House Guest

So, over this weekend we hosted 5 twenty-somethings as mentioned in the post below. And it was a very fun time. After they left I must have been suffering from a variation of the empty nest syndrome because I immediately went to the shelter and brought a dog home for an overnight stay. As CornyT requested, I found a well behaved dog with a good gastro-intestinal trac- last time I brought home a dog as farty as an 80 year-old grandpa. Drake, a one-year old rough-collie mix, was an excellent house guest. He is a great dog who is just a little shy and anxious when confronting new situations. This was first evidenced when we got to the car. He immediately layed down by the open door, refusing to jump inside. It took a LOT of persuading with treats and some gentle pushing to actually get him in the car. In fact, he was reluctant both times we got into the car. Once he was in the car he was ok, although he got out of the seat belt pretty easily and stood up and got jostled around. At home he did not have any potty accidents and enjoyed playing with a stuffed toy and going for a long walk around the neighborhood. He was good on the walk and only showed mild interest in other dogs that passed by. He only barked once when a man on a bike "walking" his dog went by us. When we went to potty in the backyard at night he seemed very fearful of going on the side of the house until I coaxed him in an excited voice to follow me to the side door. He seemed to have little interest in our cat and did not want to walk by the room where she was sleeping. I am not sure if it is because that was down a dark hallway or because he could smell Livia. We thought that was strange behavior. All in all he spent the evening curled up on the floor by the couch next to us. He tried to get up on the couch once or twice but we corrected him and he sat nicely on the floor. The only really naughty behavior I noticed was when I placed a small wallet on an end table he picked it up with his mouth and dropped it on the floor. Though, no counter surfing or interest in food we snacked on. He did get a little anxious with TV and kitchen noises when he first heard them but he would quickly settle down and was calm most of the night. He is so sweet and so people oriented that I think he will be a great dog for someone who is patient and willing to work with him to get over his fears.