Derby
Shepherd Mix | male | 7 months Old | 49 Lbs
QUICK FACTS: ✔️ Good with dogs! ✔️ Loves people! ✔️ Crate trained! ✔️ Potty trained! ✔️ Good in car! ✔️ Treat motivated!
✔️ Good for beginner dog owner!
Derby met his family on 12/2/2022!
Updates
VIDEOS:
Derby playing with his favorite toy: https://youtube.com/shorts/SjNztTg5-y4
Derby working on sitting, waiting and gently taking his treat and practicing “lay down”: https://youtu.be/ki9wJTDieGQ
Derby going into his crate when asked: https://youtube.com/shorts/QDbuKgemvdg?feature=share
PUPDATE #4
Derby is doing so great! He went to doggy daycare again and felt a lot more comfortable and made more dog friends. He is really coming along with his house training, and we can trust him more now. He doesn’t get into things that he shouldn’t as often and hasn’t tried to counter surf in a while now. Derby is smart and learns quickly. We taught him how to “shake” and are working on “spin.” We also continue to work on basic and more advanced commands but wanted to do some fun tricks with him too. Derby has been a little more destructive with stuffed dog toys so stuffingless toys (the squeakier the better!) or chew toys would be best. Derby doesn’t seem to be phased by the cold Wisconsin weather. I put a dog sweater on him for one of our walks since it was so cold out and he was totally fine wearing it.
Will you be my forever family? ♥ Derby
PUPDATE #3
Derby went to doggy daycare for the first time and did great. He was a bit shy at first, but eventually warmed up and made a few dog friends. We will continue to send him to daycare once a week while he is in our care. Derby is doing well learning his boundaries with my three resident dogs and continues to enjoy playing with my younger resident dog.
Derby is doing well with his inside house manners. He is doing much better with only chewing on his toys or hard chews. He is learning how to play for a bit and then settle down and take a nap. We are finding that he doesn’t need as many crate breaks as he did during his first two weeks. We are still working on his people food boundaries, but he is progressing in the right direction.
During the workday, we have primarily been crating him for a bit in the morning followed by a snack at lunch with some outside time to potty and play. Then back to his crate while we work in the afternoon. He may get some time to be out of his crate to play inside, but we try to keep up a routine in case an adopter needs to keep him crated during the work hours. He will at least need that lunchtime potty and play/walk break as I think it would be too challenging for him to be crated for an entire workday.
Derby is a great companion who can’t wait to meet his forever family!
PUPDATE #2
Derby is really settling into his new routine. We continue to work on house training and he is progressing well. He loves having something hard to chew on and it will keep him busy for quite a while.
We are working on “wait” before we cross the street while on a walk with an “ok” command to release him from his wait. We have also been working on “let’s go” to get him moving along on a walk if needed. We are working on “look” and “lay down” as well. “Off” for if he jumps up is a work in progress. He already has “sit” mastered and when I say “crate” he hops right in. More commands to come as we continue his training. He is very smart and eager to learn, especially when treats are involved!
Derby had one small excited pee when he first arrived otherwise has had no accidents. He has even gone to the back door a couple of times to signal that he needed to go potty. We get him out pretty regularly so he generally doesn’t need to let us know.
Derby enjoys snuggles and belly rubs. He loves attention and enjoys being near his people. Don’t miss your opportunity to have sweet Derby be a part of your family!
PUPDATE #1
Derby gets let out of his crate to go potty around 6:30/7AM. He goes back in his crate while I get ready for work. He will then get breakfast followed by a short walk or yard play, which pretty quickly gets him to poo. This routine works perfectly for that! During the day/evening he will be let out to potty, have play time and crate time. He likes to chew on a yak cheese or an elk antler and we have given him other enrichment activities like putting some dog food or small treats in a snuffle mat and making him work for it. My significant other works from home so has been able to let him out of his crate during the work hours for potty breaks and some play/enrichment time. In the evenings, he gets dinner around 5:30PM, a longer walk and more play time. He sometimes has a hard time settling down once inside the house even after quite a bit of exercise so we will crate him if we feel he is overtired. That has worked great as he will settle down in his crate and rest. I think he will eventually not need these crate breaks as he gets used to taking that chill time and as he gets older. Derby has his final potty break around 10PM. He gets a dental chew in his crate and will sleep all night without a peep. He has already figured this routine out and has actually gone right into his crate after coming back in from his last potty break to wait for his goodnight treat.
Derby loves people and likes to be near them. He has done great with everyone he has met. He is very friendly and loves to give dog kisses.
Derby has a lot of puppy energy! He will need a good amount of exercise through walks, play time and enrichments activities. We have played fetch a few times and he seems to really like it and will usually bring the ball back to me or near me. I think he would be a great candidate for doggy daycare to help get some of that energy out. We have been taking him on a short walk in the morning and a long walk in the evening. I have a younger resident dog who he will run around and play with him in the yard. Derby does pretty well on a leash. When I have taken him alone, he does great and will often stick right by me. He will occasionally bark at or just be really curious about other dogs who are out. When I take him with my other dogs he can sometimes pull and will sometimes bark at other dogs if mine show signs of reaction. Derby loves toys and will play with any and all toys he has. He likes to stick his head (or half his body!) in the toy bin, pull a toy out, play with it for a bit and then go back for another and repeat.
Derby loves other dogs! He was found with a brother so was used to having a companion. Derby is still learning other dog boundaries and social cues though so his play sessions should be supervised. My younger resident dog will play with him quite a bit, but not always when he wants to. He is getting better at reading the "I don't want to play" cue, but will need reminders. I have two senior resident dogs who don't want to play and he is getting better at learning that. He does like to lick the dogs faces, which some dogs may not appreciate. We will tell him "no" and redirect if he is getting too much in their faces. I think Derby would do great with another dog of similar energy level. I don't think it is necessary for an adopter to have another dog so long as he gets a good amount of other dog socialization through playdates, doggy daycare and/or dog parks. Even though Derby loves other dogs, he may be curious/cautious about some at first, but pretty quickly warms up and wants to be their best friend. He will bark at other dogs he sees from my back patio door or when he's in the yard. We have been working on tell him "that's enough" and redirecting.
Derby has had no exposure to cats or kids in our care.
We have left Derby in his crate alone for a few hours and he did fine. He is not housebroken so I would not recommend letting him free roam unsupervised. He has tried to counter surf a couple of times and has tried to chew on things he shouldn't. He will need to be redirected when this happens.
Derby is a very sweet dog who is full of love and fun! He is young and will need an adapter to give him the exercise he needs and to keep up on his training to help him learn and grow. He is smart and very food motivated. He will certainly make for an excellent companion!
Derby tested positive for Lyme's. He has shown no clinical signs, but has been put on Doxycycline for 28 days per rescue protocol.