This is the look that the collective canine population in the household give us they watch Herbie not only being allowed to beg at the table, but actively encouraged to do so. While this may seem like an blatant inconsistency, there is method in our apparent madness. Firstly, when he arrived there is no way that Herbie could have stood on his beck legs to beg. The fact that his legs have strengthened so they will now support him is wonderful, and we hope by encouraging him to stand on them and get tidbits of food will help to strengthen his legs further and this will mean he can do more, and as he does more so he will strengthen and hopefully the virtuous cycle will continue. The other reason that we encourage him is to try to show him that he can engage with us. Being blind and deaf, he spends much of his time in his own world, however it would be nice to think that he learned how to get attention. It would also be ideal if he was to learn to bark when he needed help – however at the moment he saves his barking for things that are apparent only to him. He is very funny when he barks as his front legs lift off the ground.
His improvement continues to be significant. He can now get out the door in the kitchen, and while the first couple of times he clambered up, now, like the back door, he does little bunny hops to get over it.