In one of the photos below, you can see him "sharing" a toy with his foster mom. After weeks of hand-feeding and desensitization, he now allows people to come near his dish and even take food from him. Here is a nice, long update on Skeeter's progress. Please join us in congratulating his foster family on the wonderful strides they've made in helping this skeeter bug straighten up and fly right! Here's his foster mom's note: "Training- In obedience this frog is TOP FROG. He knew how to sit, stay, heel, and come when he first arrived but now he can SIT LIKE A BOODA DOG, SHAKE HANDS, ARMY CRAWL, and ROLL OVER. He loves his daily training sessions with his foster mom and will do ANYTHING for a training treat! :-)
Food aggression- When Skeeter first arrived in foster care he was EXTREMELY food aggressive. His foster mom and dad could not get within 3 feet of his bowl and he would growl and snarl like a wild cat. NOW we can stand next to him as he eats, ask him to back up and either add more food or water to his dish, AND his foster mom can hold his bowl and feed him open handed.
When he first arrived in foster care he would scarf up every bite like it was his last meal, now he always has bits of kibble left after each meal that he is allowed to snack on throughout the day.
He has no aggression issues with bone and allows his foster parents to take it out of his mouth, share a bite(pretend only!)
Dog Aggression-this is an area we are working on. He initially was not allowed to interact with his foster siblings due to fact that he was extremely rude to them (growling, snarling, and even tried to bite his Boston brother when we did allow him to interact.) Very recently we have allowed him to be upstairs with his foster siblings while on a lead. He has been handling this well. He will not challenge his foster sister, Sydney as she is the alpha bitch in our home. In the past he did prefer to "pick on" the weaker links in our pack (our puppy, and his Boston brother.) However, in a social setting he can go for a walk and pass by a dog without being rude.
Human Relationships-Skeeter does very well for the most part with his foster parents. He is very affectionate and loves to be petted.
He allows his foster parents to pick him up, touch him all over his body(this he did NOT like when he first arrived!) He is allowed a couple of hours of one-on-one time upstairs in which he drags a lead but has progressed to 1 hour time blocks before he begins to stress. He LOVES to snuggle, and give kisses that both his foster parents eat up!!! Strangers are a different story; he does not mind it if a stranger walks by, but DO NOT PET HIM!!! He instantly bristles up and begins to growl. He is receiving ALOT of social interaction to help with this issue. He has tried to guard his foster parents when he is in stores by crossing in front of them and he is learning that that behavior is unacceptable.
HEALTH-Skeeter has put on some weight; he weighs 26lbs and has filled out nicely. He is eating premium food, and his coat looks great! He is taking PROZAC to help him be a bit calmer and this has helped not react so quickly to stimuli and allows his training to continue to progress.
Overall he is a very sweet boy, he loves to play fetch and snuggle in our laps. He has overcome some of his issues but still has a long way to go. He has great days for the most part but at times still has days when he is a butt head. His foster parents are very dedicated to his success and know that he can someday be someone's special companion."What a great report on this tough boy's progress! We can hardly believe he stood still long enough to have that costume put on. He is clearly moving from out of control to merely crotchety. We are going to keep an eye on this nutty mutt, and we hope you will, too!
Why is it that the Bad Boys have the most beautiful smiles? wonders
The Frog Princess
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