Mike, Mikey, Michael, Big Mike, Mikeman, The Mikester.
Look at that alert face!
I just love that white chest.
While I was taking photos of him on the floor, I saw Jo sitting all regal and snapped one of her. When I was going over them later, I realized the two images were telling quite a story! Mike’s got some growing to do!
(click images for larger version)
We did go to see Happy but, as adorable as he was, he didn’t pass the working dog temperament test. He’s a good dog and will make someone an excellent pet but for me and my needs, he wouldn’t have worked out.
They also had two puppies left from a litter of 8 and while I was testing Happy, I tested them, too. Basically it was to give him a break between each test and to make it fun for him and everyone else. The two puppies passed the primary tests. One of them seemed more alert about what was going on. The other was probably exhausted from a day of play. I did all the tests on the one and decided he would be a great working dog. His name was Flintstone Bedrock. I discussed it with the rescue lady and with Lorna and we brought Flint home. After several days of trying to figure out a name, we settled on Mike. It is a fluctuating name that can grow with him and his moods.
For the first few days, we were worried it would not work out due to Sam not tolerating him. Happily though, the two of them are playing and liking each other! Phew!
Mike is 3 mos old, born the last week of August. Joella’s birthday is August 28th so we decided they’d share a birthday. Mike, his siblings, his mother, and Happy were dropped off at an animal shelter. The rescue group got them from there. The mother was nearly starved to death and the pups were so hungry they were trying to nurse each others’ tails. The vet had to amputate them (so the docked tail was not cosmetic, but necessary) due to infection and the like. Mike is not house trained but we are working on it. It is something I have to get serious about. I don’t think it will take long once I do that since he is such a smart little boy. Anyone have any pointers?
That’s all for now. I’ll be uploading more images and a few videos soon.
He’s so cute! How totally adorable. I’m really glad he’s settling in so well.
He is disgustingly cute, isn’t he? Other than the house training stuff, he’s doing good. He likes to steal shoes and run around the house with them, even though they are almost as big as he is. He’s got a huge mouth, unlike Jo who has a small mouth. He can carry Sam’s huge Kong around.
His mom was about 70lbs or so and the rescue group was told the dad was around 90 lbs. So he’ll be anywhere between the two. His feet are huge, though.
I can’t imagine the training it must take to make a good working dog–house training probably isn’t much in comparison. I’m so glad to hear that you could rescue the dog. I am a cat person, but I hate to hear of dogs abandoned or destroyed because they weren’t wanted any more.
I see that all your furry friends are sleek and comfy. What a great place for a pup to grow up.
Thanks! You can check out Mike’s progress over at his site. http://mike.holyroller.org. Also check out his photo gallery