BRUNO 6/17/03
#235
Pictures
Bruno's Foster Journey - Rainbow Bridge
Pertinent Information
6 Yr. Old Male
72 lb. Flashy Fawn
Cropped Ears and Docked Tail
Neutered and UTD Owner Surrender
Raised with Children
Being Fostered Near Albany, NY
Adoption Donation $175
2/21/04 - Unfortunately Bruno has displayed an aggressiveness towards humans that even after months of training could not be corrected. BAR made the very difficult decision to send him to the Rainbow Bridge as he was just too dangerous to adopt out. Rest in peace Bruno.
11/14/03 - After much heartache Bruno's family
has decided that he will not work in their environment. They have worked
extremely hard with him but he continues to be leash aggressive towards
other animals and some people when being walked.
We are looking for a home for Bruno with no other pets and a fenced
backyard. He is wonderful when loose in the home and in the backyard. It
seems he only has this issue when he is leashed.
If you would like to bring Bruno into your home for some love and
attention please fill out an application on him today.
9/18/03 - Our boy Bruno is back from a couple of weeks at John Gagnon's Doghouse for evaluation and I think he's happy to be home. Everyone at the Doghouse loved him and he came home with a new collar from one of the girls there, he was a good boy, went to doggy daycare and attended some obedience classes. We've got some suggestions from Casey on working with him during our walks and he seemed pleasantly surprised to find I was carrying liverwurst and American cheese with me last night. They took his mind off of the dogs we saw (at a distance) and the guy with the lawnmower. I'm not sure if they'd distract him if a dog was close by but we're going to keep working on it. He just gets so anxious! He did meet our newest foster, Roxie, with no issues but that was as soon as we walked in the door from the Doghouse. We definitely won't be bringing any more un-neutered male dogs in the house (Elvis taught us our lesson). Even with all his issues my husband told me this morning that Bruno was the perfect match for our house, and I do agree with him!
8/15/03 - Bruno continues to be just a fantastic boy to have around. He's the perfect house dog, and we're working on that leash thing. He's very aggressive towards any person or dog he sees while he's on leash so we've started to work with him with a clicker and he's going to see a trainer. Hopefully the clicker training at home will be a jump start on what they'll work with him on there. In the meantime I have some ideas from the agbeh group on Yahoo and we're keeping him out of any situation that could reinforce his behavior problems. Hopefully after seeing the trainer we'll be on track with him and on track to continue fostering for BAR. (On a positive note he's doing very well with the greyhound next door through the fence - a good sign I hope!)
7/13/03 - Although it's a little over a week since we 'officially' adopted Bruno he's been with us nearly a month now. We just love this big guy to pieces - he and Satchel wrestle and keep each other worn out - and then he's off to make sure everyone here is safe and sound. It just makes me smile to catch him checking on the kids after I put them to bed. The only issue, at all, that we've had with Bruno is leash aggression - he can see a person 100 yards away in their own backyard and his hackles stand up, and forget about passing another dog on the street - he's a loon. We're working on those issues and plan a session with a trainer to get some suggestions. I don't think Bruno's a candidate for a group obedience at this point, controlling him would be almost impossible around all the other dogs. That's ok though, he can just hang out at home if that's what it takes to make him happy.
7/6/03 - Bruno has been adopted by his foster family!
6/28/03 - Bruno continues to do very well here - he's feeling more comfortable every day. Comfortable enough that he's started to bark at people going by or the neighbors out in their yard. And he has a big deep bark - you'd never know he was such a love! He stops carrying on if I tell him "No Bruno Off" (he has to put his front feet on the heaters to see out the windows) and will happily follow me to wherever I'm headed. At night he's been sleeping on one of the dog beds in our bedroom but only if we gate him in with us, if we forget to put up the gate he settles himself on the couch. Everyone has pretty much been getting along just fine, we've had some spats over rawhides that sound way worse than they are - lots of noise, no blood. :-) So we've put those away for a few more days until everyone can control themselves a little better. Bruno has let me take the rawhides away from him with no problem though! Bruno has learned to sit nicely for his dinner until I tell him he can have it - he'll also give you his paw if you ask and does a lovely down with a little encouragement, we're working on 'stay' and he's getting pretty good at it as long as there are no distractions. This boy is really just a doll!
6/21/03 - We just LOVE Bruno! What a great guy he
is! He's gotten right into the routine around here and we really have
fallen for him. I decided the other day that his nails needed to be
trimmed so I asked him to sit and give me his paw. He sat right there like
a gentleman while I clipped all his nails and then we switched paws and I
did the other one with absolutely no issues. He's been out walking with us
and goes along just fine on a flat collar on a loose leash. He saw people
ahead of us and his hair stood up a little but he did not pull to chase
them.
Bruno does NOT like people with hats or hoods on. When our 7 year old came
home from school with the hood up on his raincoat Bruno needed to be
restrained until Padraic took his hood off and Bruno could see who it was.
Then he was perfectly happy to see him. We did have an idea this might be
an issue in a note that we received when Bruno's owners turned him over to
rescue.
AND Bruno has a favorite toy - he found a Wiggly Giggly and he is in
looooove. I actually had to go out of the room the other day he was making
so much noise with it. He's just a sketch carrying this huge purple and
green ball around in his mouth while it squeeks and squawks. Of course,
when I try to get a picture he drops the ball and walks over to see what
I'm doing.
Bruno is going to see the vet on Tuesday and then he'll be ready for his
new home. Could it be yours?
6/17/03 - Bruno has been here with us for 3 days
now and he's settled in really well so far. He's getting along really well
with our two dogs and he and Satchel (our boxer) have been racing and
wrestling all over the back yard. Snorty (our boston terrier) has been a
little more reserved with Bruno but when he tells Bruno to 'back off' he
does, no questions asked.
Our Italian boy is a tad overweight so he's
dieting while he's here (a nice Irish diet ;-)). I'd guess he's 10 to 15
pounds heavier than he should be so he's wondering what the heck happened
to all the pasta and bread!! He'll be healthier in the long run for it
though, it'll protect his hips and back from problems as he gets older if
he's not carrying all that weight around. (OK - it'd help mine too but I
don't have someone rationing my food!)
Bruno loves the kids and checks on
them frequently after they've gone to bed. He hasn't stolen any snacks
from them yet but he watches very, very carefully to see if something is
left unattended for even a minute. Maybe it's that darned diet?
He's been
staying completely off of the furniture, he was allowed on everything in
his previous home, but a couple of firm 'no's' and he's perfectly content
to hang out on the dog bed. He does enjoy being on our bed I let him up
once, because the boys usually get up for a cuddle before Mike comes to
bed, but haven't since then because it was so much work getting him OFF
again! Maybe we'll try again on Friday - that's Mike's late night.
Bruno
is not fond of being crated - although if he's in the crate and you're in
the room with him he's fine. Today is his first day left gated in one room
instead of in a crate. We'll see how he does and then just do that from
now on as long as he behaves himself. He was not crate trained in his
previous home so we don't want to make his transition any harder than it
has to be.
The only problem I've seen so far from this boy (other than he
clears baby gates in a single bound) is that, yesterday he had to
accompany Satchel and I to agility to have his pictures taken for his
fans. When I let him out of the car to use the facilities he was
frantically barking and lunging at all the other dogs. It was a new
experience for him, new place, new people and a forever home must be
willing to put a lot of time and energy into getting him properly
socialized. So if you're looking for a big love bug to cuddle up with and
walk and be OH SO HAPPY!! to see you when you get home then have I got the
boy for you!
6/15/03 - Bruno has arrived! This Italian boy is a very handsome flashy fawn with a black mask, cropped ears and a docked tail. Bruno's family had to make the tough decision to give him up to rescue when one of the children he shared a home with developed a severe allergy to him. He rode beautifully in the car with us and he spent a nice, quiet afternoon in the crate trying to figure out just what the heck is going on! He's checked out the digs here and met the other residents through his crate with tail wags. We'll give him a couple of days to de-stress before we make any official introductions. Hopefully we'll be able to get a picture of him up in the next day or two - just as soon as I can corner someone with a digital camera - and you can see just what a looker he is! I'm quite sure this gorgeous fellow won't stay in rescue too long you'll have to keep an eye on him!