PETEY BOY HAS A BITE HISTORY.

What shall we do with a drunken sailor,

What shall we do with a drunken sailor,

What shall we do with a drunken sailor,

Early in the morning?

Wey–hey and up she rises,

Wey–hey and up she rises,

Wey–hey and up she rises,

Early in the morning!

Just in time for the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the Hudson River, Petey Boy the pirate sailed back into FBRN. This scalawag with an eye patch is on his second voyage through the loving arms of FBRN. Petey was originally surrendered due to his owner’s financial situation. He is healthy and generally happy (aside from some mild separation anxiety) and was quickly adopted to a wonderful family. The good news: his adoptive owners crate trained him in just a few weeks!

The bad news: he had to be returned because he bit the Frenchie in the new house, then he bit his new owner, finally he nipped a child who was taking a toy from him. Uh-oh. Petey came back to the same FBRN foster family, and his foster mom put in a call to a wonderful FBRN trainer. The trainer said that Petey’s combination of dominance and anxiety made him want to control the situation. She recommended Jan Fennell’s book “The Dog Listener” as a good place to begin understanding him.

Petey needs a confident leader and a quiet environment. Once he has those necessities out of the way and understands his place in the pack, he gets on with his dreams of doggie treasures: treats, toys and toasting by the fire. He lives in a mixed pack of humans and animals. He is 100% housebroken! He does fine with submissive dogs, savvy cats and even a guinea pig (with plenty of supervision for the guinea pig’s sake!) However, the parrot is straight out. And the little kids… Well… they move quickly, shriek loudly and generally make Petey nervous. Petey wants to be above them in the pack pecking order, and doubly so for their little friends that come over. So all things considered, adults only or quiet teens might work out best for Petey’s new home. Petey looks for opportunities to control his environment (e.g. he barks when Mom and Dad hug or kiss), so it is very important for his new owners to provide consistent, calm leadership.

Health-wise Petey is a gem. He has lived a good life and it shows: a beautiful coat, nice teeth and a bit on the chubby side. While his pudge does give him a bit of a seaman’s rolling gait, he doesn’t let that stop him from his daily walks to his favorite ports of call. He’s well suited to brisk walks round the neighborhood, and while he’d love to stop and gaze longingly at the little vizsla on the corner, he keeps right up on a mile or two per day. Until his weight is better controlled with diet and exercise, his new owners will need to be extra cautious that he doesn’t overheat.

Like most dogs, Petey barks when he is excited or scared. So he is neither silent nor incessant in his barking. House or apartment dwellers who understand that any dog barks occasionally would not be bothered by his doggie sounds. Similarly he could be perfectly happy with leash walks and visits to the dog park, though his own fenced yard would of course be paradise. He does fine with working folks with a midday potty break. A stay-at-home person may be a little too active for him. He is learning to come to the office with Mom or Dad, so that may be a possibility too.

His original owners contacted us after his return to FBRN to let us know about an important incident in Petey’s life. He was once in a room where the bathroom above flooded and the ceiling fan crashed down near him. Petey was understandably terrified and they invested in training to help him overcome his fear of ceiling fans. At this point, he does fine when the fan is off, but barks wildly when it is turned on.

Here is what Petey’s foster mom has to say, “Owners need to be experienced with dominant dogs. Petey needs a calm quiet home with no questions that the humans are the Alphas in the pack. He would be ok with kids over 12 who are calm and quiet. He is nervous around new people so a house with lots of visitors or noisy activity would be stressful for him. In our house, we use Jan Fennell's techniques to assure the dogs that we are the pack leaders. Petey tries to dominate the lesser member of the pack: the kids, dogs and cats. In this case, the cats ignore him, the dogs are submissive, and the kids know to give him the right signals. So it works well. He does try to mount and jump up on our four-year-old son. So that combined with his bite history makes me say no little kids.

But I hate to emphasize that, because on a daily basis Petey is a cream puff. He lays in front of the fire, or on the couch next to you (when invited) and just soaks up all the love you give him. He enjoys his walks and a daily wrassling match with the other dog. But once that is over, he wants to nap. (He loves his toys but he gets so excited about them we have to monitor him with them. So we use them as a reward.) Petey Boy will make a wonderful companion for a strong leader who wants to share his/her life with a dog.”

Are you looking for a seadog to be your first mate? Petey Boy the pirate needs an experienced captain to keep him ship-shape and Bristol fashion. If you are full of love and ready for adventure, set sail for the Hudson because Petey Boy won’t be shipped, me hearties!