APOLLO
STATE: ME
AGE: 4 1/2 years
WEIGHT: about 90 lbs
SEX: Male
NEUT/UTD: Yes/Yes
COAT COLOR: Brindle
DOCKED TAIL: Yes
CROPPED EARS: No
CHILDREN under 4: Unsure
CHILDREN OVER 4: Yes
SEPARATION ANXIETY: no
OTHER DOGS: No
CATS: No
CRATE TRAINED: yes
HOUSE TRAINED: Yes
OBEDIENCE TRAINED: No
LEASH TRAINED: No
ATTENDING OBED.: No
MICROCHIPPED: No
ADOPTION DONATION: $200
6/6/04 - Apollo has been doing great & is just waiting for his new home to come
along to snatch him up! In the last few days his personality has been coming out more
& more. He now comes out of his crate & bounces around & will put his bottom up
in the air & face on his front feet on the floor & look at you with a crazy look, like
"come & get me!". I pretend to go toward him & he will run by me as fast as he can
get his big 90 pounds to move! It's kind of funny to watch as he is not graceful at all
& kind of lumbers by you. LOL He never jumps on me though or at me, just runs
by playing "catch me".
Apollo still does wonderful in his crate now that I have found the one he likes better.
It is an X-large wire one & I just have to feed him in there to get him to go in easily.
He started to not want to go in his vari-kennel(plastic more closed in) type so I
coaxed him (well, really tricked him!-LOL) to get into the wire crate. He seems a lot
happier & does great in there. Never one accident & is very quiet in there too. I
have a feeling he will be a good boy out of his crate as he never touches anything
when he's out & he has not had any accidents in the house either.
Apollo also loves going for rides in the car. He will sit in the back seat & just watch
where you are going. Every so often he likes to stick his nose out the window to sniff
the air, but he is so good about sitting well in the car too. He's not a hyper, jumpy
dog. He gets excited to play, but he is a very mellow big boy. Apollo also walks
great on the Gentle Leader collar. What is everyone waiting for?! This guy is one
great boy ready for his new family!
5/30/04 - Apollo has been doing great the last several days he's been here. He is
perfectly house & crate trained & will make sure to let you know if he needs to go
out. One day I couldn't get him to go back into his crate when I had to go back to
work. He had gone out & only peed, but acted like he was done & wanted right
back in. Well, when he realized it was "last call" & time to go back to his crate, he
did everything in his power to get away from me (no biting or growling though) &
slipped his collar even! Ran all through to the other end of the house & stood there
bouncing, waiting for me to catch up to him with his collar & leash in hand. He went
out & had to go #2 really bad, guess he was going to make sure I knew! LOL
Apollo went to our Boxer Rescue Awareness Day yesterday & did very well meeting
all the strangers & kids that came in. He loved everyone he met. Apollo had his first
Gentle Leader lesson & did GREAT! Before he had that on, he was yanking &
pulling & trying to drag me everywhere (& doing a pretty good job at it too!). All it
took was a large Gentle Leader collar (see more info on these collar here:
www.gentleleader.com) & within a couple of minutes he was walking perfectly on it!
No more dragging & Apollo was the perfect boy then!
I have determined though that even though Apollo has shown he can be around the
cats more often now in the house, he is not trustworthy with them at all. He will
therefore need to go to a kitty-free home. Also, Apollo is not doing too great with
other dogs either. He can walk closely (even 5-10 feet) to other dogs when has the
Gentle Leader on, but without it he will pull you to get to them. Apollo is not looking
to make any doggie friends either, so we are not going to let him get too close to them
to start any trouble.
People & kids on the other hand are Apollo's perfect family! He loves to have his
neck & ears rubbed & will lay his head on your lap or arm to get you to do this to
him. Apollo has the cutest really big underbite too--his bottom jaw & teeth stick out
about an inch. You don't notice it until he gives you his "smile"! Usually when
rubbing his neck & ears he will get so relaxed that his bottom teeth stuck up & get
stuck on his upper lip, giving you his beautiful smile! I always start cracking up
laughing at him as it is just too darn cute & funny looking! This is one big guy with a
heart of gold, don't let him pass you by!
5/26/04 - Apollo has come into rescue from one of our local shelters thanks to Julie
G's help with picking him up for us. Apollo is a 4 1/2 year old VERY LARGE dark
brindle boxer/mastiff mix with natural ears & a docked tail. He was turned into the
shelter as his owners were moving & could not take him. They had originally adopted
him from the shelter about 2 years ago. Apollo was not doing so well at the shelter,
so they felt he would do better in a foster home with us.
Apollo has been very sweet with everyone he has met. He is super strong though &
due to his size can be a lot to handle on a leash right now. I think with some training
& work (maybe even a Gentle Leader collar), he will be a different boy. Apollo
jumped in my car last night & was happy to take the big blanket on the back seat &
fluff it up, turn around a dozen times or so (yes, 90 lb dog in my TINY backseat,
circling!!) & made himself a soft bed to flop down on for the ride to my house. I
could hear him snoring lightly in the backseat within minutes. I think he was happy to
have something soft to lay on after being in the shelter for a few weeks.
I will be working with Apollo to see how he does with my cats & dogs as he has had
mixed reviews in both areas so far. He is said to have lived with a cat & 19 month
old child in his last home, but when he saw my cats in my house he tried to get them
& was very intense about it. It is not said how he did with dogs before he came to
us, but he did hurt a small dog when he spent the night at another volunteer's house. I
will be taking both slowly at my house & letting Apollo relax some more before trying
to do too much with him. Stay tuned for more updates & pictures soon on this big
boy!