Oliver (Florida) — URGENT!

ULTRA URGENT PLEA FOR THIS DOG. TIME SENSITIVE RED CODE!

Oliver is an approximately 4 years old neutered male, fully vaccinate, HW negative. We feel he is a Catahoula X Dane X ? mix. He is totally housebroke. He weighs 67 pounds. He is really very good on leash when walking, he is not a puller unless there is some stimulus that triggers things. Then he barks and pulls on the leash, but has never gotten away and caused a problem. So he is defensive reactive because he feels trapped on leash and not confident that he will be safe. He loves riding in a vehicle. He is reactive like many Catahoula’s with skate boards, bikes and such. This is not uncommon, the game in on when these noisy moving critters get into his view. Owner uses a gentle leader and he seems to be ok with that, he loves his walks and he likes being out of doors in a yard. He has never been a digger outside nor has he been a fence jumper or crawler. He is behind a tall wooden fence in his current yard. He alerts to strangers or other dogs but is not an excessive barker. He loves water, loves to swim. Can be put on a long line and allowed to go swimming. He is crate broke but is used to being with a female companion Catahoula and they are bonded. They sleep in the crate together ( Admin note: that is not a safe thing to do and we do not recommend that. We do not know how he will do in a crate by himself but feel he will adjust given time and the right way to initiate crating.) He is muzzle broke (Admin Note: but we don’t recommend forcing dogs with muzzling to interact with people nor dogs that they don’t trust.) He is not good with children of any age. He is not good with cats, he is not good with other dogs he doesn’t know, Slow intro’s with a run easy female might work. He has been with the current female since he was 6 months old and before he became dog reactive as he aged. He is excellent with her and will miss her. Absolutely no small dogs. He is always crated when no one is home because he has been acting out with chewing, but he is in the crate with the other dog and no one knows who did the chewing actually when they were both out. He is good at the vets as long as they give him treats.. he is very treat motivated so could do agility in someone’s yard. Having a muzzle on when introduced to new people seems to help. Vet took the muzzle off when he was in for nail trimming, and he was completely fine. He does good at the vets with nail trims because he is confined but he will run away (not be mean) if you try to touch his paws and do nails yourself. That can be worked with. He is fed twice a day. He is fed a good quality food.

HISTORY: He was adopted from the Indian River Humane Society in Vero Beach Florida when he was 8 weeks old. He has been with his current owner for about 4 years now. She is giving him up because of financial reasons and his reactions to roommates and other dogs, cats and kids. A home without high stimulus such as these is the option for Oliver to have his chance to live and be the good dog that is there in spite of the limitations.

GOOD: He is very particular about cuddling, it is on his terms and his timing, but.. he likes to be touching you and close at all times. He is always happy to see the owner. He is not as hyper active as the other Catahoula. He is more laid back. He does not like to play fetch but he loves tug of war with ropes. You can’t leave ropes out with him or he eats them. (And that could cause a bowel blockage) He likes his bones. (Rescue recommends antlers) He knows quite a few tricks. Sit, lie down, target, paw. He is smart and could learn a lot of things. He likes to please his owner. Very treat oriented. He loves to play and is high energy. He and the other dog play constantly. He does sleep through the night.

BAD: Basically being reactive (this can be worked with by our rescue) and he does have some separation anxiety. He can get used most anything we believe if given time and leadership.

UGLY: There is one bite incident with a neighbor that approached them in the dark at night , when he was about a year or year and a half; he was in a yard playing with another neighbor’s dog and he was surprised. It wasn’t a serious bite, it was a hand nip. He has never attempted biting anyone since. He absolutely will not tolerate kids. Even when he was young, this is not a confident dog but he is a willing dog to learn and can be worked with, but NO KIDS. He seems to be afraid of kids and so not worth taking risks. We feel some slow introductions to strangers or another female dog might be workable with rescue’s behavioral help if the female is fun loving and non confrontational.. His hunting drive and prey drive is high.. so no cats, rabbits, chickens and the like please. Let’s not set him up to fail.

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