About Enzo:

• Age: 16 months
• Gender: Male (not neutered)

Background: Enzo hasn’t had the best start in life; he’s moved through a couple of homes before finding his way to a rescue, and then to us.

Behavior:

• With Other Dogs: Enzo tends to vocalize when he sees other dogs while on a leash. However, with a calm and assertive handler, he quickly calms down and can walk nicely beside other dogs. Off-leash, he enjoys playing and running with them. His behavior seems to stem from past experiences; he might have had negative encounters with dogs when he was younger, making him cautious and nervous. With positive training, we believe he can improve significantly. There’s no aggression, just uncertainty.
• Cats: He hasn’t shown reaction to cats, but he hasn’t lived with one.
• Livestock: Enzo reacts to livestock, which is something that requires further training.
• Children: He has lived happily with children aged 5 and above.
• Strangers: He is fine with strangers.
• Resource Guarding: No signs of resource guarding.
• House Training: He is house-trained.

Ideal Home:

• We think Enzo would thrive with an older, spayed female dog from whom he can gain confidence and learn proper doggy manners.

Could you be Enzo’s Forever Home? If you feel you can provide Enzo with the loving, patient home he needs to flourish, please fill out our application form. Thank you for considering giving this wonderful young dog the chance he deserves.

Adoption Application

Enzo’s Assessment

Enzo was assessed by a qualified behaviourist on 18 December:

• Kennel behaviour: Enzo was excited to leave him kennel and ran around the block going to the other kennels before having his lead on. As soon as the lead was on Enzo was pulling hard towards the door to exit.
• Handling: Enzo enjoys affection, attention and all handling. He will jump up for more attention. Enzo responds well to being called when there are no distractions present. When a dog walked past the paddock on the road Enzo ran at the fence and was barking and running up and down the fence. He could not be recalled at this point and took a short while to calm and come back for affection.
• Sociability: In summary, Enzo appears to have some barrier frustration when on his lead regarding other dogs. He is very keen to greet all dog and gets frustrated when he is unable to. Enzo walked past a dog behind a gate upon leaving the kennel block and was reasonably responsive and walked on with minimal reaction. Once in the paddock (off lead) a dog walked past on the road and Enzo was fixated upon it, barking and running up and down the fence line. I brought my dog out who is cocker spaniel sized and calm around other dogs. Enzo was in the paddock on his lead at this point. He did become excited to see her but could still respond to the kennel manager whilst my dog  was walking slowly around the paddock at a distance of about 8 foot away. He wouldn’t take a treat at this point but he did respond and break his fixation on her. He became more excitable when my dog ran a little but this was not unmanageable. There was no aggression noted, it was excitability. When I took my dog out of the paddock and Enzo was let off lead he came to the gate and was play bowing and barking a little. He could however be recalled away from her at this point. I then observed Enzo playing with another Doberman off lead  (female). The play was mutual, he was respectful of the other dog and there was no sign of resource guarding or aggression around the toys that were out in the paddock. Further training around calm dogs at a distance will hopefully discourage his vocalisation and lunging behaviour when he sees other dogs. Enzo showed no concerning behaviour when greeting me. He does jump up but he will sit as an alternative behaviour to get attention. Not observed with men.
• Arousal & Reactivity: Reactivity on a scale of 1-5: 3. Enzo’s reactivity score is only surrounding other dogs when he is on his lead. This is excitement and frustration based reactivity rather than aggression. Enzo is excited by treats, tug toys and the ball. When he is in an aroused state he is unable to respond to any of these but with repetition and more socialisation he may learn to take a reward for breaking the fixation. He shows no reaction to passing cars. Not assessed in the car, with cyclists or with children.
• Possession: Enzo is motivated by toys and treats. He will willingly swap between the two and does not show any guarding behaviours around humans or dogs in relation to treats or toys.
• Assessors general comments: Enzo has some issues around barrier frustration (excitement and frustration when he is on his lead) regarding other dogs. He is strong on the lead and can become quite manic after he has passed another dog. However, this is not an aggressive response. He would benefit from some training walks with a calm dog who will ignore him completely to work through these issues. Enzo is a very loving dog who is eager to please. With consistent boundaries and training he has the potential to excel and overcome his frustrations. Enzo has good basic training such as sit and lie down and I am sure he could learn lots more commands with positive reinforcement training. I believe he would benefit from living with a female dog of similar size and energy levels to him. He enjoys rough play as well as chasing with another dog. He also appeared to take some confidence from the other dog in regards to people passing the paddock.