Rocky is a lovely 2.5 year old docked and cropped entire black & tan boy.
He was surrendered to us as his owner did not have time for him. He is a lovely laid-back chap who has shown no aggression, he is slowly coming out of his shell.
We don’t know how he is with cats or children, so children of 12 upwards. He seems to be dog friendly.
Rocky as been assessed by a qualified behaviourist:
Kennel behaviour
Rocky was excited and was jumping around, although readily had his slip lead put on. He exited excitedly and was pulling to get out of the kennel block. He did not take any notice of me at all. There was no reaction to dogs in adjacent kennels. On leaving, I offered him a treat, but he did not take it. He seemed keen to get out to the paddock. Once we had reached the paddock, I tried to engage with him, but he was not interested, and we decided to let him off his lead for a run. He spent some time running round the paddock, sniffing. He did not respond when we called his name. He eventually approached in his own time and started to take some treats.
Handling
When he started to approach, he took treats gently without snatching. He was happy to be handled and I was able to touch him all over without any reaction. I touched his feet, hindquarters, head, ears, tummy, tail. I knocked into him to test for any reaction but there was none. He pulled on the lead on his way out to the paddock but did start to respond to treats and offered some better leadwork. He does not appear to have a trained recall but did eventually start to respond. He does not appear to know his name.
Sociability
Rocky was not at all concerned about my presence and there was no negative reaction from him. He was quite aloof and appeared to be enjoy his own company. He appears to be of good temperament and showed no hostility or negative reaction at all. I moved around him and ran past him. He did engage when asked and start to play a little with a ball. He showed no interest in a tug toy. I felt that he did not have much experience of playing.
Arousal/reactivity
Please give details of reactivity on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 = low & 5 = high)
Reactivity – Low 1
Rocky was motivated by treats but did not snatch and showed excellent impulse control. There was a little jumping up when excited. He showed excellent impulse control with the ball and waited calmly for the play to start. He did not get over excited and was soft mouthed at all times. He did not show any reaction to anything in his environment, including people, dogs, traffic, noise, objects etc. He appears to have received little training but did Sit and Wait when asked. I feel that he would respond well to training once his focus has improved.
Possession
Rocky showed no evidence of resource guarding. He was soft mouthed and did not snatch. He was happy to give up toys in exchange for treats. Although he was keen to chase the ball, he did not seem to understand to bring it back.
Rocky did not show any negative reactions at all during this assessment. He is not particularly pro-social but is completely comfortable in the presence of strangers or in his own company. He did respond to treats and showed excellent impulse control. Rocky is a lovely dog and needs to develop a relationship with his adopter. He mainly has good manners and is mostly calm. He does need some good positive training and I feel that he would respond well. I would have no hesitation in recommending him for rehoming and I am sure he will be a lovely addition to a family.