Gandalf is a lovely dog who, when managed correctly, is incredibly easy going and very enjoyable. He is beautifully trained, very polite and easy to handle. He travels well in the car, he walks nicely on the lead and is polite and social with dogs he meets out and about on walks. We’ve yet to even hear him bark and he settles well into any environment, be it kennels or a home. He is generally a very content dog who enjoys being with people and will settle in most places. Gandalf has has the same home since he was 10 weeks old but has unfortunately come into rescue because his human dad developed dementia and no longer recognized him or his actions and became increasingly distressed at Gandalf’s presence in the home. Alternatively Gandalf got upset at the change, having things repeatedly taken away from him due to the confusion caused by this horrible disease and became very upset and volatile towards his dad. It was a sad situation but ultimately one that had no resolution and with the relationship between the two very strained it was decided that in Gandalf’s best interests he needed to find a new home.
Gandalf’s main guarding objects are food and toys. He will guard treats from other dogs if they are being given out in a group environment but is happy to share his bed and toys with other dogs. He is not overly volatile about dogs approaching him when he’s eating either which is surprising. One problem he does have is toys. He will guard toys from people and be incredibly reactive if someone tries to take one from him or stroke him when he has one. We believe this has come from having his stuff removed but the simple way to deal with it is to not give him toys. He doesn’t overly play with them or enjoy them; he just guards them. We’ve found without this trigger point he doesn’t guard things at all so since these are avoidable triggers it is best to remove them altogether. He will also guard shoes so these need to be picked up and put away – more reason to tidy up after yourself. That said Gandalf can be distracted out of guarding by using swapping techniques and the rescue are happy to demonstrate and advise accordingly for the remainder of his life.
* For those who don’t know Resource guarding refers to a dog displaying behavior (growling, snapping, etc.) intended to convince other dogs or humans to stay away from a particular treasure or “resource.” The resource can be food, treats, toys, a place (a bed or favorite chair), or occasionally a person. For the most part he is not a bad resource guarder at all and gives a fair amount of warning. It was also noted in his previous home that he did not like his food being taken away. He has not shown evidence of that here and allows us to remove the bowl and pick it up for him so we feel this may have been associated with his old owner rather than a behavior itself. However we would advise against approaching or removing any dogs food whilst they were eating and to simply leave them to it.
Gandalf needs a home that is experienced with resource guarding and happy to continue with the training the rescue has put in place here. Due to his anxiety and fear of children we cannot accept applications from homes with visiting or resident children under 13. He is a sweet boy who loves people and having a belly rub. Gandalf will benefit from a quiet home, he would suit an older active couple to potter around with. Overall Gandalf is beautifully trained. He is fantastic to handle and friendly and social with everyone he meets. He’s a dream dog in a lot of ways and needs a home committed to working through his anxieties and not setting him up to fail by placing him in situations where he is likely to be anxious. We are incredibly confident in a dog free/child free/toy free home he will be the easiest dog in the world. Gandalf is housebroken, crate trained, non destructive in the home and happy to be left for reasonable durations of time.
Gandalf is neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. He will also be subject to a home check and adoption donation.
from Dogs for Adoption & Rescue – DogsBlog.com http://bit.ly/2EzIe1v
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