Pastimes
Bentley is an old man now, so we’re well passed all the puppy stuff! I can tell you that it wasn’t until we had him fixed (@ 1.5 y/o) and until he turned about 3 years old that he completely transformed into the PERFECT dog. He ate everything and marked his “territory” on everything until we had him fixed and he graduated from the chewing phase. He literally drove me mad with his little tinkle here and there every day! He’s still very territorial, just only marks outside now. He’s very protective of my husband and I, but especially our daughters (5, 12 & 14). He doesn’t like when we get loud, as in a hyped conversation (we’re an Irish/Italian household lol) so if we are telling a story or talking about anything that makes us become animated or excited (adults and kids) he will bark out of concern (or maybe just joining in on the excitement, I wish I knew lol). We were young and had not raised our own dog when we got Bentley, so I think we should have socialized him more, but he is friendly with all of the people and animals that we are close with, strangers (people and dogs alike) not so much. We have a cat (she’s 4) and they live harmoniously. We did just recently add a puppy to the household and he’s been very tolerant so far (only been about a week or so) but the puppy is a big breed so that’s part of his annoyance I think. He definitely has “little dog syndrome”. He’s got a bigger and scarier bark then one would think, and will break relentlessly if he’s unsure about who’s at the door. And behind a closed door he sounds like a pit bull. He doesn’t like to back down when he feels like his area or people are in danger. He’s a mamas boy for sure, but he can hear dad’s car from down the road and goes crazy until he gets a hello from him after he’s been away from home. He was raised around babies, never had any issues with biting or playing too rough. Now he’s a lazy old guy, with bouts of the zoomies still a couple times a day and would really just love to lay in the sun all day. He sheds SOOO much, (hes black/a little white and short haired) but is a great boy when it comes to grooming. He’s always been good in the bath, even the kids can easily bathe him, and is good for brushing and nail clipping too, but mom does that. He hasn’t had to be leashed in years (unless required) because he responds so very well to commands. He knows “sit”, “paw”, “lay down” and he knows how to roll over but we skip that one now that he’s gotten older. He knows “heel” or “here” and will walk right beside us. He had shown us to be the most loyal, loving dog! We can’t imagine life without him.
2 years, 5 months ago