Duke is the yellow Lab we adopted through Twyla's Friends back in August. He is such a big, lovable, goofy, slobbery, character! He's got a very soft mouth, meaning he likes to grab our hands/arms in his mouth but he doesn't put any pressure on us.  Our other dog (a female Black Lab/Corgi mix named Joy) had some problems with Duke initially but has gotten used to him. The only problem between them is that he likes to play and she just doesn't do that! Joy is a dog that acts more like a cat and always has. Duke got house trained pretty quickly. I credit Joy for helping with that. Now that it's cooling off, Joy likes to lay in the sun. Since Duke's fosters kept him in the yard, Duke has gotten used to being inside. He will go out to do his business, but if we make him stay outside for more than a few minutes, he thinks he's being punished (unless we are outside with him).  When we first got him, he would not get on the couch. It took me about a week to trick him up there, then loved on him to show him it was OK. Now, he likes to lay in the middle section of the couch between Debbie and me. He likes to fetch and loves a knotted rope we got him. He tends to tear up any cloth or soft rubber toys!We found out right away that Duke will not be picked up, turned over, or to be held by the collar. If you try (my son likes to lay on the floor and wrestle with the dogs), Duke seems to freak out. He doesn't try to bite, but he panics.  I tried to teach him some basic commands (sit and stay) but he trembles, pees, or just walks away when I give him commands. I thought maybe my stern voice bothered him, but if I use a soft voice, he just ignores me. He seems to have no idea of how big he is because he keeps bumping into things. He would slip and slide on our granite tile and our linoleum kitchen floor. He learned to take smaller steps, but then he forgets and starts slipping again. I figure one or two things are the issue:He was treated very badly when he was young, and/orHis brain is missing a few neurons. He's not stupid, but it takes him a while to learn some things.Regardless, we feel that we got a winner! He makes us laugh regularly and he's so lovable! I was having a snack around noon today. He jumped up on the couch next to me and laid his head on my leg. When I'm finished, I usually give him a taste of whatever I had. After I finished today and stood up, I suddenly realized that the entire upper leg of my jeans were soaked with slobber (where he had laid his head). His slobber reminds me of a mastiff.It's late now, so I'll post some pictures of him tomorrow.
@Retired_Engineer:
Thats good to hear you guys are getting along . I bet he is a character and loves all the attention .
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