Iggy’s Happy Tail

Casey Liut, Iggy’s new mom, answered our questions about how Iggy is fitting in since his adoption in March.

Why Iggy?
I have always had a love for shepherds as I had one growing up. My husband has always had a love for Rottis, so when we read about the  shep/Rotti cross, it perked our interest. After we read his bio, we became really excited—he sounded like such a laid-back giant goofball! He had also been living with a cat, which was a bonus for us as we already have three cats in the house. When we finally got to meet him and see just what a happy-go-lucky, playful dog he was, we were in love! 

We also knew we didn’t want to do the “puppy stage” but wanted a younger dog that could keep up with our busy lifestyle. Iggy’s bio suggested he was the perfect fit.

He has fit in quite well. He has always been very respectful of our cats (we have two senior citizens). Iggy does get bullied by our youngest cat—the cat will block Iggy from going upstairs or will drink from Iggy’s water dish and not allow him near it until he is finished. Iggy is quite content to be the low man on the totem pole and will just cry if the cat is blocking him, so we know to go and move the cat.

Did he make friends with the members of the household and/or neighbourhood?
He has made many friends! He gets along with our friend’s border collie, Tobey, as they are the same age. The two of them rip around my friend’s farm for hours. They go over horse jumps together and continue chasing each other even in the house! Iggy gets groomed by my stepsister and he has made lots of friends at her shop and gets along with everyone he meets. He is quite loved by his aunties and grandparents and is spoiled rotten every time he is with them. My stepsister’s dog and he play well together. He mostly plays, and she tries to herd him, but he doesn’t care!

What’s his favourite place in the house?
I think his favourite place is our living room couch. Every afternoon I come home, and this is where he can be found. He is also quite fond of our bedroom and will lie on the bed at night and watch TV with us.

What is his favourite toy?
Iggy’s all-time favourite toy is his red dog that his foster mom left with him. Although any new toy becomes the instant flavour of the day, he always goes back to this toy, especially at 10:30 at night when he tries to convince you that you do indeed want to play with him and not go to bed!

I will say he does appear to have a favourite outdoor toy—his Wubba Kong. He loves this one most as it has a very distinctive and loud squeak,  and he loves playing fetch with it! It is a more “obnoxious” toy, so it doesn’t come inside the house, as it is also generally slobbery by the time he’s done!

How is his walking?
Iggy has much improved with walking on the leash and goes for two to three walks a day. I did a lot of work with him on the umbilical training and going through the kids’ playground—he picked up quite quickly to follow, as he didn’t know what way we were going and enjoys jumping objects and even going down the slide! I think we will be trying out some agility in the near future! He has also become a great running partner when we can run—stays right beside me and does not try to cut me off! We are starting to wean him off his Gentle Leader (which he quite detests!) and walking with a collar.

Did he pick up any funny habits?
Iggy does like to watch the squirrels and even the birds as they fly overhead, but his ultimate favourite animal to chase is bunnies. You even mention the word “bunna,” and he’s on guard looking for one! He does try to sneak up on them, not realizing they can see the 80 lb dog. But he tries really hard to be quiet and stealthy! I doubt he wants to hurt the “bunnas”—he mostly just likes the fact that they are fun to chase.

Iggy will steal wood from the woodpile to play with at times. I suppose he figures we have created a giant stickpile just for him.

As I said, he is not a fan of his Gentle Leader, likely because it works. He will stick his nose straight in the air when you put it on him. He makes a face that is hard to describe, but you can tell he is not happy about it. Almost like he finds it humiliating to wear it! But once outside, all is forgotten!

Iggy is big on conversation. He used to back-talk a lot! He seems to have gotten over that, though. He still does like to chat, especially about his breakfast! He has learned to speak on command. As well, he is learning to use his “inside voice” and to “ask nicely,” and he does change his volume and tone when you tell him this!

Iggy has just figured out the “roll over” command and now does it with every other possible trick for a treat. There is always a “comment” from Iggy when lying down, and then he will roll over on his own.

His favourite games are fetch and tug-of-war. He will play both for hours at a time! He even helps my nephew practise his lacrosse defence—my nephew gets his stick to cover the ball on the ground and then tries to keep Iggy off the ball. Quite the challenge for him, but Iggy is happy to practise with him!

He is quite the water dog—he has been in my parents’ pool several times! He enjoys my friend’s pond every time we are at her farm (no matter how hard we try to keep him out, he always sneaks a swim in). He has no problems jumping right in and going under water. He has also enjoyed the lake at the cottage, as there is a long sandbar, and he can stroll in and touch the ground for some distance.

Iggy seems to love walking through the park in the afternoon and seeing all the kids running around. I am sure he would love nothing more than to have me let him off the leash to run with them. We came across  a toddler yesterday who was a bit unsure of Iggy but wanted to pet him. I had Iggy lie down, and the child was happy to come up and pet Iggy’s back (Iggy just lay there). The baby then took the leash from my hand and started to walk away, and Iggy was more than happy to follow him! I held on to the other end just in case!

When we were packing to leave for a holiday, we were outside loading the trailer, and Iggy suddenly appeared on the steps looking very upset and guilty. I was just thinking, Hey how did he get out? Then we realized, he went right through the screen door! We couldn’t be mad at him, though. We instantly realized that with his history of being left behind, it was no wonder he went through the screen. He was likely worried he would be left behind again. Poor guy! We just let him hang out in the trailer while we packed. He enjoyed a nice vacation with Grandma and Grandpa while we were away and went to work with Grandpa every day and played with another dog, Jake. Iggy was so tired at the end of the day, Grandpa had to help him into the truck a few times!

He is also a huge fan of belly rubs and getting his grooms. He actually jumps back on the grooming table—something my stepsister tells me no other dog (except for hers) ever does!