Hunter
german Shepherd Mix | Male | 4 Years Old | 56 Lbs
QUICK FACTS: ✔️ Good with other dogs and cats! ✔️ Crate trained! ✔️ Can free roam when alone! ✔️ Good in car! ✔️ Walks well on leash! ❌ Needs an experienced family ❌ Some resource guarding
Updates
Hunter found his forever parents on September 9, 2020!
Pupdate 5:
Hello Everyone!
Sorry it's been so long since I checked in. A lot of stuff has happened in the last couple of weeks and I've just been so busy being a Goodboy!
My foster mom did a transport for the rescue. She helped save 16 dogs from Louisiana. I had to stay home with my human brothers for two days! I did really good, I even got to see my human Grandma and some other friends of my foster mom's that stopped by to check on everyone. I behaved really well with this hiccup in my routine. I barked a lot, but I didn't tear anything up or make a mess or jump on anyone. I was really happy when my Mom came home, but I still stayed on my best behavior when I saw her and Dad.
After my Mom and Dad got back, they got a new couch. I was a little disoriented when I first came out of my room and saw it, but I pulled myself together and we (myself and my four-legged foster siblings) are adjusting our positions in the new arrangement. I've decided that the "odd-oh-man" is my new throne. I like to climb up on it and observe things a couple times a day. I'm not sure about climbing up to snuggle Mom yet, her spot rocks sometimes and that makes me nervous.
I got to see Dr. Wehking again, he's the really tall guy that pops my back and hips every once in a while. I don't NEED to see him every week, really only if I overdo things or seem to be getting stiff. But, since my Mom has easy access to him, I'll get to see him almost every week until my Furever Family picks me up.
I met a couple if guys last week. I barked at them when they got out of their car and walked up to me. But they didn't care. They let me sniff them, then they pet me, then I showed them my bin of tennis balls. We played ball for a whole hour while they talked to Mom about what I do every day. When they left, Mom told me I was the Gooddest Boy and she was very proud of me. I'm not sure what I did, I was just being me, but I got extra belly rubs - so I'll try to remember to do the same thing next time I meet new people.
My Mom says my Furever Family is out there still. Maybe they're waiting for their Home Visit, or for their application to be processed, but they'll find me soon. As much as I love it here, I really hope they find their way to me. I want to show off for other people too!
Hunter
PUPDATE 4:
Hello again!
My foster mom wants me to reach out again. It seems there's some potential confusion on my anxiety with new people. So I'm going to try to clear things up.
I am not aggressive, I'm anxious. Nobody knows where I was, or for how long, before the shelter people found me. It wasn't great though, we know that. I used to get loud and jumpy and try to be intimidating when I met new people, but I'm getting much better at saying "Hello" nicely. I'm never angry, I just didn't have very good social skills until my foster mommy taught me some. Now I'm very good at walking up and sniffing people. If I'm not interested in being petted, I just walk away, but that's rarely the case anymore.
Being in the shelter for as long as I was was very frustrating for me. Now that I'm living in a house with routine and a loving family, I've really calmed down. My foster mommy knew I just needed some time to decompress. She says I'm super smart, because it only takes a time or two to teach me new things. And a lot of things I figured out for myself. I know lots of commands: sit, shake, stay (I'm still working on long stays, I just love my family so much), go to bed, go to your room, down, ball, all done.... I also go potty in the same spot in the yard, so I'm easy to clean up after.
Having a routine makes me feel good, I don't worry about so much now. If my routine gets adjusted a little now and then, I can roll with that too.
I can't wait to meet my forever family, I have a lot of love to give my people. I can't wait to show off my smarts, athletic tennis ball catching skills and how good I am at chilling while we watch TV!
Love,
Hunter
PUPDATE 3:
Hello everyone!
I just wanted to check in with everyone. I'm such a good boy, my foster mom keeps saying so.
I love to play ball, but I also love to just hang out in the house and watch TV with everyone. I sleep on my dog bed every night, but I have to get about 30 minutes of snuggles with my mom on the couch first. I like to be under the blanket and snore/groan to get mom to rub my back.
My mom doesn't know why I haven't had any applications yet, she says I'm as close to perfect as a dog can get: I only go potty outside. I try to get along with everyone and have made HUGE strides in greeting people more quietly. I used to get very anxious around new people, I didn't know how to say Hello correctly, but I learned from my mom that I just have to be quiet and people will say Hello to me and pet me because I'm so cute. I can be kenneled or left to roam free when no one is home, but I do love mom's socks, so she keeps those away from me. Other than occasionally stealing a sock or two if one of the human boys leaves them lay around - I don't take things that aren't mine. I mostly ignore the cat, unless she pesters me too much, then I go whine to mom for help. (Mom says everyone is scared of that cat.) I get along with most of the dogs here (there's 6 besides me), just LeRoy is a bit annoying to me and me to him, so mom just keeps us separate from each other. I also walk very well on a leash, I prefer a harness to a collar, but I don't use my harness to pull my people around.
I've been the gooddest boy every time I've gone to the vet. And I've gone a lot since I got here - just to make sure I am healthy enough to be adopted, which I am. My pelvis is completely healed and the joint supplement my mom gives me seems to be helping, along with regular exercise and a comfy bed. My upset tummy has also settled down with routine and love from my foster family.
I would love to meet my Furever Family and show them what a good boy I am. I'm really funny too - I like to talk to my mom when she's ignoring me or something (the cat) is annoying me. I also yammer when I have to go outside, or if it's time to play ball.
Love,
Hunter
Pupdate 2:
Hello friends!
I went to work, she works at a vet clinic, with my foster mom today. I met some really nice people who said I am very handsome. One of the people I met is a chiropractor? I'm not sure what that means, but he was really tall and at first I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do.
He poked around on my back with his hands after he watched me run around for a minute. Then he used some kind of clicky thing to pop some spots along my back. I didn't really know what to do, so I kept trying to spin around and look at him. My mommy kept turning me around to face her so the chiropractor could do more popping. Eventually I just laid on the floor because he had more work to do. He said that made it easier anyway.
After he was done, I felt weird, so I shook out the last of the kinks and pranced around. My hunch in my back is gone and I am moving better than I was before he popped me. I was feeling just fine before I met the chiropractor, but I'm feeling even better now! I even gave the guy hugs because he made me feel so much better!
My mom says we can go see him again maybe next week, or as much as I need while I stay with her. I think I'd like to see a chiropractor after I find my forever home too. It makes me feel like a puppy again!
I was a really good boy today, my mommy says so. I'm going to get an extra special treat tonight for being so nice to the people I met today.
Love,
Hunter
PUPDATE 1:
Hunter gets up around 5 or 6am to play 10 minutes of fetch with his tennis balls outside. About an hour after that he has breakfast and another walk to go potty. If we are not home, he spends the day in his room with some toys. He was only destructive to his bed one day. He can also be kenneled while his people are gone.
He gets a walk to potty mid-day and depending on weather, another game of Fetch an hour after dinner (dinner around 5 or 6pm). He rotates sleeping on a dog bed loose in the house and kenneled. He doesn't get along with one of my resident dogs, so we rotate the two of them.
Hunter needs space, time and slow intros to new people, especially men. He becomes very attached to a person and feels protective of them, even with people he knows. He has gotten in between myself and my boyfriend on occasion. He doesn't try to bite, just gets very loud and jumpy. He's shown some mistrust and hesitation with some other people he has met, but when away from me is fine.
He walks well on a leash. Hunter needs a routine, right now it's playing ball early morning and late evening when the temperature is tolerable. He will play ball until his leg falls off but is also good at regulating himself when his leg bothers him or he is tired.
He was found as a stray in Indiana in November. He'd fractured his pelvis before the shelter took him in. He has had multiple xr-ays and every vet, including an orthopedic surgeon at MVS agree it's healed and there's no surgical need at this time. He will have a strange gait and will need to be monitored for pain management.
Joint supplements and regular exercise along with his prescription food are a must for this guy. He's currently on Dasuquin Advanced for joints and Royal Canin GI Low Fat prescription food.
He gets along with most dogs, is best friends with my 1-year old Shepherd, Fred. He will and has challenged 2 of my other resident dogs as they are more alpha. There have been a couple of scuffles, but once everyone is separated and has had time to chill out, they can be out with each other.
Hunter mostly ignores the cats. Occasionally, he shows some interest in chasing them, but no aggression.
He likes to steal socks but hasn't taken anything else that isn't his.
We leave him loose in the laundry room, with the kennel door open. He is free to roam the room and choose between the dog bed and his kennel. Hunter does get a handful of toys to occupy him.
Hunter is a total love. Once he knows you're his person, he will show you how much he loves you and will work to impress you all day every day. He has started coming up on the couch every night for snuggles before bed. He likes to nose under the blanket and snore for about 30min before getting down and going to his bed.
If he and my resident dog, LeRoy, would get over themselves and get along - I would have kept Hunter. He's never gone potty in my house, he knows multiple commands and does his best for his person. He's such a love.