1/22/08 - Henry is doing well.  He is loved by his owner who swears Henry understands English.  She often will spell out words that he would react to.  He had lost some weight but recently put it back on as he wasn't getting as much exercise as he needed.  Although he loves everyone he still has a small problem with me when I am with his owner....no else but me!!!  He is a clown in a crowd and loves whatever attention he can get.  He goes belly up for anyone willing to pet him.  What a mush!!!

1/21/06 - Just a quick note to let you all know how Henry is behaving.  Most times he's an angel.  He absolutely adores his new mistress, Lauren and tolerates me.  He still has an occasional "behavior" but only to me when he thinks his mistress needs protection.  Then a 26lb. furball launches at me.  Both times it was my fault as I didn't listen to him or his training.  Now that the holidays are over we'll be continuing Henry's (and ours) training.  We love him and think he's the best dog around.Pat

12/19/05 - Henry has been adopted.

12/11/05 - We are pleased to report that Henry has completed an accelerated course in foundation training; and did a super job at it. I am very proud of him.

His behavior is quite predictable in the home now, no negative incidences in almost 1 month now. We will continue to build on his training, but basically Henry is ready for his forever home.

Lets review some things with Henry. He is a totally housetrained boy, enjoys chewy things like kongs, balls, rope toys. He really enjoys his food, so much so that we have switched him to reduced calories :o))

He has really come a long way, and i am so glad we were given an opportunity to help him. What a shame it would have been if he had been put to sleep at the shelter. He really just needed to be in the right situation, with someone willing to work with him. He has gotten that in his foster home, but now we need to find the same thing for him in his forever home.

If you have been following his progress, and feel you can continue to build on all that he has accomplished, please fill out an app and ask for this comeback boy. Trust me, you will not be sorry if you are lucky enough to have this boy join your family.

11/29/05 - Well, we are way overdue in updating Mr. Henry.

We have learned a lot about Henry. What we have learned is that 99% of the time, Henry is a lovely dog. Sociable, well-mannered, friendly, nice dog. There is that 1%, which, in the wrong environment, where Henry can get himself into trouble. You see Henry does not like it when something is taken away from him. He gets upset and his behavior becomes unacceptable, to say the least. We have experienced several of these "episodes while he has been here. One example was when Henry was beginning to dissect a stuffed animal. Naturally, I did not want him to continue to rip out the stuffing, so I headed toward him to pick up the stuffed animal. We made eye contact at the same time, and he came toward me, in an aggressive manner. I was able to avoid him, but it definitely was not acceptable behavior. We have experienced this type of behavior several times, always under the same circumstances. Now that we are aware of his "trigger", it is pretty easy to work around, he is very easily distracted. As long as he doesn’t feel you are going to take something away from him, he is fine. Very often, when he is playing with a toy, i can go right over to him and pet him with no problem. He does pick up though, when you are headed toward him with the intention of taking something away from him...must be the body language.

We had Henry evaluated by a professional trainer, and he felt that Henry could definitely be worked with. We started his training 3 weeks ago, and he is doing super. We are building up trust and mutual respect. I feel he has improved, and we will continue his training. It will be critical to continue this training when his forever home is found.

Henry continues to get along with the dogs, although we did have a very energetic 6-month-old pug here for a few weeks, and Henry had little patience with him. He was just in Henry's face a bit too much, and he didn't care for it. In fairness to Henry, this pug was pretty annoying, too young and energetic to realize he was too much for some of the dogs.

I have to admit, I have grown pretty attached to Henry, and he to me. He is a special boy who without a doubt deserved a second chance. He was just in the wrong situation. Young kids who do not understand the boundaries and triggers with Henry stand the chance of getting bitten, so in fairness to Henry, and safety to all, Henry will not go to a family with anyone under 15, and would probably do best in an adult home.

If you feel you fit the profile, and want to give a super boy a chance to experience unconditional love and have a loyal and loving pet, please fill out our online app and ask for Henry. You will need to be committed to continuing his training, so that you will create the same bond with him as I am currently building on. You will not be sorry.
 

9/25/05 - Two weeks ago we received a call from a shelter we often work with, to tell us of a young male pug that was brought in by the owner. A request was made to put Henry to sleep, as, in the owners words, he was "aggressive toward the grandkids". They had owned him for 6 months, and said the aggressive behavior did not start until he was with them 4 months. We were asked if we could do anything for this boy. We told them we would pick him up and evaluate his situation. We have been doing this for the last 2 weeks.

 

We have noticed that Henry seems orally fixated, and if he even thinks you want to take something away, he gets aggressive...but he can be distracted. It just doesn't  pay to go directly at him, as he gets protective. He will bite if he thinks you are going to challenge him for his orally fixated objects. When I took everything off the floor, she started gnawing at the big throw pillows on the floor, and when I said "HEY, knock it off", he got agitated.,...so we just take the diversion route now.

 

He has had no problem with the other dogs, (he is currently living with 10 other dogs without incident) and when another dogs has approached him when he has a stuffed animal or something like that, he does not seem to mind. It seems he only feels threatened when you try to take it away, or speak to him loudly telling him to "leave it". The other day he was eating a leaf outside, and when I tried to take it out of his mouth, he showed me how much he did not appreciate that. We are working with a trainer to learn ways of improving this behavior. Clearly, Henry will only be considered for and adult home capable of working with him and his issues.

 

He has proven to be a sweet boy. He loves to jump up in your lap and start kissing you over and over. He loves to be pet, and freely rolls over on his back inviting you to give him a nice belly rib, which we never refuse him :o))

 

We do not feel that Henry should have been euthanized. Clearly the grandchildren of his former owners did not know how to handle Henry's special issues and needs. As we continue to work with him we will develop a plan on helping him.

 

Henry definitely had someone working with him, as he does knows a few commands. He knows "sit" and "paw", using whichever from paw you ask for. He is also totally housetrained.

 

Henry developed a sever case of kennel cough in the 1st few days, was not eating, was throwing up any water that he drank, so we got him over to the vet, and with the treatment he rec'd there, he bounced back within one week. He is fine now, eating and drinking normally.

 

So come back and see how Henry continues to progress, and if you think you are the right home for this boy, please fill out our online application.