1-877-281-3146
| STATE: MA AGE: 5 years DOB: 11/9/02 WEIGHT: Unsure SEX: Male NEUT/UTD: Yes/Yes COAT COLOR: Brindle DOCKED TAIL: Yes CROPPED EARS: No CHILDREN UNDER 4: Yes CHILDREN OVER 4: Yes SEPARATION ANXIETY: No OTHER DOGS: Yes CATS: Yes CRATE TRAINED: Yes HOUSE TRAINED: Yes LEASH TRAINED: Yes OBEDIENCE TRAINED: Somewhat MICROCHIPPED: No ADOPTION FEE: $300 |
| UPDATE 12/15/08 - Apollo is doing very well here at his forever home. We ran into a bit of a bump at the end of month 1 as he was showing some "snappiness" towards our 14 month old. We have found this was more fear of the child and not aggression towards him. Apollo is a bit fearful of anything shorter than he is, unless it has a treat in its hand. We have Joe (our 14 month old) giving Apollo treats when he comes in from doing his doggy duty outside. This has done well to aid in the pecking order. Apollo was a bit under weight when he got here, this was actually a benefit to him as he has arthritis in his hind legs. He has been on a supplement that has greatly improved his mobility and allowed us to put a couple pounds on him. He is six years old now... but you wouldn't know it.....he runs and plays like a puppy!!. When the electricity goes out he is no help at all.....he chases the flahlight beam and tries to "kill" it...this makes power outages rather entertaining! 10/9/08 - Apollo has been adopted! 9/12/08 - Unfortunately, by no fault of his own, Apollo is back in rescue to find another home. Updates soon from his foster Mom. 9/5/08 - Apollo was adopted! 9/2/08 - So yesterday I gave Apollo his bath because he was a bit ripe needed to get rid of some of his dead hair. When we went into the bathroom and I told him to get into the tub, he locked his knees and wouldn't have it. So I lifted him into the tub-- oh my, he's big! I ran the tub faucet and used a pitcher to wet him down and he just stood there in the tub. I kept telling him what a good boy he is and he seemed to think that was acceptable enough for him to stay still. After rinsing and toweling him off, I told him to come on out of the tub, but he wouldn't move. He wanted to stay in the tub! So again I had to lift him. When I put him down, he became exuberant-- he ran around the landing outside the bathroom, and kept crouching into playing position, with his front legs straightened and his hind ones crouching, really excited, trying to get me to play. I dried him off a little more, which he thought was a wonderful game, and kept gently rearing up to play. So I took him downstairs and he raced through the door to the back yard and started running figure eights around the yard over and over and over... What a silly boy :) I was just laughing and laughing, and eventually he got all his running out and came back into the house, mostly tired out, but every so often crouching to play again, like an uncontrollable reflex, before he would flop down again. 8/30/08 - Apollo is such a great boy! Every day he is so excited to see his people. He eats his kibble, but does not eat much. He is definitely not food motivated, either, very picky about his treats. Although I think he would prefer to be eating human food, he is not a beggar. He sits nearby while we eat, seemingly minding his own business, and when he realizes we are not going to give him food from our plates, he heads to the kitchen and eats his own food. We feed him at breakfast and dinner times, but he so far has only eaten the food at night. He looks to be a healthy weight, so his eating schedule seems to be working for him. Apollo is a very social boy and really enjoys company. He loves to play tug-of-war and fetch (actually, 'chase the ball and then chase each other around the yard') and is also happy to entertain himself frolicking, sunning, or shading himself in the backyard. Apollo is certainly an energetic boy who needs a consistent schedule of exercise, though not strenuous. The couple times that we've walked for about 1.5 miles on our loop have seemed a little too much for him, while just a walk around the neighborhood twice a day does not seem enough. So we are working on finding the right route somewhere in the middle. One thing we have encountered on our walks is that he seems to have a fear of all types of bikes. When we pass close to one on our walks, he tries to hide behind me. At first, I tried to coax him to continue walking and tell him it was ok, but that only accentuated his reaction. Now when I see a bike that's passing close to us, I crouch down and hug him and tell him it's ok. This approach seems to be working, as he seems to be overcoming his fright. Who knows why he is afraid, but he seems to be making good progress, and hopefully will soon walk right past. Apollo definitely needs a calm and assertive leader to make him feel safe and to bring out the best in him. He responds well to people who are both kind and firm and who are able to set consistent limits for him. In the short time he has been here, he has really bonded to us. He has such a big heart and would make a wonderful family addition. 8/27/08 - Today was another great day with Apollo. He would make such a great family dog. He has so much love to give and really enjoys being around and playing with people and dogs of all ages and sizes. This morning we went for a walk of almost 2 miles and Apollo did very well on the leash. He is a fast walker and tends to pull sometimes, but responds well to verbal commands and reminders to not pull. Although he is a strong boy, he is not overwhelming to walk and is definitely controllable on the leash. He is friendly to everyone we meet on our walks but at the same time doe not try to go say hello to everyone, which is also a blessing! This afternoon Apollo met our friend's 2 !/2 year old daughter. At first, he gave her many kisses, which she did not care for, and he stopped when we told him to stop. He also let her-- actually, seemed happy to let her-- give him big hugs. He is as tall as she is, so we kept a constant eye on him to make sure he did not get too excited or playful with her, which he did not. Another thing we have marvelled at with Apollo is that even when he was invited he will not get onto the couch or the bed. He chooses to lie on the living room floor on a blanket and to sleep in the hallway right outside our door. We do not even think that he gets on the furniture when he is all alone and not crated. In fact, I think he is quite suspicious of us having invited him onto the furniture, because he looked at us like we were asking him to do something that was simply not fitting for him, like we were trying to pull one over on him. So we let him stay on the floor where he is comfortable, and do not encourage him to get up, thinking that this preference of his might fit really nicely into his forever family. 8/24/08 - Apollo is a darling! After arriving yesterday afternoon he did not want to go inside the house, just kept running and jumping, galloping around the yard, thrilled to be outside. Apollo is a total love bug and a mama's boy. His nub wags constantly, and super fast. Apollo responds well to basic commands and we will see how much more he knows. He does well on the leash, but is a fast walker and tends to pull a bit, so I'll be working with him on heeling. He seems to always want to play with the other dogs we encounter, and also very excited about chasing tennis balls. He makes a game of it instead of giving them back right away. He has not so far been interested in eating his dog food, but has shown interest in human food (we are not feeding it to him, but he likes the smell) and in select treats. Apollo shows no interest in getting on the couch or on the bed. In the past Apollo had ACL surgery on one of his back legs, so sometimes he limps when he walks. When he lies down for awhile, too, he gets up and limps a bit. Overall, Apollo is a delightful addition, full of love and spunk, yet very well-mannered. He lived with young children in his past home and was said to be good with them. He is a tall, muscular fellow and certainly much weightier than the 35 lbs on his paperwork! :) This evening he finally picked up his chewy that we gave him yesterday, so hopefully this is a sign that he is beginning to feel more relaxed here. I'll post pictures asap-- most of the ones I took yesterday and today are really blurry or miss him entirely because he is just so full of joy to be outside that he won't stand still long enough for me to get a good shot! |
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| MEET APOLLO |
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