Shaggy
Dutch shepherd Mix | male | 3 years Old | 81 Lbs
QUICK FACTS: ✔️ Good with submissive dogs! ✔️ Crate trained! ✔️ Housebroken! ✔️ Can free roam when alone! ✔️ Good in car!
✔️ Slow intros to new dogs! ❌ Working on leash manners! ❌ No young kids! ❌ Needs experienced owner!
Updates
Shaggy found his people on December 22, 2020!
PUPDATE 2
Shaggy made a friend this past weekend! He had a playdate with Bennet - a submissive ~35 lb dog outside while leashed. He sniffed slowly while outside to get accustomed to the new smells, and after a slow introduction, the two dogs happily explored the yard together.
Shaggy would do fine with another submissive dog given enough time to adjust to another pup in his life!
PUPDATE 1
Shaggy waits patiently in his kennel until his family lets him out between 7am-9am, and goes outside for a short 15-20 min walk around the block to do his business. After coming back in, he eats breakfast, and hangs around the apartment all day while his humans work from home. He naps on the couch for most of the morning, but gets restless as the afternoon wears on. His humans will give his toys/bones/puzzle feeders to play with, to keep him entertained until the workday is over. Between 5pm-6pm, Shaggy will go outside for a longer 30-45 min walk, and eat dinner when he gets back in. He's content to lay around with his humans for the rest of the evening, before going out once more before bed.
Shaggy does fine meeting new people, but typically isn't too interested in them. He'll sniff, and give a few licks, but is fairly independent. He can get riled up, both inside and outside of the apartment, and when he does can become mouthy/nip at his humans in his excitement. He's never actually been around small kids, but based on his interactions with grown humans, and the casual nipping we've known him to do, I think he would be a bad match for anyone with small kids.
He has medium energy levels. Shaggy walks 2-5 miles a day, and is perfectly content with that. He's run several miles at a time with his owners and had a blast. His leash manners are not great, and he will pull on the leash if he sees what he considers prey (i.e. cats, squirrels, rabbits) or other dogs. We've used a prong collar and harness with Shaggy, which have both helped him pull less on the leash.
Shaggy can be reactive towards other dogs. He gets excited when he sees them (barking, growling), and doesn't know how to behave himself right away. After slow introductions, he's been able to take several long walks side by side with another large dog. Shaggy has growled at a dog and become territorial when inside a small apartment.
He has viewed several cats as prey, and has tried chasing them while inside the house.
Shaggy is fine when left alone for several hours at a time. He mostly sleeps on the couch, and has never chewed anything he shouldn't have or relieved himself when left alone.
Shaggy is a great dog who needs a family that's willing to be patient and firm with him and earn his trust and affection. He will require someone who can be consistent with him and help provide some additional training on leash behavior, dog interactions, and mouth manners. He's shown he has the capacity to learn, and we've found varying success with treats/different foods as motivators.