Diesel's Box, and Saying Goodbye

[Edit: I jinxed myself! The potential fosters didn't work out. I'll update this post when he absolutely for sure has a new foster home.]

Tomorrow Diesel is going to his new fosters and will be staying there assuming all goes well. They sound like a perfect fit for him! The process has been long, taking 9 and 1/2 weeks to find a potential foster, and I really hope things work out. I have a commitment to Diesel and need to watch out for his best interests and as much as he needs a new foster I'm not about to leave him in a situation I'm not comfortable with. Honestly I think things will go very well and I'm very excited for Diesel! He'll have a great playmate and a lot of room to run. I'm going to miss his wiggly butt bouncing down the stairs every morning!

Pics taken today, click any pic to see it bigger.Compare these pics to when we got him in May!

Here is the final Before & After I put together:

I also wanted to share a couple videos of him learning how to bounce on the box. He's made up many tricks on his own but this time I wanted to specifically shape him to bounce on the box.

For this session I was aiming to mark when he put both front feet in the box, and for any shuffling of his feet in the box with the desired end behavior being to bounce on the box. In the session previous to this, he was rewarded for one foot in the bottom of the box and just starting on two feet in the bottom of the box. No training is perfect and I have a couple mis-marks but he was catching on.



This session was the day after the Part 1 believe it or not, with no sessions or training in between! For this session I was planning to mark shuffling his feet and any motions toward a bounce. Sometimes a plan doesn't matter!





Goodbye Diesel
Diesel, you are a good dog. You are always happy and loving. Your face may ooze drool and make everything from our walls and furniture to the cats and my legs slimy, but it's a handsome face and one that I will surely miss. You got on my nerves and stressed out my dogs and punched my cats in the face, but despite all that I can't help but smile when I think of all your shenanigans and how nothing matters to you but having a good time. Never lose your exuberance for life, sweet boy. Enjoy your next adventure!