Koda is needing a new home as his present owner no longer has the time to spend with him that he needs, although she loves him she realises for his sake she has to let him go. As she is as concerned about finding the right home as I am I will put the description of him up as she sent it to me as it covers pretty much everything you would need to know about this boy;
Koda was born on the 4 aug 2007, so he is now just over a year and a half old. I have had him since he was 12 weeks old, he has a skin condition, which the vet calls scruffy skin. It’s a bit like dandruff, with skin being a bit flaky, this is sometimes worse than others, it seems to be worse in the winter, not sure if this is because he spends more time lying next to the heater when its cold. This does not require any treatment and does not appear to bother him at all, he never scratches or itches with it.
We attended puppy classes when Koda was younger and he did quite well at these, unfortunately I did not have the time to keep taking him to these. He has had very little contact with other dogs since this. He has never shown any aggression to another dog, just curiosity and friendliness. This in its self has its drawbacks and is part of the reason he has little contact, he wants to jump on top of n roll about with other dogs and obviously with his size this can be dangerous for smaller dogs. He has spent time in kennels where the staff have reported that he spend a lot of time playing with another larger dog and absolutely loved it, although this is only second hand information for me. He is not good with children, again not in an aggressive way. He has not been particularly well socialised with children and therefore has little understanding of the boundaries surrounding them, and would be likely to knock a child over or barge past, which could cause harm.
He walks well on the lead (I walk him with a halti) and will walk to heel for the most part. He will occasionally have a little pull if he sees something interesting (another dog or a jogger) but responds quickly to “leave”. However, he doesn’t often get off the lead as we will not come when called and would run off after something, so there are very few places I feel safe enough to let him off.
Koda is a big lovable lump, he loves getting attention and will lean on me, sit on my feet and still sometimes tries to sit on my knee. He loves getting his ears, belly, anywhere really, scratched. He seems to love everybody (even the vet) and has never come across a person yet that he doesn’t like. This can cause problems too with him jumping up, he tends to do this less outside but can be very intimidating to people who visit the house. He often gets over excited, especially when visitors think its funny to wind him up, I have discouraged rough and tumble play with him since I got him however other people seem to think they can do this and are then obviously worried when he gets over excited.
He can be quite demanding when not getting the attention that he thinks he deserves, he will paw at me and jump up. I find this quite challenging as he weighs almost the same as me. He will also on occasion bark at me, this seems to be particularly when I’m on the phone. He will also mouth, try to grab my arm or hand, he does this also if anyone tries to grab his collar and has done so since he was a puppy. This is not done in an aggressive way, although some people may see it that way, he has never shown any aggression this is simply his way of getting attention and when he does this if u were to give him your hand\arm he simply holds it in his mouth for a few seconds with no pressure then lets go.
He is not good at letting you know if he needs out, he wont ask to get out and so if he is not taken out regularly he will simply go on the floor. He is also not very good at holding it for a long time and so needs out every couple of hours, I would say probably 4 or 5 at he most.
He is good in the car, and will sit happily on the back seat, although may try to nosey through if someone new sits in the front. Again he responds quickly when told no.
He is very motivated by food and acts like he never gets fed, he will raid bins and steel from plates. He also eats things he’s not supposed to, including bits of paper, furniture, he’s even eaten pairs of socks although has never shown any interest in shoes. He once opened the cupboard door, ate a hole in the plastic feed bin and finished almost a full 15 kg bag of food.
Koda is a gorgeous boy who I know would make someone a great pet. He is very curious and gets into everything, including opening doors, but is still a big baby. He gets spooked easily when out, usually by the train, which passes us most nights on our walk. Most of the problems he has are due to boredom because of my lack of time with him. I’m sure that with someone who is willing to put in the time and effort with him he would learn quickly. Living with him is never dull as he is a great character and is always up to something funny.
