This muscular, black stallion is stoic, calm, confident and very handsome. Dozzer is a 5-6 yr old, 58 lb. boy who is very sweet, walks well on a leash and is the leader of the pack. An amazing rescue story…this boy was tied to an abandoned van by his owner along with the mother, Lady Lulu, and their 6 puppies. CLR came in and rescued the entire family. CLR sought the necessary medical attention for all and Dozzer is healthy and happy! Be the forever companion for this heroic, gallant boy who has a lot of love to share.
Updates
Dozzer is a good dog. He’s always happy to see us. He is the best cuddle buddy and he listens very well. Dozzer gets along with our dog and leaves our cats alone. He walks with a loose leash and does great in the car. He’s the kind of dog that is happy to go on adventures, but is also happy to chill while you sit at the computer. Dozzer has experienced doggie day care and received positive feedback. We have taken him to our groomer to have his nails trimmed and he received positive feedback from her as well. Everyone who has met him thinks he is the sweetest and loves his salt and pepper face. Dozzer is also very smart and enjoys learning new things.
Here are some commands he has learned from us so far:
Sit
Down
Wait (Stay)
OK (Our Release Word)
With Me (Non-Emergency Recall)
Crate
Off
Up
Drop It
Leave It
Paw
Focus (For Eye Contact)
Find It (For Nose Work)
FOSTER UPDATE
Dozzer had another good week. When we had people over and he did well staying with our dog in a gated room. Dozzer has become more comfortable staying in his crate for longer periods of time while we are out. Dozzer and our dog have been playing in the yard really well lately. He seems more comfortable around our dog’s high energy and his body language remains relaxed while they run around the yard playing keep away with a toy. Dozzer’s favorite toy seems to be a tug toy and he also likes toys that squeak. I can’t say it enough – he’s a terrific dog with the sweetest face.
FOSTER UPDATE
When I picked Dozzer up from boarding on Monday they told me that he did really well in doggy day care which is awesome news. He was really excited to see everyone when he got home. Dozzer didn’t have any problems getting back into our routine which tells me our training is sticking. He’s such a good dog.
FOSTER UPDATE
Dozzer is a gem. He’s always so happy to see me and has a fun amount of playfulness. I hope someone scoops him up soon because I know he would be the perfect trail and camping dog. I so badly want to see if he’d chill on a kayak!
This week we brought Dozzer to a dog-friendly dealership and it turned out to be the perfect, quiet environment for him to meet new people. I was really proud of how he handled himself. He was timid, but confident. He would return to me when he had had enough of a person and on a few occasions he would go back for more pets. He was patient and well-behaved.
Dozzer usually wants to be where he can see me; however, yesterday while I was in the kitchen cooking I noticed he wasn’t in his usual spot. I found him out on our screened-in patio watching the squirrels. He was out there by himself for about 30 minutes before he came to see me with the wiggles as if he was also just so proud of himself.
For training this week we reinforced what he already knows. We specifically practiced “Wait” at doors and stairs. I’ve started correcting him to walk behind me in the house instead of in front of me like he knows where we’re going. We also added “Focus” which we use for eye contact and “Back” which I use when he’s crowding me. And of course we practiced me being out-of-sight. He has to be in his crate for these exercises. For nose work, I started placing treats higher than the floor.
This upcoming week I’m going to spend more time out of the house for longer intervals. I want to start purposefully working on “Drop It” (he does this pretty well already) and “Leave It”. I also want to add a “Your Spot” command. And, of course give him lots of cuddles because that’s his favorite way to spend time with me.
FOSTER UPDATE
Dozzer is feeling more comfortable and is testing some boundaries which is totally expected. We’ve dealt with more jumping on us and pawing at us when he wants attention. We have continued to disengage with him when he does it, but we are now also asking him to sit before we pet him. He’s just so cute and it’s hard to ignore him sometimes!
This past week we were able to take Dozzer on quite a few car rides which was great because we got to work on him staying in the back seat. It was also great for him to experience car rides that weren’t to the vet. Dozzer showed more confidence with every trip we took. He’s been doing pretty good with the command “with me”. We’ll continue to throw a party every time he checks in with me. Also, he started playing with toys this week! That was a lot of fun to experience. I introduced him to the Kong wobbler slow feeder and a Kong bamboo ball slow feeder. He figured both out right away without any coaching. To top it off, Dozzer chose to hang out in his crate on his own and has been sleeping in it overnight!
This upcoming week, I’ll probably prioritize out of sight exercises where I leave the house.
FOSTER UPDATE
I am super impressed with the progress that Dozzer has made in just a week. Dozzer is doing really well with “sit”, “down” and “wait”, and he’s doing better about jumping on people when he’s excited. I introduced him to snuffle mats and a nose work game where I hide treats and he has to find them. He did great for his first go at it. I can even be out of sight (in the house) for about 30 minutes without him whining. He also isn’t nervous to walk past our cats anymore. Go Dozzer!
In addition to reinforcing the things we’ve already worked on, my plan for Dozzer this coming week is to work on “with me” (non emergency recall), “heel” and “crate”. We’ll do more nose work and I’ll also be changing our out of sight exercises to me leaving the house.
FOSTER UPDATE
Dozer did really well his first day in foster. He was timid at first but by the end of the night he was wagging his tail, and was more comfortable around us and Rivers.
We have not had any accidents. He lets me know when he needs to go out with a soft whine.
He met our brave cat, Briggs. Dozer is a bit unsure about Briggs and would prefer to avoid him. We will start doing some positive reinforcement once everyone settles in a bit more.
We tried out his crate and he is not the biggest fan, but we will continue to do some crate training throughout the day.
He very much would like to be a lap dog!
He does “sit” moderately well and he is good on a leash. Thankfully he has been fairly responsive to redirection when needed. He is highly food motivated and I have been pleasantly surprised with his engagement so far. I’m really excited to work with him once I gain his trust a bit more.
