Arthur

Quick Facts:

  • Breed: Pit bull terrier mix
  • Gender: Male, neutered
  • Age: 7-8 years
  • Size: 56 pounds
  • Good with…
    • Dogs? Yes! Once I know them!
    • Cats? Yes!
    • Kids? Yes! (outside the home)

Hello! My name is Arthur, and I love snuggling with my people!

**forever foster…not taking applications!**

Middle-aged, mostly-mellow, treat-loving, devoted family dog seeking a patient, understanding, dog-savvy person or family who will give me lots of cuddles, love and treats, and use positive-based training to overcome my fear of non-family people coming into my home.  (Cayuga Dog Rescue will pay for a trainer to work with us on my reactive behaviors so we can learn together.)

History

Arthur lived through a house fire and then was abandoned in the burnt out house. Understandably Arthur has anxieties about trusting new people and allowing outsiders to come into his home.  He can be very reactive (loud barking and/or snapping) when non-family people come to the door or his backyard.  But, with time, patience, and lots of positive reinforcement  Arthur does trust, and is completely devoted to his people.  He is attentive to figuring out what his people want and earnestly learns to follow their lead.

Once Arthur has settled in he adapts to the household routines and personalities of his humans.  He loves attention – going for a walk, cuddling, training for treats, exploring the backyard, or napping beside his working-from-home, or sitting on the deck humans.  But he’s not needy.  When people are busy he’ll take a nap or chew on a chew toy and does not mind being left alone.

Things to know about Arthur:

  • He has super expressive eyes that he uses to ask, “Are you sure I can’t get on the couch?” “Don’t you want to share your pretzels?” How about a break from your computer?”
  • He loves belly rubs and cuddles and curling up in the sunshine for a nap;
  • He LOVES peanut butter;
  • He is polite on a leash; he’ll give a tug when he sees a squirrel but will stop when you call, “Arthur, this way,” and give him a treat;
  • He loves short trail walks (neighborhood walks are good too);
  • He’s very calm in the house unless he’s surprised by a visitor (or the vacuum);
  • He lived happily with other dogs and cats;
  • He loves his fleeces and coats and wrapping up in a comforter on his bed;
  • With treats and praise Arthur has learned that some scary things aren’t so scary and that he can rely on his humans to protect him.

In two months with his foster family, lots of love, treats, and praise (and the help of a trainer), have helped Arthur learn that he can relax and rely on his humans in more and more situations.  He’s learning that it’s not his job to guard the door and that he can co-exist with the neighbors on the other side of the fence.  When he just can’t resist barking at the neighbors, he’ll listen when his humans tell him to go lie down (out of sight of the backyard) and will calm right down.  He is capable of and motivated to learn and Cayuga Dog Rescue will cover all costs to have a great trainer come to Arthur’s new home to work with him and his new family.

Medical

Arthur is a very healthy boy!  His blood work and exam were all good!  He takes Dasaquin and fish oil and a pain med for some occasional stiffness, and he has a visit scheduled with the Sports Medicine folks to see if they have other ideas.  He takes doggy Prozac to help him feel safer, is up to date on shots, on monthly heartworm preventive and wears a Seresto collar!

Summary

Arthur went through some scary and heartbreaking times before he came into rescue, but wow, what a beautiful heart and spirit he has!  He is sweet and loving and wants to please his humans.  Arthur needs help feeling safer in some situations, so he needs to find a forever home who has some experience with positive reinforcement training, or who has time and interest to learn.  He’s worth it, he really is.  Please give Arthur the chance to be your best forever friend!

If you are interested in adopting me, please fill out an online adoption application and live close to Ithaca , Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester, or Elmira. We do home visits on every applicant, and can’t do home visits where we don’t have local volunteers.

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