Groot

• Breed: Saint Bernard mix
• Gender: Male, neutered
• Age: 4.5 years old
• Size: 100+ pounds
• Good with…
  • Dogs? Yes!
  • Cats? Yes, dog-savvy cats!
  • Kids? 6+

Meet Groot (fun all day long!)

**Groot is not a CDR dog and he has not been evaluated by CDR. He is a courtesy posting for his current owner who needs to find a wonderful new home for him.**

To apply for Groot, fill out an online adoption application and the rescue will forward it to his current owner who will be in touch with you!

Hello! My name is Groot, I am very handsome and I love lots of fun activity and attention!

History

I was adopted in Jan 2021 as a 1 yr-old after being surrendered by previous owner who was a bit aggressive with correcting me, which made me uneasy around large men. In my new adoptive home, I spent the next 1.5 years inside the house sleeping on my personal couch while waiting for mom to take me walking, hiking, or to the dog park. For the last 2 years, I’ve shared our home with another mastiff type dog and we are the best of friends! We spend our days in our outdoor shed and dog yard, and evenings inside with Mom and Dad.

Personality

I love a lot of attention! I get excited and want to play whenever someone pets me, that is THE BEST! Truth be told, in that situation, it can be hard to relax, my whole being is joyfully feeling “YES!!! THIS IS THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD!!! I’m very loyal to my parents and want to be at their side whenever possible. I love to play hard with other dogs and I loved the cat I used to live with. Tug-of-war and wrestling are my favorite things to do! Even though I am almost 5 years old, I still really like to play and I need an active lifestyle with my person and very much would love other dogs to play with.
I love my daily walks and I am very food motivated! I’ll walk by your side all day, especially for treats. Sometimes I want to pull ahead, but mostly I’m not allowed to. I do well using an around-the-snout (aka Gentle Leader) type of walking harness, but I’m not too bad on just a regular leash/harness. I LOVE learning new tricks and engaging with people! I’m smart! Mom taught me to roll over really quickly when I was bored one night, haha!. I respond to my name and to commands such as sit, stay, down (point at ground), and come (or whistle). My recall is *often* good, except sometimes I don’t want to, so best to keep me on leash unless I am in a safely fenced area. At the dog park I learned to come when Mom whistled because she had such yummy treats…even when other dogs were very exciting! Treats pretty much always win the day with me!

Sometimes I bark a lot when I’m excited. Mom has to hold my collar and we have a little quiet time- out and then I’ll calm down and go play again. I love cat food and am on opportunist for human foods left on the counter. I am smart about it too…I will act like, “no big deal, food on the counter, I could care less,” until Mom leaves the room and then…YUM! In my belly! So, clever humans will not leave food on the counters when I am in the house!

I have learned that the best way to get treats from Mom is to lay on the kitchen floor on my own accord. She quietly reinforces the behaviors she likes and rewards me with treats. I love to lie at her feet whenever she cooks. She is careful not to just tell me “down” and give me a treat, because then I just jump right back up and hope she tells me “down” again so I get more!

I enjoy travel! I love to ride in the car with my head resting on Mom’s shoulder or between the two front seats. We drove across the country for 6 days like that and hiked and went to dog-friendly café’s and stayed in hotels. I’ve been camping with her too. I love adventures although sometimes I’m whiney in new places when I’m not sure what’s going on, until I get comfortable. The more things we do though, the more at ease I am. I love having a predictable routine but I can adapt to change if you give me a bit of time and reassurance.

I alert-bark when someone comes to the door and mom tells me to lie down and I wait for treats while someone else answers the door. When all is calm I like to go sniff everyone and make sure I approve! Sometimes certain larger men, especially if they are wearing a hat, sets off alarm bells in me from my past and I’m more guarded and may give a little growl warning. It helps me if you ask men to take their hats off around me, and also to let me approach them when I am ready. If they approach me first, it makes me more scared. Even if they are being friendly about it. But truly, mostly I just LOVE people, especially when I’m at the dog park in play mode. I would definitely defend my Mom though if I ever thought she needed it!

Cohabitation

I love people! A little scared of large men and men with hats so please be thoughtful and help me in these situations!
I love friendly dogs! Love playing with them, love hanging around with them! Would be a great fit for a medium-to-large dog (if they like large dogs!), but probably would be “too much” for a small or elderly dog.

I’m great with dog-savvy cats!

I’ve never lived with children, but I seem happy and playful when I have met elementary school aged-children. Since I am big and excitable, I should not live in a home with kids under 6— I could accidentally knock them over, my play style might be too rough-n-tumble and that usually scares and upset littler kids.

Favorite Activities

• Getting attention! Interacting with people! Learning tricks! GETTING TREATS!!!
• Walks and hiking with you!
• Tug-of-war and rough-and-tumble wresting with another friendly dog!
• Playing chase at dog park!
• Car rides!
• Naps at my person’s feet or with my dog/cat siblings!

Why I am looking for a new home

Sadly, my family situation has changed. Mom has separated from her partner and she now needs to travel quite frequently for work, which isn’t working out for either of us. She loves me to bits, but knows that she needs to find a new home for me, because her travel schedule doesn’t allow her to take care of me the way I deserve.

What My Ideal Home Would Be

I would love to be in a home with another other friendly, playful dog (or two!) but will be fine as an only dog if you don’t mind doing a good amount of playing and activity with me, and I get regular playtime with other dogs at the dog park or with your friends’ dogs. A fenced yard would be great, but isn’t required. An hour a day of physical exercise would be best for me! I do need positive reinforcement for any training you want to do with me, especially since I was given some harsh punishment in the past which left me scared. Joyful people who love big dogs and lots of fun activity would be wonderful for me! I also will do fine with one active person who I can attach myself to, and I will bond quickly!

To apply for Groot, fill out an online adoption application at adoption application and the rescue will forward it to my current mom who will be in touch with you!