Scooby is adopted. Scooby is a 14 month old black and tan entire male.

As with any young male he is excitable but also very manageable.

He is friendly with people and has lived with young children.

He is great with dogs and has shown no reactivity and he has lived with a cat.

He does need ongoing training and lives his life to the full, a very nice dog who has a lot to give.

Scooby’s Assessment

Kennel behaviour

Scooby was being walked by a volunteer when I arrived, so I did not see him exit the kennel. We did return him to his kennel after his assessment and he entered very willingly and waited to have his lead removed. He paid no attention to people or other dogs in the kennel block.

Handling

Scooby was very happy to interact with me and was happy to be petted and touched. I touched him all over and he showed no reaction at all. He does get excited and jumps up a bit when he is on his lead. He also has a tendency to bite at his lead. He does, however, respond very well to food rewards and I was able to distract him and ask him to follow cues which he did very well.

Sociability

Scooby was very sociable and just wanted to play. He does have good obedience skills and has clearly received some training. He is able to Sit, Down and Wait and has generally good impulse control. His recall is very good and we were able to call him away from people, dogs and other animals in the environment. He was very focussed and clearly motivated to listen. He enjoyed playing with a ball and will retrieve. He also enjoyed a tug game but does get a little excited and has a tendency to snatch at the tug. However, if you present a treat and ask him to Leave, he will comply.

Arousal/Reactivity

Please give details of reactivity on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 = low & 5 = high)
Reactivity – 0
Scooby showed no reaction at all to anything in his environment during his assessment.

Possession

Scooby is soft mouthed when taking treats and does not snatch. He is happy to drop a ball for you to throw again. He is keen on the tug and wants to retain it a little more but will drop it when asked in return for a reward.

Comments

Scooby is a delightful dog. He is very pro-social and just wants to play. This does sometimes spill over into excitement and over boisterousness when he is on his lead but I feel that this could be easily resolved with some good reward based training. He is responsive to food rewards and also toys so these could also be used as rewards. He has a great recall even with distractions around and is very motivated to listen to his handler. He showed no negative reactions at all to anything in the environment. I think that Scooby would quickly fit into a new home and I would highly recommend him.