Size
(when grown) X-Large 101 lbs (46 kg) or more
Details
Good with kids,
Good with dogs,
Good with cats,
Needs experienced adopter,
House-trained,
Spayed or Neutered,
Story
Joey can be a big goofball. He is approximately 4 years old (best guess at his birthdate is 3/28/2022). However, he is very slow to warm up to people and will need someone who will be patient with him and not push him. He has to make up his mind that he's ok with you. His typical behavior when someone new comes into his space is to bark and try to avoid them. He does not like for people to approach him before he is ready. He will usually warm up to people as long as they don't try to force him to be friendly and "ignore" him. He knows basic commands - here, heel, sit, shake, leave it, no, outside/go potty. He may not always choose to obey those commands! Joey is kennel training and housebroken. He is familiar with a both leashes and harnesses. He gets super excited when he sees either of those because he knows he's about to go somewhere. However, he does NOT enjoy car rides due to getting sick on his initial car ride to his prior owner's home. When he sees the car door open, he will try to stall getting in. Once in the car, he becomes very anxious and will pant/drool excessively for the duration of the ride. He will calm down once he's back home quickly but will take some time if not at home (groomer, vet, etc.). Joey does tend to pull on both the leash and harness, so we have been using a gentle leader to help control this behavior. He has been an extreme chewer all of his life. The chewing did decrease as he got older and he knows that there are certain toys that are ok for him to chew on and things like furniture are off limits. However, his owners have not had as much time to give him as much attention as he was used to, so the excessive chewing has amped up again. His most recent victims were the antique China cabinet, antique buffet and the sofa. He is not a fan of dog beds or throw pillows and has destroyed numerous of both. Joey can be a big love bug as well. He loves pets, belly scratches, hugs, etc. He will lay/sit on your feet for hours to watch TV with you. His favorite show so far seems to be Swamp People! He prefers to lay either on the couch, on your feet, on the bare floor, or in his kennel with no bed. When he gets really excited, he will sometimes jump, but usually not on a person. Joey is a BIG boy! We were told that he would probably be around 60-70 pounds when fully grown...he blew that out of the water almost immediately! He weighed in at 112 pounds at his last vet visit! His vet did say that loosing 10 pounds would be beneficial to him, but he will still be a BIG boy! That being said, he may sometimes bump into you if he's excited or trying to get away from a visitor, playing, going potty, etc. His bumps can, of course, be hard, but he is not intentionally trying to hurt anyone. Like most big dogs, he doesn't know his own size or strength! He has lived with other big dogs (Great Danes [2] & Rottweiler) and cats since we have had him. His owners got him at approximately 6 months of age. Prior to that he was with the breeder who was in failing health. He has not really shown any aggression towards the cats or dogs, most of the time. He has shown signs of resource guarding. He's always been a hoarder when it comes to toys and will sneakily take them away from the other dogs and place them in his kennel. At times, he will try to guard the food. Whenever he's corrected on this behavior, he will usually stop and will often retreat to his kennel. The kennel is his safe space and he often chooses to be in there for naps on his own. They do close the kennel door at night and when we leave the house to avoid any further chewing damages. We feel like he would do best in a home without small children. Older, dog savvy children would probably be ok. He will need someone who is patient and will give him the proper time and space to warm up to them. Also, we feel like he would do best with someone who can give him attention daily and doesn't have too hectic of a lifestyle. Another dog in the home would be ok as well. Joey does not like when his prior owners take one of the other dogs somewhere and he's left behind. When they had just he and their other dog, Gilbert, he would howl the entire time Gilbert was gone. He will still howl some if one of the others are gone and he's not.
