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My basic info
Breed
Siberian Husky
Color
Black - with White
Age
7 years 2 months old, Adult
Size
Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg) (when grown)
Weight
50 lbs (current)
Sex
Male
Pet ID
–
My details
Not good with kids
Good with dogs
Not good with cats
Needs experienced adopter
Shots current
Spayed / Neutered
Housetrained
My story
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Here's what the humans have to say about me:
Zeus is looking for a new home through no fault of his own - his owner fell into some unfortunate circumstances where he could no longer keep his dogs for what was supposed to be a temporary period of time. He was working with several programs to try to keep them longterm, and has successfully taken 2 of the 3 back, but unfortunately is not going to be able to bring Zeus back home as well. He has been at Heidi's Village in boarding for several months now, and we really want to try to help him get a second chance!
He is actually very mellow for a husky overall - we estimate around 5-6yrs old, doesn't jump up on people when he first meets them or have crazy rambunctious tendencies. He is a little wary at first with new people, but loves treats and will both "sit" and "shake" (the latter VERY enthusiastically!) and will definitely warm up to you quick if you have some treats in your hand!
He walks well on his leash, LOVES tennis balls and will bounce one around and play with it by himself - though he's happy to let you throw it for him as well.
So far so good right? Well here's where things get complicated for poor Zeus.... for who knows what reason, he has EXTREME resource guarding when it comes to his food bowl. He will cover it with his head and growl, and even lunge towards someone if he feels to threatened. This would be more manageable if he would actually eat his food all at once too though! He does not eat all of it right away and will guard his food bowl for extended periods of time. He would definitely need to be fed in a completely separate space, and given time alone to eat / finish his food. We also are 100% requiring that any adopter interested in Zeus have prior experience with food aggression.
We are going to explore working with our trainer to see if anything can be done for Zeus to help him improve on this behavior to give him a better shot at finding his perfect forever home!
He does need a foster home as well as an adopter as we really believe his resource guarding tendencies would improve even in moving from a boarding facility to a home, but for a dog with his food aggression, it has to be the right foster/adopter!
When food is not present he shows absolutely no aggression whatsoever! He sits and takes treats very gently. When he drops a treat on the floor if he doesn't love it, we can even pick it up without him even reacting. He also lets his tennis ball be picked up too - something about his food bowl with kibble in it specifically sets him off. We will continue to work on this, but please let us know if you would like to meet him, and think you might be the right human to work with him!
