Size
(when grown) Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg)
Details
Spayed or Neutered,
Story
A portion of my adoption fee has been sponsored by an anonymous donor. The adoption fee sponsorship credit of $500.00 will be applied during the contract process.
Hello my name is Burdock, I'm from Minnesota!
From his foster: Burdock is a GSD mix (how much is up for debate) rez dog who has managed to overcome quite a difficult start to life and is well on his way to becoming a happy, fun-loving, and well-trained pooch. He was neutered while in foster care and recovered with no issues. He's fully house trained in that he will persistently come to you and ask to go out by looking at you, then whining and pacing as long as he can. He's been good enough to wake me up while sleeping rather than make a mess in the house. In addition, he's crate trained but tends to take better to it when people are out of the house. That lets him focus his mind on his chew toys instead of wanting to hang around and play with all the humans. I suspect he'd be alright sleeping in his crate as long as it was quiet and he didn't think action was going on without him. The protective guard dog instinct in him means he's compelled to investigate noise and I'd go so far as to call him a light sleeper because he likes to move around somewhat and grab a drink of water once or twice a night.
Big Burd certainly would like a backyard with a fence at least six feet tall or someplace else where he'll be secure to run around off his leash. A daily walk or two is also in his best interests, and to that end he's learning to use a gentle lead which has helped calm him down to a large degree. He still requires a bribe/treat or two to put it on, but he doesn't fuss about it (same goes for his dog boots during the winter). Burdo loves his Kong toy, especially when it's full of peanut butter, thinks that No-Hide chews are ambrosia, and totally believes string cheese is caviar. They, along with an assorted selection of other treats, are useful distractions when he gets excessively playful with his puppy gnawing. He's got a moderate level of energy and I expect him to mellow out a bit as he gets older.
Being a working breed, he considers his job to be keeping your yard free of pesky rabbits and squirrels, as well as knowing what's going on inside and outside his domicile in general. True to his name, Burdock is something of a velcro dog who will want to follow you from room to room mainly to extract his salary in the form of belly rubs, ear scratches, head pats, and treats. He won't demand you obsess over him constantly and is very content to curl up in the background in his bed, crate, or any place soft and comfy he's allowed to nap or nibble on a toy. That said, he does want to be the center of attention a few times a day. If neglected, he'll temporarily pretend he's a toy breed and sprawl out across your lap to make that point. He knows a handful of commands including: sit, down, stay (as in "stay put"), stop (as in "stop doing that"), and leave it. His current area of study is loose-leash walking which is meant to counter his natural tendency to pull towards or jump at things. One could say the Burd has both healthy prey and play drives.
At this moment, Burds demands he be the only animal in the house, though his foster and trainer are working on his socialization skills with other canines.