog’s space if they are receiving a treat, as he wants the treat and attention.
He is house trained, however, if he has access to carpet, he will treat it as grass if he needs to relieve himself. We have not had any problems on our hard floors.
Cowboy does very well with riding in vehicles. As soon as he is let him in the garage, he knows to go to the rear of my vehicle, wait for the hatch to open, and then he jumps in. He will remain in his area unless otherwise prompted to move forward in the vehicle. He is a very calm rider; does not whine, bark, or pace while riding.
Cowboy very much enjoys going for walks. He walks very well on a leash and only pulls when he wants to smell something. He has a strong prey drive; however, he does not pull on the leash to chase.
He does great with other dogs; meeting, playing, taking cues. He is a very active playmate, but he is not dominating. So far he has not met a dog that he has not gotten along with. The resident Chihuahua wants absolutely nothing to do with him and has no issues letting him know. Cowboy respects her cues and does not try to engage with her. He has also taken cues from an elderly dog, who does not wish to keep up with his young energy. He really does love to play with other dogs, though; he is very friendly!
He is nervous when being bathed, however, he will let you bathe him without too much hassle. He loves to be brushed, as he just views this a receiving love and attention. He is extremely nervous about trimming his toe nails. It is easiest with two people; one to trim and one to distract him with treats and love.
He is a 4ft fence jumper and will do this when bored or trying to make new friends. We're not sure if he would wander off and explore if unnoticed, as he has always stayed near the driveway. He also has a great recall, even after he has escaped, or just off leash. Although, this was not tested in an area that would test his prey drive. He does not bark at people, cars, nor other animals when outside or inside.
He loves to play with toys, with dogs or humans, and chew on bones. He really loves bones.
He has only ruined a shoelace. Otherwise, he does not chew on items he is not supposed to, but he’s also not left unattended.
