Dog Name: Christopher Robin
Breed: Boxer/Bulldog mix
Sex: Male
Age: 11 months
Weight: 42 pounds
Medical Needs: None.
Housebroken: A work in progress. Think of our sweet boy, Christopher Robin, as an 8-week old puppy in an 11-month old body. His background for the first 10 months of his life was one of neglect (at best). He was not given positive training to help him grow. His positive training started when he entered the shelter system at 10 months of age. This mental adjustment will help you understand him better.
On housebreaking, he appears to have been beaten for pooping in his crate. He understandably now has a fear of pooping in the crate and will bloody his face to cover up any evidence if he has an accident, and will “pancake” when you open the crate door anticipating the worst if he does have an accident. As a result, I am not using the crate for housebreaking. Instead, I baby-gated him in the kitchen with his crate door open for his shutdown period and still confine him to the kitchen if I leave the house. I try to get him out every couple of hours to potty to start him on a regular housebreaking schedule and he is responding well. When he has an indoor accident now, he generally goes on or near pee pads I have out.
Also, at least for now till he leaves his past behind him, he’s a submissive urinator, so if you raise your voice, it’s pretty safe bet he’ll think you’re yelling at him and pee where he is. As a result, careful monitoring is needed when you first allow him any freedom to explore the rest of the house until he settles in and the housebreaking lightbulb fully clicks “on” for him. He’s old enough to know better, but no one has taught him and in fact the people in his past have impeded his making progress. He’s doing well now, given that we are simultaneously deconditioning him from his past and teaching him the expected behavior — but he’s not quite there yet. Patience is key!
Crate trained: Also a work in progress. He has had bad experiences in a crate that need to be overcome. We are working on making the crate a positive refuge for him, so I feed him in his crate and I leave the crate door open most of the time. He generally chooses to sleep in his crate and goes in there to chew his bones during the day. I have recently begun to confine him to his crate for short durations as it’s been a while since he’s had an accident in his crate. He sleeps in my bed at night.
Good in the car: Yes, he travels in a wire crate in the back of my SUV or in the back seat seat-belted in.
Good on a leash: Yes, he is very attentive to me and stays close. He still pancakes if he gets nervous, but he’s slowly building up his confidence.
Energy level: Medium. Christopher Robin likes to run and is learning to play with the other dogs. He also settles well and is happy to quietly chew his Benebones. He can be pretty hard on stuffed toys. He paces himself well to the activity level of the other dogs in my house. If they are playing, he’s game for a romp. If they are snoozing, he’s in the middle of the pile — all in for a good nap.
Need a fenced in yard: He needs regular opportunities to get outside to go potty, so if no fenced yard, he’ll need leash walks every few hours. He will tear around and play with my other dogs, so the yard is handy to let him spend his energy, too, especially if you don’t want too much active play in your house.
Dog Friendly: Yes.
If yes, does your foster need another dog in its adoptive home? Another dog pal in the home would be good for Christopher Robin. Having a social outlet to interact with other dogs is a must. He loves to play with the other dogs in my home and is learning so much about how to be a dog from them that I think it would help him acclimate more easily to his new home. If the adopter does not have another dog at home, they will need to have a plan to ensure he has opportunities (doggie daycare, play dates, etc.) to socialize regularly with other dogs.
Cat Friendly: Ok with the cats he’s met so far.
Kid Friendly: Ok so long as they are gentle with him and don’t move too quickly. He startles or gets scared if they do.
If yes, what's the youngest child you'd recommend they be placed with? It’s hard to say, given his background. He still gets nervous in new situations, so a loud active household would likely be too much overstimulation for him now — although I think he’d be ok with more activity once he settles in a little more. For now, he’ll need a quieter home, with dog savvy kids (or no kids). He is VERY hand shy and tentative when approaching new people. Sudden approaches or people bringing their hands down to pet his head reinforce his fears from previously being hit, so any kids would need to be old enough and respectful enough to learn how to approach him slowly and bring their hands from below so they don’t trigger his fear of being hit.
Special traits that make your foster special or that we need to know about them?
This sums up our boy, Christopher Robin, in a nutshell —
“I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood”
His records from the sending shelter say: “Behavior: undersocialized, dogs have been living in a crate in an SUV for the past week, originally gotten by owners from a house with multiple dogs.” Sadly, the crate in the SUV was an improvement over his prior living conditions.
This guy came to the shelter under nourished, undersocialized, neglected, and clearly beaten. He was under-sized and underweight when he came to the shelter and has gained 12 pounds since his intake. His GI system is still trying to acclimate from the months of neglect he endured, and he is doing well now on a “digestive diet” and probiotics. (Giving him people food quickly sends him into a bout of diarrhea.)
Despite his past, he’s a happy cuddler who loves to give wet, sloppy kisses to his favorite people. The sending shelter asked Grass Roots to take him because he was overwhelmed in the shelter environment and they felt that he’d make progress faster in a foster home equipped to help him get past his past. They were right! He has come so far in just a few weeks time and I am confident that he will continue to improve with patience, love, and consistency.
He is such a sweet, goofy, resilient guy who also happens to have the cutest underbite! We are looking for a patient home that will help him thrive and grow into the awesome dog that he can be!
** Multiple meets will be required so that he can build trust with his new family before going home. **
Foster’s Location: Wilmington, DE
Application can be found here: https://www.grrde.org/adoption-application (if you already have an approved application on file email GrassRootsDE@gmail.com and ask the app team to pull your app).
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