Our volunteer says it all:

“Kai is the most glorious boy, and as his owner’s illness gets worse she feels she’s letting him down, and as she feels less able she also feels more protective of and anxious for him, which amplifies the few faults he has. I feel that most of his problem is that, as his owner is less able, he’s getting bored and making up his own fun.  He does bark, but it’s not an especially big bark (Tasha’s is bigger) and it’s from excitement and frustration rather than any malice.

It turns out that although he’ll bark at eg. the postman (dog magic), he also recognises regular delivery drivers and will happily greet them at the front gate – several of them have befriended him and can interact with him. When I arrived he did bark, but he wasn’t showing  signs of aggression.  As I entered the room where he was, he continued barking in between retrieving treats his mum threw for him.  I just spoke to him calmly and sat down, he was fascinated by my back-pack. Now that he’d realised my pack was interesting he was very curious.  Brave enough to approach me, but did the bark/lunge/snap that pups do when they’re playing.  Alternated with burying his head in my pack to see what else I had. So very close to me and inquisitive but not totally confident.  He soon realised that I now had treats he could eat and was happy to work for me (sit/paw/down/…), he was very gentle taking treats but still did the bark/lunge/snap when he felt out of his depth.  No real aggression, just letting me know what was uncomfortable.  Since I had limited time I might have pushed a bit too quickly.

We talked about what he’s like to walk – he walks with a harness and a front mounted lead.  His mum says he’s reactive with dogs he meets on walks.  Apparently he’s been roughed up and bitten (tho’ not badly) by a few dogs on walks.  There’s a square area 10 yards from her house, I suggested she walk him there and I’d get Tasha from the car.  When I got back with Tasha he was walking nicely enough with mum, but as soon as he spotted Tasha he went into an exaggerated form of the puppy bark/lunge/snap which increased as we got nearer, but with no real malice or intent.  It’s hard to work out in such a short walk whether Kai feels he’s protecting himself or protecting mum.

When we returned to the house he wasn’t as barky and settled quickly.  I sat on the floor to see what he would do.  He was happy to approach and play and eventually we rough-housed a bit on the floor.  By now we were mates and he cheerfully let me touch him anywhere, he also let me take his harness off (which was a bit of a fumble since the catches were awkward).  I stood up to put his harness away and he happily came back to me when I’d finished – a bit of puppy mouthing as I moved back to the couch, but we were clearly friends.  Turns out I’d been sitting in ‘his’ place on the couch (he likes to lay next to mum) but there was never any sense of resentment or jealousy.  Overall I was very impressed with him.

He does have food allergies but he’s on Purina non-allergenic which he seems to be thriving on (coat and teeth are lovely), together with salmon non-allergenic treats which he loves and will happily work for.  He lives with a cat which he gets on well and can be trusted with, tho’ he can be a bit rough during play. He’s hardly ever been in a car (mum had to give up driving), but he walked to the vets and he’s good on trains and buses.  He doesn’t like vets and wears a muzzle during visits, but I think that would be fairly easy to resolve.

All in all, I think he’d be very easy for the right person to sort out.  As mum has got less well she’s been unable to take him many places, so his interaction with life outside his home has been limited.  If someone built up his confidence and experience, I feel he’d soon get over his initial defensive gestures – and careful interaction with other dogs should diminish his protective reactions there, too.  I feel that as mum has become less able she has become more worried about his meetings with other dogs and more protective of Kai as she feels she won’t be able to cope in a confrontation, which won’t have helped his confidence.

I feel Kai would be a super companion for someone willing to work through his few foibles.  He’s inquisitive, very intelligent and quick to trust when he sees no threat.  He looks confidently straight at you when he trusts you.  I feel a confident, relaxed owner would instil the confidence Kai needs and let him blossom into the dog he should be.  At almost 2 years, he’s an overgrown and inexperienced puppy – ready to learn more about the world.”

Kai has been rehomed to a family friend.

Location:

London - IN HOME

Sex:

Male

Age:

DOB 8.8.21

Neutered:

Yes

Good with children:

Yes - Older Only

Good with other dogs:

No

Good with cats:

OK in Home