Our "little man" is a mighty mutt who's a mix of eight breeds (about half of his DNA is Siberian Husky and Mountain Cur). We believe he was malnourished and ill when the shelter first took him, and it temporarily stunted his growth. He was projected to max out at 55 pounds when we adopted him at 15 weeks. Now it looks more likely he'll be between 80-90 pounds. We never had a dog that large before!
Right now is a trying time, but I'm reminding myself that eleven years ago we had a puppy who was the same age, but even more challenging, and he turned out to be a wonderful dog.
This guys is incredibly curious and soooo clever. He wanted a piece of plastic wrap he found on the floor. I took it from him and pocketed it. He later hopped up on the couch and appeared to snuggle. It was a ploy to pickpocket me! XD
It feels like having a large destructive furry toddler—including our house looking a bit trashed and planning the day around naps. I feel like I'm failing to train him (though I know his hormonal distractedness will pass), but I'm trying to appreciate this time as much as parts of it exhaust me.
We had a bullyXherder mix before. He was only 30 pounds at this age when we adopted him (maxed out at 45 as an adult), but he was so much more work—and not just because we hadn't owned larger dogs together yet. He hadn't been well-socialized (the rescue got his litter/mother when they were older) and was not crate-trained when we took him in, but had severe social anxiety and was an adept counter-surfer who took out seven loaves of bread and three cordless phones. He was also prey-driven and went after our cat
He turned out to be a wonderful dog and my best hiking buddy. I try to remember that as we raise this kid. He can be a stinker, but he's overall an outgoing pup. Given it's winter-time and more difficult to find outdoor activities that have other dogs, it's been more of a challenge getting him the stimulation/socialization he needs. I'm hoping to reset our routine over this holiday to get him out more.
Nice story!
We were in the Altadena fire zone. My wife evacuated far south, staying near work. Our foster and I went just down into Los Angeles to stay with a friend. We confirmed that he likes to chase cats but he got along nicely with her two foster chihuahuas. He also accepted being in a crate most of the day as long as short walks happened periodically. On Thursday he got called back so he could be part of a group of shelter dogs heading to a partner shelter in San Diego. While dropping him off it became apparent my shelter needed help with the flood of donations. The community outpouring of support was awesome. After two days they were overwhelmed and started sending donations to a local partner shelter. I stayed for a third day because residents were still streaming in for supply pickups.
Such a great mindset, this dog (and the previous) are lucky to have such a patient owner. For socializing, there’s a local dog trainer who does monthly doggie social hours in an indoor horse arena. Maybe a trainer in your area does something similar?