Diadra's Critters: Buster

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

A dog and his boy

Buster wants a boy (or girl) of his very own.

Buster making friends, kind of

Buster needs more practice with other dogs (so do I), so our illustrious and benevolent foster coordinator offered up her yard and crew.

First up was Dax, an 85-ish lb tall houndy guy, who is a quiet alpha about Buster's age, maybe a year or so older.

By all accounts, it went well. Buster was at first unsure of what to do with another dog off-leash and just kind of ran around peeing on things and whining, alternately sniffing and awkwardly trying to play.

After a bit, he felt comfortable enough to challenge Dax, and Dax was obviously (not) bothered. Buster doesn't respond easily to correction, but he gets the message. He knows when he's being a jerk.

Next up was Koko, who Buster met briefly about 9 months ago. She's about his age, 85-ish lb pit bull. She's also very vocal. She doesn't take crap, but she's not exactly dominant. She's a lady who knows what she likes and isn't afraid to let you know what she doesn't like.

They got along just fine. She briefly tried to play with him, then did her own thing when she saw he wasn't really interested. He didn't try to challenge her at all.

Buster also met Jilly, also around the same age, pit bull. She looks a bit like Honey, but she's paraplegic. Buster found her fascinating, but eventually wandered off.

Overall, the meeting was a success. After about an hour, he finally laid down like the rest of the dogs. He wasn't terribly interested in any of them, but given time, he'd probably play with them just like he plays with Honey. He either needs a dog that doesn't care if he guards (his people, his space, his things), or a family willing to correct him when he does. We don't have many issues of guarding here, but Honey is surprisingly tolerant and he has accepted that this is her house. He lets her and us know when something displeases him, but he very rarely challenges us outright.

I really don't understand why he hasn't found a home or even gotten more interest. He's a great dog, he's friendly, he loves to play and cuddle. He's good with other pets given the chance. We can take him places; he needs more practice at that, but he's gotten better just the few times we've taken him out. He's house-broken and has a bladder the size of a cantaloupe.

Doesn't anybody want a good dog?