The Dog Who Had a Little Too Much Fun

We meet interesting people in rescue. We meet animals in all shapes and sizes and situations.

Last week, we met a boxer/pit mix who is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. He is approximately three years old and is athletic, muscular, friendly, and basically full of himself. He is the life of his own party. He lives with his canine sister; in fact, he was rescued as a companion for her. All was well until he started getting some muscle, and then he found out that he is faster and stronger than many of the dogs at doggie day care and at the dog park. He is smaller than his canine sister but has a stronger physical presence.

Then he discovered the body slam. It’s not mean or malicious, it’s just tons of fun. Yep, he can actually knock other dogs off their feet by slamming into them. We are not sure how this has gone on so long without other canine correction but we suspect the dogs at doggie daycare are nice, tolerant dogs (and closely supervised), so they are just avoiding him. His sister is avoiding him. No one will play with him at the dog park. His human has tried multiple tools (muzzle, gentle leader etc.). They have exhausted four trainers who basically said, “He is having too much fun slamming into other dogs and doesn’t want to give up that behavior for anything I have to offer, so I can’t help you.” His human knows that sooner or later he is going to slam into the wrong dog and there is going to be trouble. He has been kicked out of doggie day care.

As per his human, the only option now is a new family where he is an only dog. This beautiful, happy, bright-eyed wiggle-butt? What he really needs is that canine pack leader who clearly explains the social rules — like your mom telling you to chew your food with your mouth closed or that second-grade teacher who insisted you line up quietly, keep your hands at your side, and not bother the next student in line.

Well, umm… what to do? Can he wait where he is until there is room for a few sessions with our volunteer and dog whisperer Charles? Is there a foster without kids with a calm, non-reactive dog who might be a good foster? (We suspect he would enjoy body slamming small humans as well as other dogs, although that has not been tested.) This one will require some thought. His joie de vivre is contagious but needs some clearly communicated boundaries. This pup is not yet accepted into NWAC because we will need to figure out what to do with him so that everyone remains safe and on their feet while he is mentored by a balanced pack with good social skills for a couple of weeks.

We know the perfect foster volunteer in Portland awaits this lovable, happy dog. If you want to experience the joy and purpose of dog fostering, apply to become a foster volunteer with NWAC now!