Ace
Lab mix | male | 1 year Old | 68 Lbs
QUICK FACTS: ✔️ Good with other dogs! ✔️ Okay for beginner dog owner! ✔️ Good in the car! ✔️ Could live in an apartment! ✔️Housebroken! ✔️ Good running buddy!
Ace found his forever home on November 21, 2021!
Updates
Ace wakes up and gets a 20-30 minute walk before breakfast. While I work from home, Ace keeps himself busy playing with toys or chewing on a rawhide bone or Kong. If he doesn’t have a long enough walk in the morning he can get spurts of energy and may occasionally give a little whine letting you know he wants to play, or grab a slipper or shoe or something within reach to get your attention, but is good about swapping it for a toy and eventually settling down and napping. He loves curling up in his fuzzy donut bed and tries sneaking up on the couch when I’m not looking. He doesn’t rip toys up—just chews on them and flips them around like a goofball. I’ve put him in his crate when I have long meetings and I can’t keep an active eye on him. He sometimes whines or barks for 5-10 minutes in the crate before settling down and will then nap without a peep for hours. I’ve been feeding him his meals in his crate with the door open to help him get more comfortable going in it, and it seems to be working, as he’s started to go into his crate on his own to nap with the door open during the day while I work. Other than some playtime whines for attention or a short cry session in his crate, Ace is a quiet dog. I have had people knock on my door, enter my apartment, etc. and Ace won’t bark, he’ll just walk up to sniff and investigate and look for some pets.
After another long evening walk, Ace gets dinner and plays with his toys or naps while I watch TV or get things done around the house. He goes to sleep in his crate around 10/11PM, or sometimes earlier if he’s tired and goes into his crate on his own to lay down. If he doesn’t get enough exercise for the day or is in a playful mood, it may take a little coaxing and some treats to get him in the crate. He is a beautiful sleeper and sleeps through the whole night.
Ace is great with meeting new people. He is usually pretty mellow and just wants to sniff them and get butt scratches, but sometimes if he gets excited, he occasionally will jump his paws up to give you a hug. We tell him “off” and nudge him back to the ground, or ignore him until he has all paws on the ground—same goes for if he jumps his paws up my lap while I’m sitting at my desk and he wants attention or to give you a little kiss.
We have walked past children on our walks and Ace is curious about them and may try to pull toward them like he does with adults looking for pets, but otherwise he has had no exposure children.
Ace is a medium-energy dog. As long as he gets a couple good walks in, he'll play with his toys and nap the rest of the day. He does well on the leash with his collar only or his harness. He may pull a little bit toward people walking past to try and get some pets, or may zig zag to sniff something interesting, but otherwise is not reactive to people or dogs. He will go on alert when he sees a squirrel or duck and may try to run after it if you’re not watching, but gets over it pretty quickly and continues walking. Distracting him with a treat works too. He’s run beautifully next to me on the couple times we have jogged together, so he has good potential for a running buddy.
Ace does very well meeting dogs outdoors, walking on leash with dogs, and playing off leash with dogs outdoors. This video (https://bit.ly/3jRwz31) shows Ace playing off leash with a 5-month-old puppy and a smaller 1-year-old dog. He’s also met a Great Dane and other big dogs on our walks and is a little shy at first, especially if the other dog is very energetic, but politely sniffs and then wants to keep walking, or wants to get pets from the other dog owner. There was one instance when a large golden retriever entered our apartment and the two began growling at each other and Ace snapped at the other dog, who was unharmed, but immediately removed from the apartment. Ace walked very well on leash with the same dog for 30 minutes, so I recommend slow/gated indoor introductions, especially if there is a new dog entering Ace’s home.
He has not had exposure to cats while I’ve been fostering him.
Ace has hopped his front paws up on the kitchen counter a couple times when I wasn’t watching closely, so he’d have to work on that before getting left home alone outside the crate.
Ace knows “Sit” and is starting to get “Lay Down.” He’s eager to learn and is very motivated by treats and praise. He’ll do just about anything for a little piece of boiled chicken. He’s not had any accidents in the house, and even signals sometimes going to the door when he wants to go out, although I’ve found he uses this to his advantage sometimes because he LOVES being outside, rain or shine. We were told Ace has jumped a four-foot fence, but returned when he was called. There was one instance where he slipped out of his collar on our walk when he saw a squirrel, but he did not run away and was more interested in looking up at the squirrel, giving me plenty of time to get his collar back on.
Ace does well in the car, usually just quietly looking out the window or laying down. He’s been a great outdoor patio buddy downtown, and love getting pets from people passing by or laying down to nap on the sidewalk.
Ace is currently taking Doxycyline twice a day for 21 days after showing anaplasma antibodies on his 4DX test. This is our standard rescue protocol even though he is not showing any symptoms.
Ace loves belly rubs and leaning up against you for some love and butt scratches. If he catches you sitting on the ground, he will plop all 70 pounds of himself right in your lap. He has the most beautiful golden eyes and little speckles of white hairs throughout his coat that he looks like a starry night. They found Ace down in Texas chasing chickens, so I wouldn’t recommend him if you’re a chicken farmer, ;) but for everyone else, other than a few minor manners we’re working on, Ace is a very sweet dog and would be a great addition to your family.