Sweet, sweet Sid!
There are a few things you may notice when looking at Sid’s photos. His eyes and his jaw. Both are a little messed up. Okay, he’s blind. But that doesn’t stop him from living his best life. He gets around very well in his foster home, and shows great confidence in navigating new places. He has learned words like wall, step, and edge which helps him avoid injuries and accidents. He is able to play and have fun like any dog would!
His jaw is definitely wonky. His top jaw is quite a bit longer than his lower jaw causing a pretty decent overbite. Other than some difficulty getting food out of Kongs, this hasn’t seemed to stop him much either. He can still fetch, play tug, and eat all the treats!!
This boy has not met a stranger. He loves every living being he has met. (Dogs and humans that is.) He loves having a foster brother, and overall does well with him. However, being blind sets him up for some difficulties navigating the social constructs of the dog world. Sid doesn’t understand personal space. He will try to explore whatever the dog may be chewing on (toy, treat, etc), but can be redirected with supervision. And he will sometimes lay right on top of his brother because he wanted to get to something on the other side. A tolerant dog sibling would be helpful as he learns how to be a good dog friend.
I can’t say it enough that Sid loves people. He will be your velcro dog around the house…until he settles in for a good nap somewhere. With that being said, Sid requests his new home have lots of comfy dog beds. They are his favorite place to nap!! He isn’t picky, but the big, cushy ones are definitely his favorite. He also did well with two little kids for a few hours, though obviously supervision will be needed in a new home that has kids. It is especially important that kids understand not to sneak up on him or startle him, as he may react differently than other dogs because he can’t see them.
He was a blank slate when he came to K9JL, and he has been learning fast. He is very food motivated, but relies on luring until he learns verbal cues. Training is fun, but patience is needed! He so far has learned sit, stay, down, and crate. Foster mom wouldn’t say he has truly mastered them yet, but he is doing awesome!!
He is mostly potty trained at this point. He has been doing well with a regular routine. He does still occasionally leak a little in his crate though, so foster mom has been trying to watch how much water he is drinking, especially at bedtime. He seems to do better with going potty off leash than on, so a fenced yard is a plus.
He will go into the crate without an issue, but is still learning how to settle down quickly. He loves having a treat or meals in the crate, but once he is done, he will wonder why you aren’t letting him out. Learning to settle in a crate can be difficult for a blind dog, so patience will be needed! Typically right now he settles in about 10 minutes. Though recently, foster mom has noticed that if they do something that gets him a little extra tired in the evening, he will settle in without any fuss. Once he is asleep, he will usually stay asleep until about 5-6 am. When he wakes up, he doesn’t bark or whine a lot, but he paces and circles in the crate, which can be noisy.
All in all, Sid is a happy boy who is looking for a family that can help him thrive despite his physical issues. He will need some special considerations to keep him safe, but otherwise, he is an easy-going guy.