Miguel really enjoys his daily walks, especially when it is light out. He still seems to get nervous in the early morning darkness, so we walk just far enough for him to do his “business” and then we head home, saving the longer walk for the afternoon.

He’s still looking nice and trim, so we didn’t get on the scale this week and we’ve been giving him a little more food and a few more treats to try and maintain his current weight without going too slim!

We have several good things to report this week: one, he has finally gotten down to a good weight, and two, his checkup with the behavioral vet went very well.

We’ve been walking to the neighborhood vet for courtesy weekly weigh-ins, but this last week, I was a bit worried as it seemed like I had been a little generous with the treats, but nope, he is down to 78.5 lbs! I also found out that he likes the crunchy part of lettuce, which is perfect, because I don’t. We are now giving him a little more food each meal to keep him from dropping too much weight.

The behavioral vet was happy with how he is doing and informed us that he “stacks” stress, so that the more things that cause him anxiety, the worse he gets, so his forever home will need to be without younger children and other dogs the great majority of the time, and he will need to be constantly monitored in any encounters with children or dogs. She also said that after he has gotten settled in to his forever home, 2 months or so, he could have his anxiety meds slightly reduced.

Miguel is pretty well settled in at my house now and is doing well. Big news, maybe as much for me as for him: I taught him to “shake” this week! He is very food-motivated and smart, so training isn’t that difficult. We’ve had some rain, and he goes out in it without complaint.

Sunday found us at Lake Phalen again, and he seemed very interested in going into the water, but because it’s still very cold, I just let him dip his paws - pretty sure he wanted to go full in.

A few other observations: he doesn’t destroy his toys and is only a slight beggar - he will leave you alone to eat in peace after a few minutes.

We had several new experiences last week to report on: A storm blew through here along with a very loud thunder boom, and Miguel gave a quick bark and then laid back down, seemingly not bothered too much; on Saturday, we went to a meet-and-greet, a very busy one with lots of dogs and people - Miguel was fantastic, tail wagging and wanting to meet everyone and every dog.

We’re still unsure on his car riding; he panted for the first couple of miles and when we got close to our destination, while the rest of the time he spent lying down or sitting and looking out the window. We’ll continue to get him out and monitor his behavior.

Did you miss seeing him at this meet-and-greet? No worries, there is another one coming up this Saturday, March 18th, from 11:00 to 1:00 in Ham Lake, for those of you that live in the Northern suburbs or like a road trip. We’ll be at Canine Crossing. Hope to see you there.

Miguel continues to be a great houseguest, very quiet and with good manners. He has a very funny “voice” that he uses to get your attention - sounds a bit like a very soft train horn mixed with a slight whimper. He uses that or a bark at the back door to let you know when he needs to go outside - which isn’t often. Boy is like a camel; he won’t go out right away in the morning, either - not until he gets his breakfast!

Just a reminder about what Miguel is looking for in his forever home: No young children or other dogs - he had major anxiety from both of these, and even after his family spent a great deal of time, effort, and resources, Miguel was unable to be happy living with kids or other dogs. He seems to love meeting everyone and other dogs while on our walks, though.

Please let your placement advisor know if you can give him a kid- and dog-free home - you’ll be glad you did; the boy is equal parts sweet and handsome.

Miguel has now been living with me for a month and has been a great houseguest. He gets very excited to go for walks and hopped right in the car to go for a nice sunny walk around Lake Phalen. He does pant some in the car, but not sure if it’s excitement or anxiety - since he is always quick to load in, I’m going with excitement.

A few more tidbits of information on Miguel:

• He is food motivated, but takes treats gently.
• He knows “sit” and “stay.”

• He has a high prey drive. He was very much interested in the ducks he saw today, along with squirrels and rabbits.

• He likes to know where I am and will follow me around the house, and he likes to be petted.

We’re currently in the “market” for a wash-and-groom, so our next update may feature Miguel’s new look!

This is the 3rd week that Miguel has been living with me, and he’s still the same great dog as when he first moved in. He had an exciting walk mid-week when we rounded the corner of the path and saw a half dozen girls on the Nordic ski team from a local school taking a break from their training run, and one of them asked the magic question: “Can we pet your dog?” Miguel was thrilled as he went from girl to girl; rolled over for belly rubs and never jumped up on any of them; then, of course, he wanted to join the run and follow them back to school - sorry, you’re stuck with me for now!

Miguel seems to be unchanged since we reduced his dose of anxiety meds. He seems to be doing well except every few walks for reasons I can’t really place; he wants to either take a toy from me or grab the leash in his mouth and head straight home - no sniffing trees or hesitation, just a fast-paced walk home. This has happened ramdomly since he’s been here, not sure why. He loves going on walks and will lead me to the door with a big grin on his face, so it must be a trigger during the walk.

I realized that he hasn’t been in a car since I brought him home and I also thought a change in his walking route might be good, so on Saturday, we went to Lake Phalen and took the short path around the smaller lake, and he behaved wonderfully on the walk and in the car.

A couple other observations: he doesn’t counter-surf, he respects the baby gates, he is food motivated, he will let me touch all of his paws and even do a bit of trimming of his fur. To sum it up, he’s a really well-behaved dog that just needs the right family to thrive.