2/15/2015

Ex Scooby Roco living happily in Vancouver

Hello all,
We wanted to send a little update on how Roco is doing in Vancouver.
In short he is a very happy boy. His tail hardly ever stops wagging.
Roco doesn't lack confidence and he seems to take to every new experience with enthusiasm and curiosity. He is super playful with his brother Lucca who at 7 is amazingly patient with all the horsing around and joins in most of the time. It seems to have brought out the puppy in Lucca. We're amazed that Lucca puts up with having his ears and tail pulled  and constant wrestling. When it gets all too much we sometimes have to do time out for Roco in his crate which he seems to accept just fine. There have been no issues of jealousy between them and they often sleep side by side.
Quite honestly, Roco is a little gem and we couldn't have asked for a better pup. He is so clever and funny. In no time at all he has learned sit, paw, down and stay. He does these things with lightening speed and sometimes even combines them if he's super eager for a treat. I think part of the success with all these commands is he is incredibly food motivated. He was a bit of a challenge when he first got here as he was a champion counter surfer. We seem to have solved that issue with a combination of feeding him lots of food, a spray bottle and supplying lots of treats. He even has good table manners now. He sits when we put his food down and he waits till we give him the go ahead to take it.

Roco is getting stronger, more co-ordinated and developing little muscles.
He's getting loads of exercise with some one on one leash time each day to work on manners. We go on hikes, to the dog park and walks around the hood.
He is Mr. Sociable and we haven't found a dog who doesn't like him, although we do think he could be a little less forward.

Roco doesn't lack in the cute department either. Sometimes we think he works us  knowing he can give us the look and we'll cave. He is very affectionate and wants to cuddle any chance he gets. My husband and I joke that we have a bed bug. He would like to sleep with us every night and positions himself in a snuggly position only to have us have and wake him and coax him into his own bed which he does but not without assuming a limp position so he is difficult to move. He's back in our bed in the morning for more cuddles.

 We really got lucky with Roco and we are so grateful to all of you who helped this little guy get from Spain to his new life with us. We love him and we're pretty sure the feeling is mutual.
Our very best wishes to all of you,
Rebecca, Peter, Lucca and Roco