Where Have I Been?

Hello it's me, Moose!

I apologize for my human's lack of keeping you informed of my progress. Well, I have progressed nicely. I still hold onto some timid qualities toward humans, mostly indoors (I just don't feel one hundred percent confident if I don't have multiple egress points). But, outside I am very curious about people, even if I still cautiously approach them. Sometimes other employees of Syracuse University come into my human's office while I'm on my cot and I don't even bark at them, but if they are carrying a ladder I become vocal to inform the individual that I don't feel safe for comfortable with their presence. It's nothing personal, it's just the weird apparatus you are carrying. This is an issue for humans to comprehend and it's what gets humans in trouble most of the time. Many human's lack the basic knowledge of how animals react to their environment even when painfully obvious. Like if a human approaches a dog holding something and that dog becomes aggressive vocally--that's a display warning the human.

My human has trusted me so much that I have become an off-leash dog for the most part unless we go on walks in neighborhoods and on busy streets. In our apartment complex, I am so well behaved off-leash that I come when I'm called and can walk in the woods with my human and he'll either continue walking or wait while I find grass to eat. If I get the inkling to chase something my recall is pretty good. My human has a command for me to let me chase squirrels when I am in a safe area to tree them. I love to do that. It's one of my favorite things to do. I also love balls. My human buys me all kinds of balls, Kong Squeakers, ChuckIt balls he can kick that I tear apart in the Fall, Spring and Winter. At the end of Spring through to mid-Fall my human uses a lacrosse stick to throw my squeaky balls for me to chase and bring back to him.

My human has worked endlessly with me to the point where I can poop on command, return when called off leash with a mouth noise and/or specific whistle. My commands are in five different Native languages (Mohawk, Onondaga, Lakota, Apache and Oneida, not to mention Samoan and English), but those are just noises to me that I associate with specific actions my human want me to complete. We are currently working on a guarding technique where I sit between his legs as he stands and walk with him both forward and back. I think he's going to try to get me to weave between his legs as he walks.

So, life has been very good for me and I have come a long way from where I was. I have many new dog and human friends. I enjoy going to work with my human very much and seeing the humans. I enjoy hanging out with my dog friends when we get to see them.

Thanks for reading up about my progress and I hope this finds you and your humans well.