I'll start by saying Bogie continues to do great. I have been leaving him out of the crate at night and he sleeps by the side of the bed. Also, yesterday we all left the house and I left him out of the crate for about 2 hours and he was fine. No problems. I was intending to put him in the crate but he was not going in after I tried throwing a few treats in. I could have gotten more food or could have pushed him in but I decided to leave him out. He did well. My dog Miles continues to give Bogie a hard time. He will snarl and bark and Bogie continues to respect this and to stay out of Miles' way.
Today I took Miles and Bogie for their daily walk together. It was early, 6:30 am, and the grass was still slightly wet. Bogie got a smell of something in that morning dew and was all business. He wanted to find the end of that smell and was pulling more than usual. I always make sure to fasten the leash to the D-ring on the collar rather than to the dog tag. With Bogie's long hair I've been doing it by feel, rather than by sight. Well, today my feel was off. After a few pulls Bogie had popped free from the leash and was running into the park after a squirrel. I thought I'd be able to get him as he waited by the tree for the squirrel but no such luck. He was onto another smell. I started calling him and running in the opposite direction (to get him to follow) but that didn't work either. He was having a great time running through the soccer field. Finally a neighbor who lives across from the park had come out to water his lawn (thankfully he was an early riser too) and I asked him to help me. He bent down and called to Bogie...and Bogie came running right into his arms. I was glad to see that he ran to the arms of a stranger! I learned a big lesson today, always look to make sure the leash is securely fastened!
So, with that said, Bogie is becoming more comfortable with us and the neighborhood and with his growing confidence he is pulling more on his walks. He, like most rescue dogs, will need to learn some leash skills in his new home.