We renamed him Rioja, call him ‘Rio’ for short, after a region in Spain famous (well, with me) for wines. He is quite possibly the best dog ever. He learned his commands (sit, stay, come, this way, and wait) in a month or two. He learned how to walk on a leash, in front of me, without pulling, in about 5 months. Most of this was accomplished without using food as a reward.
We trained him that the cat was part of our pack and not a target. It was difficult training, but he got it. They play together now.
He also loves our children. We have two. Josie (8) and Wyatt (6)
We’re also training him to be a running companion. Both my wife and I run, and we spent a lot of time working with him on a leash, and running with us. He’s made such great progress, but we haven’t had him out for about a month due to the super cold weather we’ve been having. We’ll be right back at it once it gets warmer.
He’s also excellent at travelling. We took him to my in-laws’ house in November. It’s a 750 mile trip one way (we’re in NJ, they’re in SC). Rio just laid down on the floor and slept most of the way, only waking up to let us know when he had to go out. Seriously, best dog ever. We are so lucky to have him.
The Wolfe family, New Jersey