For Adoption: Stark!
Please read our dog bios carefully to be sure that the dog you are applying for suits your family and lifestyle.
We at PDR believe in the benefits of post-adoption training for our dogs and their families. This allows for continued socialization, learning and helps to create a well-mannered and balanced dog. Post-adoption training is a requirement in our adoption process.
To apply for adoption and for more information on our process and requirements, visit our website at https://pounddog.ca/adoption-info/.
It is my pleasure to introduce you to the sweetest, bravest, cuddliest and most gentle boy named Stark. He is a 3 a year-old apricot colored poodle. Medium in size and weighs around 20 pounds. His name came after the super hero Iron man because I was so impressed with his braveness and how quick he learned new things in a new enviorment. Stark is super gentle, sweet, and absolutely loves to be around people once comfortable, in fact he wants to get as close to you as possible. He’s always two steps behind you or leading you off to explore the new big world outside, caring his toys to his mat, playing tug, prancing around or even intrigued in watching the TV with you, or cuddled up. He loves having the top of his head pet or his bum scratched.
Stark spent his first 3 years at a puppy mill to be breed and then eventually wasn’t needed anymore, but luckily Pound Dog Rescue came to his aid and welcomed him in so he can learn what doggy life really is all about, getting the love and care he deserves. But this comes with learning a lot of new things and new environments for him that he is still getting used to. That being said he is still learning and is still a very shy and nervous dog that gets scared easily, especially of loud noises and lots of company or male figures make him a bit more nervous. Although he gets scared, he is very brave to come back and check things out or allow you to pet him. Stark will need lots of patients and lots of adjustment time to his environments and new people. Stark will need a quiet house that’s not too busy as he gets stressed with new people and the loud noises it brings. When Stark gets stressed out, he shows it by having his tail between his leg, lots of pacing, panting and shaking. He is easily startled by loud noises. This will take him some time to get used to. He will need time to adjust to company and new people in the house so he will need quiet space to be able to hangout in when company is over if he chooses. Stark would also need a quieter neighborhood as he is still learning life outside of a puppy mill. A rural area, small town, or a quiet subdivision would do best by him.
Stark would do well in pretty much any home situation, whether a condo, apartment or a house as he is a medium sized dog and pretty quiet but would be best suited in a quiet house enviorment. Although I think he would be happiest in a house with a fenced yard where he can run around and explore on his own. One of starks favorite things to do is run and be outside, just wait until he shows you how fast he can run and give off those zoomies. That being said Stark is medium energy, calm and a quiet dog indoors with the right exercise. He will sometimes bark at things outside when he is looking out the window or when he hears another dog bark, even on the Television. But he is very quick to stop barking when he’s called. He prefers to spend more of his spare time if he had a choice being outside on walks or cuddling. He will show you how happy he is to be outside or walking with his tail nonstop wagging or his little happy prance outside. He enjoys toys with treats stuck in them, or stuffed toys he can shake around and play tug with. In fact, he likes to steal the toys from the toy bin and carry them upstairs to his stash and come back down stairs as if no one saw a thing. Let’s just stay his stash of toys is soon going to be the new location of the toy bin at this rate. If you search in his stash, he might be hiding that one sock you have been looking for in there.
Stark does love to be outside and would never turn down a walk or just going outside to pee, unless it is raining of course. We have been walking each evening for around 40-60 minutes, and sometimes a 15-minute walk in the morning as well. Stark is amazing on a leash, something that also impressed me. He is quick to come when called or when he feels a small tug on the leash or a simple “leave it” when he is sniffing or interested in something he should leave. He will happily walk beside you or lead the way most of the walk. Stark is fine to walk past other dogs and people, he does not bark or pull for the most part he just keeps walking and will maybe turn around to check them out behind us but he responds well to “this way” or “come on let’s go”. Stark is still getting used to the sounds and world around him so he gets scared easily especially on walks in a busier loud area, he will tuck his tail in between his legs and try to walk extra fast. I have been taking him to quiet areas to walk and slowly working our way up to a busier location. He will also do what I call a zig zag walk when he is stressed on walks in loud busy environments. His favorite places to walk are quiet neighborhoods or trails. Sometimes when Stark is on leash and he just wants to run he will try is best to see how far the leash will go and how fast he can run. I think Stark would be an excellent buddy to take on runs. But something to keep in mind when Stark is on leash, he only tends to do it in the morning after his pee or when he’s super excited for a walk in the evening.
He has been such an amazing dog to foster, teach and show the world, walking buddy and even greater company. It was been so rewarding to him go from being scared exploring and meeting new people and getting more comfortable with me. Once he gets comfortable, he will show you his belly and will never say no to a belly rub, mostly on the couch or bed. He will also roll himself around before he climbs right on top of you and cuddles in, he is a perfect cuddler. If you dare go into a room without him, even the bathroom he will put his detective mode on and search everywhere in the house for you. Stark will be the perfect best friend that is always by your side. Stark loves to roll himself around in any blanket, towel bed, matt, toy or even his human before getting comfy. Stark does need help to be picked up to put on the couch, bed or car as he has not discovered how to jump up or down yet.
Stark is a very affectionate dog and comes for pets all the time as he just wants to be close to someone. He will greet you with his tail wagging or sometimes his entire body and from then on, he will not want to leave your side. When he is excited or wanting attention, he does stand or jump on to your leg. He is still learning not to do this and a simple “down” and putting him back on all four legs but he is still learning and will require consistency, patience and some more training. Stark also likes to grab clothes on the floor and play with them as toys but is easy to a simple “no” or “eh eh” and a trade for one of his toys works perfect. Stark absolutely loves shacking his toys around, sometimes playing a bit of tug but he mostly loves to play with his towel, he will rub his entire body on it and rolls around before laying down on top of it. Stark will require a lot of patience and time when it comes to training and tricks, he gets very unsure and nervous when we are trying to learn new things. We have conquered “down” when he jumps up and puts his front paws on the table or counter. But we are working hard at getting the hang of “sit” and it still needs some work.
Stark is almost fully house trained and has had only one single accident in two weeks, that being said his house training will have to continue with his forever family and I believe he will have to learn in a new house setting as learning to only go outside is still new to him. Stark is still learning how to ask to go outside but I find he tends to pace a lot when he has to go. He is taken outside multiple times a day for a potty break. Stark will need lots of time and patience for him to come fully come around. Stark trusted me pretty quickly but it took him some time to get comfortable his surrounding enviorment and meeting new people. He can still be very nervous and takes some time to settle and be comfortable to relax. For some time, he was still nervous but loved pets so much he would fall asleep standing up getting pets. Now he is laying down and hard to get up in the morning when it’s time to go outside. He shows his belly, rolls around and cuddles himself back up. He will also show you his morning stretches and lay down we like to call the pancake when all four legs are fully stretch out and he’s on his belly.
Almost as if he’s asking for 5 more minutes in bed. When stark is very tired, he will let you know he is having a dream and it must be a good one with all that noise he’s making.
Stark also crate trained although he is not a huge fan going in his crate and he will try to run away when he knows it is time to go into his crate, although if there is food or treats in the crate he will gladly go in on his own. Once Stark is in the crate, he can cry but it doesn’t last longer then 5 minutes and then he is calm and quiet and will just lay down. Stark is left in the crate until the afternoon but is taken out for potty breaks. Stark then spends the rest of the day outside the crate in the bedroom where he feels safe and secure or he gets to spend time in the office with our other family dog and a family member working from home. If no one is home Stark is left in his crate. When he is not in his crate, he likes laying on mats, big fluffy blankets, his towel or a couch if it comes with snuggles. He enjoys to snuggle his nose under the blanket and right up next to you when it’s time for bed. In fact, he’s a little bit of a bed hog and still learning what the end of the bed or couch is. Don’t tell him I told you but he has rolled off too many times that he would admit, the end of the bed comes out of nowhere!
When it comes to food, he is a great eater but it took some time for him to get comfortable enough to eat. He needs a quit enviorment to drink or eat as he will get startled easily with a noise and make it hard for him to eat or drink. He is also a social eater and will do much better to eat and drink with someone he is comfortable with around. We did learn Stark wasn’t used to eating out of a bowl and was a little scared of it. We used a flat dish but will eventually conquer that scary bowl.
I think he would do well in a home with another calm, gentle, well-behaved dog but it is not a necessity for him. Stark would do just as well being the only dog and getting all the attention and couch or bed space to himself. Stark is good with meeting other dogs. He is super shy with new dogs but is still calm. He doesn’t show interest in playing with other dogs and tends to do his own thing most of the time. Stark just can’t get enough love and affection but this has come with some protective growling when he is getting attention and another dog comes too close. Although he has been very good with training and has not had this issue recently but it is something to remember and continue to work on. He also tends to growl when another dog gets too close to his space or when he is comfy on a bed or on the couch. This will require some training and if he is to live with another dog in his new forever home, they will need to understand to give Stark his space. This being said it is very important to continue his obedience training and a requirement to attended dog school with Stark.
When I first got Stark, he was very scared and unsure of the world around him but just wanted to be as close to someone as he could at all times. Stark came around pretty quick and was comfortable to explore the house the day he came. He even learned how to do stairs within two days of discovering them, he is great going up stairs but is still learning how to go down and he takes his time and will get scared and jump down them if there is a loud noise well, he’s walking down the stairs. He did have a nick name of “super dog” that stuck for a while from this. Stark is also not a huge fan of car rides and gets a bit stressed out but he is quiet in his crate in the car. He does a lot of panting but with time now enjoys to look out the window.
Stark is not being fostered in a home with any children or cats. But I believe he would do best with older and quieter children as he is very timid to loud noises and busy environments tend to stress him out. Stark Is a flight risk that will run away if a door is left open, or opened and not watched where Stark is. He will dart out doors and try to run. Stark will also take longer time to come around to male figures as he gets a little bit more nervous around them but will still aways accept pets.
Starks new family should commit to continuing his obedience training to bring out the best in this smart dog as he has a lot of potential but needs time and patience. As a final note, Stark visited the vet and is in good health. He had round worms which has been treated, he also had very dirty ears which will require cleaning maintenance and he will eventually need a dental cleaning. Stark will also require regular trips to the groomer as he has curly hair. He was neutered and has fully healed, along with all this vaccines and microchip.
It has been hard to write an adoption bio that encompasses all the aspects of this dog. Stark is such an amazing boy and keeps showing me more and more of his personality. He just wants to be by your side or outside walking/running. I cannot overstate how wonderful and this dog is and the company he gives. He might take some time to come around and learn the enviorment and trust. As he is still very timid, but with time patience, love and trust he will show off his personality. He is truly a happy loving dog and it has been an amazing experience to get to know, watch his progress, enjoy his company and teach him so much. His forever family will be incredibly lucky to have him and to give him the forever bond he is searching for.
Name: Stark
ID # PDR2016
Age: 3yrs
Gender: male
Neutered: yes
UTD vaccines: yes
Breed: Moyen Poodle
Colours: apricot
Coat length: med
House trained: yes
Special needs: no
OK with kids: older
OK with cats: yes
Ok with dogs: yes
Status: adoptable
Microchip: yes
Size: medium
Location: Ayr
Adoption fee: $800
