The Rocket-dog continued to be a prince, though as he becomes more self-confident his ready "come" response has been flagging (rabbits & deer & squirrels & other dogs to play with holding greater interest, it seems!) & we plan to do some more in depth obedience classes this fall to get that recall hard-wired!  He continues to be sweet & gentle, yet can be very rambunctious in play, & seems very happy & healthy.  He is a wonderful companion, & I feel lucky to have found him, & that YOU found him in the first place!

The Rocket Prince continues to be a model dog in most departments, but, as you had forewarned me!, has lost a few gold stars in the past week, mostly due to the destructive separation anxiety chewing (along with a couple of instances of jumping up onto the counter for food!).  I am now busy training him to like the crate (he is already going into it to  nap voluntarily several times a day),  so that I can take him with me in the car & leave him when I need to, & not have to worry about having a seat to sit down on when I get back!  I am also working on the issue on different fronts- we had our 2nd dog training class this week & we have both been learning a lot about positive teaching techniques.

I find learning how to deal with the separation anxiety issue challenging, but I never lose sight of what a lovely dog Rocket is, & how lucky I am to have found him, with your organization's help.  I feel that he will be an almost perfect field and home companion once we get over this road block, & he is already remarkably good in many other arenas.  Something that will make you & his other caretakers smile is to hear about how curly his tail is now- when I first met him his tail was carried rather low (not tucked under his body, but just low-slung, the way German shepherds usually hold their tails) & I figured that it was just due to his shepherd heritage, but now I understand that it was mostly due to the fact that he was uncertain about his place in the world, for it is now almost as curly as a husky's as he prances up & down the stairs here at home!  He seems to be very happy here, & continues to be very loving & friendly with all people & dogs that he has met.

Please thank & congratulate all of the volunteers for me for working so diligently with Rocket- it makes it way easier for me to take him the rest of the way to realizing his full potential as a consistently happy, self confident, & responsive pup!  He continues to be a remarkably good dog already, & seems to have adapted very happily & quickly to his new life here.

 The thing that I worry about most with him is the classic "separation anxiety"- one bad thing about him seeming so happy here straight away is that he is UNhappy when I am not here!  You had forewarned me, & I have tried to implement some of what has been suggested, but I think THAT is going to be the thing that I am going to have to work at most with him.  I have signed up for a 7 week training course (some group classes with other dogs & some alone) which starts this Friday, with a woman known for her gentle & positive training methods, so I think that this will help us get over this problem.  I have also been doing as much reading as possible on the topic, but anything that you could recommend would also be most welcome.

As for a name, I think that he might be" The Rocket Prince"..!  Rocket reminded me of someone, & I finally remembered one of my fav stories when I was a child was about a little girl who could not have a dog of her own, but she was given a magic carpet with a dog tapestry on it, & at night the dog would come out of the rug & become real!  I am pretty sure that the dog's name was "Prince" & I think that the illustration looked almost exactly like Rocket! I need to look through my books & see if I can find it...