We were looking just to foster rescue dogs when we received Spike (then named Nicholas) into our home less than two years ago. We have had to euthanize three dogs and two cats (due to illness and/or age) in the past 30 years and did not want to have to go through that again. And Spike was not our first choice from the website. But clearly the photos did not do him justice because the minute we saw him, we were hooked. Within a week we decided to adopt him. He meshed with our household so quickly. We are not sure how old he is, our best guess would be about seven, but that is just a guess.
The first night he went into his crate when we went to bed; since the first few nights, we don't even fasten the door. He never soiled in the house. He did chew a few things in the beginning when we didn't crate him when we left the house. But that stopped quickly after we secluded him for a while. Now he goes "into your bed" automatically when we leave, and we just push the door shut. When we get home we invite him to come out and then he pushes the door open with his paw. He is pretty mellow but does bark occasionally, like at squirrels on the deck, deer in the yard, and other dogs being walked past the house. And he stops on command. We have never punished him, but he seems to understand voice tone.
Spike loves to cuddle; he will lie on you if he can. We don't usually let him on the bed because it is rather high and I worry about him breaking those little twig-like legs if he jumps off. But the sofa is fair game. He often amuses himself by playing with his squeaky toys, and he loves to chase a ball. But we have never been able to teach him to bring it back! He just seems like such a happy, contented dog. We have loved all our companion animals, but Spike just has this 'spark' that endears him to almost everyone who meets him.
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