Spartan is currently being fostered in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Spartan is a silver and blue male with splash markings on his body. His left eye has a blue mark in the iris and his tongue sometimes hangs out of his mouth – especially when he is tired. He has the potential to be a nice well balanced dog. He sleeps and rests very well in his kennel but he gets very excited to come out of his kennel. Once he is out, however, it doesn’t take him long to settle down. He LOVES his antler chews and will spend at least an hour or two everyday working on them. He craves human attention, but sometimes gets really excited when he receives it. He is learning that “ssht” (and a finger point) means he is not allowed to jump up on humans and is starting to respond to this command quickly and consistently. However, this is probably something that will need to be consistently corrected for a while. Spartan also has very soft fur, making it hard not to want to pet him!

The first week that Spartan was here he would lift his leg and urinate on furniture/corners in the house. I am pretty sure this is marking behaviour. We have kept a close eye on him and try to keep him on a leash in the house. He has not had an accident inside for about 3 days – scratch that – he just marked on the recliner!  In a week or two we will try giving him a larger range and see how he does with marking.

Spartan craves human attention and will usually come forward to receive it, but if you stand up too suddenly, move your arms too quickly, speak too suddenly or loudly, or lift your legs (i.e. to untangle them from leash) he will flinch and initially recede. However, he can usually be called back with a friendly voice and crouch to the ground.

His marking in the house is proving to be a challenge, but he is learning to calm down quickly! He is starting to put on a bit of weight and his fur is becoming smoother and softer every day. He love, love, loves his antler chews and does great in his crate during the day and when sleeping. I think he really enjoyed camping this weekend. At first he was very afraid of the campfire, but by the end of the weekend he was cuddling on my lap in front of the fire. He did show a little guarding of his sleeping territory again this weekend, but after talking to Anne (BTRC Behavioural Consultant) I feel like I have a better strategy for dealing with this. I think he is just insecure and hopefully this guarding behaviour will go away once he trusts Tansy, his foster sister, more fully and feels more comfortable in our home. He certainly feels comfortable enough to jump up on the couch – even when he’s not supposed too! Anne suggested we keep him off the furniture until he is more secure – that way he won’t feel the need to guard it, when he is on it.