Bear's first month with us

So, it's been a little over a month since Bear came to live with us (I know, I know, I've been very bad about posting lately!), and he's really doing well!  He has become best friends with Brody - they play together, sleep side by side, run and wrestle and really just love each other!  I've never seen Brody this attached to a foster dog before, it's really nice to see :)

Buddies :)

Bear has relaxed a lot in the past month - he no longer guards his food or toys, he can play tug with Brody without it getting out of hand, and he is nice with the cats.  He does still have a bit of a tendency to herd or chase the cats, but it's all done in play, and they are usually only mildly annoyed by it!  We're still struggling a little with house training, but it's not his fault.  He knows he should go outside, and he does go to the door when he needs to go out, but if we don't see him, he'll have an accident.  I haven't figured out how to teach him to ask to go out yet - I would like to teach him to ring the bell, but it's a challenge to do it with a dog that I can't touch!

First time having bones together in the yard - Bear kept his distance from the other dogs!

Now they are happy to hang out and chew side by side :)

Speaking of touch, that is also getting better.  I've been working with the clicker, and doing a lot of hand feeding with him, which has helped a lot.  He will lick canned food off my finger now, and when I reach my hand out toward him he will usually come up and sniff, rather than backing off and looking afraid or barking at me.  If he is standing near me, I can reach down and lightly touch his back or tail, and he doesn't run away, although he does still jump.  He will also play with me now, I can play chase games with him in the house or yard, and he enjoys it and has fun, rather than running away and being afraid.  We still have a long way to go, but it feels like he has come so far in such a short time, and he keeps making progress every day. 

Relaxing on the deck - life is good!

And sometimes, when he's really lucky, Bear ends up with all the antlers!