Freddie

Freddie is a wonderful 8-year-old boy – happy, well behaved and simply the sweetest BFF kinda pal anyone could ever have. Freddie, by the way, is short for Fred Flintstone. We named him that because he is quite the silly cartoonish character when he gets to playing with rocks. Yes,he has a love of rocks – not stones, rocks. Big rocks. Check out the video of him playing with one in the shelter’s play yard. (He’d get so happy when the volunteers would sneak one into his run at the shelter!)

Welcome Home!

He quickly won over everyone at the shelter that watched him play.”He is one of the funniest dogs I’ve ever met. He lays quietly in his run, but when you take him outside and give him a rock to play with, he transforms into a totally joyful dog.” He plays with rocks as if they were balls. He picks them up and throws them all over, bats ’em with his feet, puts them in his water bowl and takes them back out. He has so much fun! And its so much fun to watch! Plus, he loves to be hugged.

Foster Update:

Freddie is such a sweet, sweet dog. He loves affection. He’s found a rock he likes to play with and he’s even starting to show interest in a squeaky ball — mainly because our dog thinks the squeaky ball rocks! He knows sit, and will sit for treats and his supper; we’re working on “stay”. We love this dog; he’s beautiful and well-mannered!

Notes:

Freddie will do best in a calm household. He loves kids, but gets over-stimulated in loud, active environments. Although he has lived in a foster home with other dogs, he’s not good at meeting new dogs, so we feel he will be happiest being the only canine in the house. He requires a fenced yard and a family that doesn’t feel like they need to take him everywhere with them. He’s happiest hanging out in his home with his family.

Foster Update 2:

We have nothing but good news to report on Freddie. He’s doing remarkably well with our dogs and he’s even learning to play with a squeaky ball. (We’re trying to divert him away from rocks). He’s a very happy boy and super affectionate with us. He plays with our youngest dog; they love to chase. We’ve had a friend’s dog over — and he was fine with him also. He’s just not good about meeting new dogs while on-leash.

FOSTER UPDATE 3:

Things we love about Freddie – by his foster parents

Freddie’s funny with a ball — he’ll follow our dog Duke around if Duke has a ball with this intent, delighted look on his face, tail wagging. You can tell he’s determined to get the ball as soon as Duke puts it down. If we give them both a ball, Freddie plays with his for a little while, but soon is back to tracking Duke, who usually sashays around Freddie a couple of times to get his attention. They’re pretty funny to watch, Duke intentionally baiting him and Freddie taking the bait. Freddie loves balls, and will spend hours chewing on a squeaky Kong football or carrying it with him from room to room.

He almost dances with joy sometimes, usually when we we’ve both been out for a couple of hours. It’s this funny little dog mambo where his back legs and front legs are all in motion but he’s not going anywhere. We sometimes see the dance when he’s offered a new ball or something else excites or delights him.

He’s very endearing. He’ll sidle up to you and lean his head against your knee or sit next to your chair looking at you smiling and asking for pets. If we’re watching TV, he’ll cuddle up next to one of us and stretch out, quite content. He loves attention.

He’s a good watchdog. He’s alert at unusual sounds. But he’s fine at meeting friends who come into the house now, where he used to bark. We’ve had a workman here the last couple of days and Freddie was fine meeting him, better than our dog Charlie, in fact. While he has a trouble meeting new dogs if he’s on a leash — he seems to be fine meeting them on neutral ground such as a backyard. Our neighbor’s dog comes over to play regularly. Freddie had no trouble meeting him for the first time, off-leash in the back yard. He plays well with the neighbor’s dog and our dogs; they come in and out of the house, and no territorial issues. In fact, the neighbor’s dog will be staying with us soon and they will all have a bed in our bedroom.