Kibo
Cur/Doberman Pinscher Mix | Female | 1 year Old | 38 Lbs
QUICK FACTS: ✔️ Good with other dogs! ✔️ Good with kids! ✔️ Housebroken! ✔️ Good in car! ✔️ Good running buddy!
❌ Some separation anxiety
Updates
Officially adopted August 1, 2021!
PUPDATE 2
Kibo continues to do great... She has mastered the art of sniffing the breeze out of a car window, and she is getting better at playing fetch (actually bringing the ball back!) And tug of war. She has had some great burnout love-fest play sessions with other well-matched pups.
Since Fetch dogs aren't allowed to go to the dog park while in foster care, we have found nearby grassy wildlife areas as great places to explore. Kibo does great staying close to her human while bunny hop bouncing through tall grasses and tiring herself out.
Having lots of toys around like elk antler, Nylabones, and milk jugs has helped her cut back on unwanted chewing. She still yelps when her human leaves, but is calming down within a few minutes.
Kibo and her foster have also been working hard on sleeping in later! If she's had good exercise in the past day or two, Kibo has been sleeping in till 6:30 or 7:00 - a welcome shift from 5:30.
PUPDATE 1
When Kibo came up from Louisiana after being picked up as a stray, she was a sweet and gentle underweight 33 lb, 13 month old pup who just wanted to lean into your legs and get snuggles and belly rubs. Since then she has come out of her shell and has been wonderful to watch her personality and muscles grow! Depending on how much exercise she's had the day before, Kibo will wake up (and probably rouse you too) around 5:30-6:30 am, but gets fed no earlier than 6:00 am. After that, she's happy to go for a walk/run or just snooze off the breakfast for a few hours as you finish waking up. From there, she's content to snooze, chew, follow you around, and take the occasional snuggle as you go about your day. Dinner is no earlier than 6 pm and may get a burst of evening energy that needs to be burned off with a walk or play session. Then she's tired, she's happy to snooze by your feet for snuggles or off on her bed. Kibo is generally pretty quiet, but when she has something to say, she will let out a few "woofs", up to a handful of times per day. Things that seem to trigger this are people walking past the screen door, needing to go potty, and the odd thing I can't even hear.
Kibo loves to soak in the attention of almost every new human she meets, inside or outside the house and easily works a room with her charms. Have I mentioned she’s one of the sweetest, cutest stinking dogs I’ve ever met? Honest to God melt your heart with that face and that stubbly little tail wag.
She has been nothing but sweet with the several young kids and an infant that she has met.
Kibo is a fairly high energy dog, especially now that her weight is up to normal. She needs a lot of exercise, so a single owner should be very active, or have the space and ability to get her tired! With ample exercise, I think she could be happy in an apartment. She loves running with her human and keeps a good pace, sometimes pulling you along if her energy is up. She’s also highly distractable by all the bunnies and squirrels in the city! She really does well with a run every other day, and likewise I expect the dog park will be one of her favorite places to get dog tired.
Kibo has met one other dog in her house, and after a quick adjustment did well being submissive to a lab mix that was about 10 lbs bigger than her. She is not possessive of chew treats or toys and has happily shared water bowls with other dogs. She doesn’t seem jealous at all of other dogs getting attention from her foster human. She has not been tested during feeding time though, so best to proceed with caution when feeding with another dog around.
Unfortunately, her foster home does not have cats.
Being left alone is one area where Kibo still needs help. She has some mild separation anxiety that results in 5-15 minutes of whining and occasional yelping after you leave the house. Due to the pandemic and her foster working from home, we’ve only had limited opportunities to work on leaving her alone, either in a crate or a gated off room for up to two hours. By the time we return, she has always been settled. Due to this, if you need to leave Kibo alone a lot and have poor sound insulation, she might not be the best fit in an apartment! Be prepared to gradually work up to 9-hour absences and taking reasonable dog-proofing precautions for any rooms you leave her alone in, as she will chew on and potentially try to eat non-food items that grab her attention.
This dog also loves to chew! Make sure you keep a healthy supply of bones & toys so she always has something more interesting than the things she shouldn’t chew. Also know that Kibo has medium high energy and needs to be exercised accordingly to keep her sweet and tired. I think regular dog park visits or a big backyard will be a game changer for giving her the exercise she needs. When visiting other people's house, expect Kibo to want to pull you around on her leash as she does a house inspection.
It’s been a true joy fostering Kibo and I came within a whisker of adopting her myself. Alas, the time is not quite right for me and I know you’re going to love this goober as much as I do.