Harry – 1 year old male Cross-Breed

Harry is a 1 year old male Cross-Breed from base of neck to base of tail 22 inches, height from floor to top of shoulder 20 inches, Weight: approx. 20 kg

Reaction to men: With male visitors he can be quite suspicious initially, but if able to greet them, will be friendly, although at times overexcited and jump up and nip at them. However, with some men visiting who are not able to give him a lot of attention (such as tradesmen coming in the house to do a job etc), he can be quite guarding so we put him either outside or behind the baby gate. However, he does then get a lot of barrier frustration and can bark and snarl behind the gate and smash against it. Ideally he needs someone to be with him to reassure him in this situation and he is a bit better.

Reaction to women: Generally fine but does jump and nip a bit due to excitement – we are continuing to work on these behaviours with him.

Reaction to children: Due to some unpredictability around adults and children in general we feel he is not suitable to live with children as he needs to be around experienced owners.

Reaction to visitors in general: He can become anxious with more than just a few visitors, generally it has been manageable – friendlier with women although can be a bit intimidating to people who don’t know him, being so boisterous at times.

Reaction to other dogs: Very friendly, no aggression ever seen, however would not be suitable to live with small dogs or unsociable dogs as he will jump on them wanting to play. Ideally he could live with a playful dog of a similar build.

Reaction to cats: Fine if they are used to dogs – in a house he has been fine previously, it is only if a cat runs away from him he may think it’s a game and chase.

Reaction to any other animals or birds: Wants to chase fast moving small animals at times, not had much experience with him with larger animals, but on a hiking holiday he managed fine walking past sheep, cattle and horses.

Reaction to loud noises: Does not like engines such as lawn mowers, hoovers and rubbish trucks, (will try and attack them but seems to be slowly improving with the hoover), however seems ok with gunshots, planes flying overhead and TV noise.

Reaction to collar/harness: Wears a Halti with the lead – also has a half choke chain collar for walks.

Walks well on lead: Yes generally, although can lunge at things unexpectedly sometimes – and knows how to heel, sometimes he still needs this repeated a bit, much easier using the Halti collar with half choke chain collar

Frequency of barking: Not frequent, except with barrier frustration (behind gates if you have visitors or sometimes in the car for short spells he can bark if he sees something in particular). Generally he is a quiet dog and will just bark if someone turns up.

Food aggression/possessiveness: He has improved with regards to how he takes his meals, sitting and waiting on his bed until we say he can eat – he is occasionally still a bit guarding around some foods so this needs to continue to be worked on with him.

Any special dietary requirements: No – has been having Burns kibble food and we have been getting on well with that.

Grooming requirements: Easy – he has short hair and we give him a bath occasionally with lots of treats and reassurance, and clip his nails with lots of treats to give him for distraction.

Level of shedding: So-so – we use a grooming glove with him and this is fine.

Any health issues: No

Any behavioural issues: Harry is a lovely dog and very clever, but has some unpredictable behaviours and can display some aggressive behaviours. When he can’t do something he wants, or you want him to do something he doesn’t want to do, he can growl and nip. He has never bitten. He can also be guarding around his owners and house when there are visitors (see above). Also, when he plays he can be rough and very boisterous, although there is no malicious intent. He can scratch by jumping up, and he needs something in his mouth a lot as he has not learned how to bite softly, so he can mouth quite hard. Also at times when we have been out with him, he can behave extremely well just sitting and relaxing, watching people go by, but suddenly he can growl or lunge at someone. We are not sure what the trigger is, or the intention. We have been working closely with a behaviourist and he has made a lot of progress in some areas. He is extremely bright and will benefit from further training and possibly agility in the future, but he can be stubborn and this may take some time. He needs to see what’s in it for him, which we have concluded from how obedient he is around his meals.

Any specific needs: Harry needs a home with an experienced dog owner, with no children, preferably with a similar sized well behaved dog.

Additional comments or observations: Harry is a lovely dog when just at home with his family, and although needs an active home, can relax quite well and can be left alone with no problems (although we leave him in the kitchen with baby gate as he doesn’t have the run of the house when alone). He is left alone for up to four hours and doesn’t seem to mind at all. He does not go on furniture and is very loyal. His recall is quite good, but again, if he sees something more exciting will not always come back when told. We don’t generally let him off the lead in public places. He chews a lot, so he has various (very hard, not soft as he will eat them) toys, bones and hooves which he chews. He can do damage to things if he finds something like a shoe that he finds quite tasty, so needs some supervision when he has the run of the house. He seems to be happy with anything from one short walk during the day to a 6 mile hike, as we don’t have a specific walking routine with him. He eats am and pm, and sleeps in the kitchen. He has a crate which he may choose to sleep in, but we leave the door open and he goes in his other bed if he wants as well.

from Dogs for Adoption & Rescue – DogsBlog.com http://bit.ly/2X0SdEF
via IFTTT