Here's a quick overview of how Governor is doing now. Apologies for repeating some of the things I said in my first post but it's not unusual for things to change as dogs settle in so I thought it was all worth repeating (and adding to) ...If you want THE most loyal and affectionate, cuddly boy then Governor is for you! He wants nothing more than to be with you and to love you, but not in a clingy way. He doesn't bother following me upstairs during the day time now (too much effort for a hippo!
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) and is perfectly happy pottering around outside alone in the garden. So he's a wonderful mix of super affectionate but happy in his own skin too. His "happy place" though is snuggled right into you on the sofa or on the floor ... he'll flop backwards into your arms and lie cradled like a baby, just gazing into your eyes with so much love 
Governor is absolutely fine to be left at home. The longest we've left him is 2 hours (and we worked up to that, of course) and when you come home he is fast asleep and nothing has been touched.
He loves everyone he has met, but so politely. Our very elderly friend has been over a few times, as have our neighbour's children (youngest is 10) and he's behaved so perfectly. The one and only time we've seen him jump up is when we had a visit from a much younger chap than we are, and Governor was simply beyond thrilled to meet him. But he wasn't "over the top" at all and got down / responded as soon as he was told to get off. I suspect his previous owner who passed away might have been of a similar age, so our visitor perhaps reminded Governor of him?
We'll never know. But I can safely say that we have zero concerns about visitors receiving anything other than a very friendly welcome.Governor continues to travel well in the car. He does now get a bit excited when he notices we're heading on the route to his favourite walk ... at which point we get serenaded with a "song" (although some work is required on his pitch I think!
) The countryside remains absolutely baffling for Governor, bless him. He's not remotely interested in or bothered by loud cars, heavy traffic, trains, bin lorries ... all the urban sounds just roll off him. But the countryside is all evidently new to him ... a pile of logs, tree branches waving in the wind, birds and small critters in hedges, water (more of that in a minute) all needs thoroughly investigating! On these occasions you'll see the Bulldog come out, when he plants himself firmly and insists we have to go take a good look! Once he's had a good look at it then he's perfectly happy to stroll on.
Water ... oh my word!! You have to wonder whether Governor has ever been in water before as he is totally fascinated by it! In his first week with us he was quite worried by it and wouldn't even walk through a shallow puddle (where has this boy been in the UK not to have been used to puddles!
) but he slowly realised they were safe, and then the fascination began! He's baffled by the ripples when he dips his paw in and fascinated by his reflection (or perhaps just admiring himself; he's a handsome boy after all)! We took him to a secure field at the weekend and much to his delight there was a huge and very big muddy puddle right in the middle of it. Cue the full hour being spent solely in the puddle, chasing the ripples around and me having to wade in to get him out at the end! ...Around the village Governor still walks on a loose lead 98% of the time, with the occasional spurt of energy if e.g. a small bird flies out of a hedge. On our countryside walks he is much more excited, because it's all still so new to him, so he can be quite strong on the lead there. That said, I am very slight and not at all strong and can manage him fine, but it's important to say that he can be a strong boy when he wants to be.
We've not had to deal with any off lead dogs charging into Governor's face yet but he's remained a steady Eddie with dogs walking past. He is happy to sit facing you and with his back to dogs passing by at very close quarters, happily taking treats, and I have also just walked him on past other dogs without stopping too. He definitely doesn't want any trouble ... we came nose to nose with a dog on the other side of a hedge (which I hadn't spotted, so was just letting Governor sniff that spot on the hedge) and when the other dog barked Governor moved on very quickly! He just wanted to get away and didn't respond at all.
This boy loves, loves, loves his food!! He is not remotely fussy and hasn't declined anything he's been offered yet. I think the day he declines anything we'll need to take his pulse! He does eat too quickly though so we feed him in a "Slow Down Swirl Bowl" which at least makes his meal last at least, ooh ... 5 mins! Here he is enjoying a bit of peanut butter smeared on a concave Licky Mat ...
Governor fits in to home life so easily, bless him. He loves his walks and will happily walk as long as you want (and as often as you want!) but is equally happy to snooze on the sofa and have just one shortish walk a day if necessary. He's very good at chilling and incredibly undemanding.
We adore this boy and would adopt him in a heartbeat if our circumstances allowed. He has so much to give and just needs a family or person to help him learn and adjust to new things in life (and he's a quick learner) and to love him back as much as he will love them. Whoever is lucky enough to have Governor join their family will be so very, very lucky!
And finally, here is Governor, doing what he does so well and assuming the position he seems to take in almost all of my photos of him ... snoozing!
