His new location--our home--has been reported to the authorities. Hard to know if he was purposely or accidentally separated from his family. He appears to me that he was well cared for. But his separation anxiety, his bloodied feet from running on pavement and his current fixation of running after a vehicle (first a golf cart, then a pickup truck) moving away from him (v. just casually observing a car passing by) suggest to me that he might have been tossed to the universe for care.
His abraded paws are healing quickly. He was not too amenable to my ministrations. Nevertheless, hHis feet were cleaned well, and the raw parts are now not raw looking, nor are they infected. Cleaning and rest seemed to have done the trick. But he needs some more healing before we begin more vigorous play. He is in need of vigorous play (and separation from his ykw's).
He is having episodes of high excitability where he is impossible for me to control. He's too quick and too strong--and he has not learned proper manners. He is sinewy and can twist like a snake. This is shark puppy mode, and the name is apt. For this reason, he has a lead permanently attached to him so that I can step on it or grab it, and tie him securely into puppy time out. No dramatics, just a lead to and tie out in a place where he has reasonable mobility and cannot get into trouble.
The stair banister works wondrously (so does the buffet in my office). He is in full view of everyone and with water. He just cannot attack anything--except the stair as I found out yesterday. I had one lone rawhide chew (which I had to spend a good bit of time locating) which he consumed over the course of the day. (We have old girls, and they are not interested in chewing anything but treats and dinner).
I came home with some chew toys from PetSmart, and ordered some from Amazon which should arrive tomorrow.
When the shark puppy goes into guppy mode, then he gets praise and a treat, and he earns the opportunity to walk with his lead rather than being permanently attached (so long as the cats are cordoned off). He is laying quietly beside my desk chair now. Angelic! This rewarding of his quiet behavior is working very well (v. scolding his bad behavior).
He is smart, good-natured and once his exuberance is channeled (and his ykw's) gone, I'm confident that he will be easier to handle. We just took a walk and I found one of Macy's old balls. I tossed a tennis ball for him. He went after it hard, and then raised his back foot. Probably need to let him heal at bit. He's not going to do anything half way. He has it now inside, and he is very happy.
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