Yankee 16-123

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Profile

In addition to LOVE this dog has the following requirements:
Date Posted Fence Kid Friendly Another Dog Cat Friendly
7/7/2016  Not required Ages 5+ Optional Yes
This is the most recent information available; however, it may change as we learn more about the dog.

Welcome Yankee! This handsome boy came into RAGOM due to allergies in the family. You can tell he was well-loved and has been a great houseguest. Yankee is 4 years old, housetrained, and good with other dogs. He isn’t neutered yet, but it’s scheduled for July 27th. Despite being intact, Yankee hasn’t marked in the house, but he is kept busy when outside; he spends lots of time sniffing and marking!

Yankee has a beautiful coat, a blocky head, short legs, and a long body. We are working on getting some weight off him currently; I think he could lose 10-12 pounds, but he will still be a big boy; currently he’s 94 pounds. He does the Golden nudge and would love to be petted all day long. He has really started to play with his foster brother, a Saint Bernard puppy, Hugo. He handles the puppy play very well and respects the older girls when they tell him to calm down. We had a couple male Lab visitors over the weekend, and Yankee did well with one exception: one of the Labs must smell good or something, but Yankee was a bit obsessed with humping him. I was able to call him off after a few attempts, but he kept trying, so eventually I just kept them separated. On that note, Yankee respects baby gates and doesn’t try to tip them or jump over. I have a fenced yard, but I think with work, he may be able to be trusted off-leash. Sometimes he gets so focused on his smells, I don’t think he pays attention, like a little kid. But he’s very eager to please and is definitely treat-motivated, both great qualities for training!


Short legs, long body!


How do you get a puppy to stop biting? You sit on him!

I haven’t had him around kids yet, but I think he would be just fine. I think older kids, 6 and up, would be better for Yankee, just because he’s a big boy and could knock a younger kid over when excited. He doesn’t resource-guard with humans and has been good with the other dogs, though I haven’t had any high-value items out yet. He is very strong and pulls like a horse on a leash. We are starting to use the Gentle Leader, and it helps some, but he still pulls. He has quite a bit of energy and would benefit from an active home. I’m hoping to test him by the water soon to see if he likes to swim. I don’t have cats, but will see if I can-test him; he doesn’t seem to have a high prey drive, so I think he would be okay. Yankee is able to have free roam during the day and is trustworthy! I make it a habit to not have anything on the counters, and I have a locking garbage can, so I’m unsure if he would counter-surf or get in the garbage. He does like to beg; I’ve been spraying him with bitter apple spray, and he’s already much better!

Yankee is a great boy:

  • good with other dogs
  • housetrained
  • eager to please / very trainable
  • always happy
  • loves all people
  • loves to be outside and active
  • gets free roam during day (can be kenneled, though, and is comfortable with that, too)
  • doesn’t go on the furniture
  • up to date on vaccines, microchipped, will be neutered

Things Yankee needs work on (both of which will come with time and training!):

  • pulling on a leash; will work on use of a Gentle Leader
  • getting his attention when he’s focused on something else

Things I will try with Yankee:

  • getting him cat-tested
  • having him around kids
  • seeing if he likes water/swimming
  • focusing exercises

What Yankee needs in his new home:

  • someone strong who can work with Yankee on his leash skills
  • a family dedicated to continue with training and focusing
  • an active family who will include Yankee in their activities

Yankee is a fun dog that will make some lucky family very happy!

At a Glance #16-123

Mixed Breed Born: January 2012
Male 90 lbs

Status: Adopted

Profile

In addition to LOVE this dog has the following requirements:
Date Posted Fence Kid Friendly Another Dog Cat Friendly
7/7/2016  Not required Ages 5+ Optional Yes
This is the most recent information available; however, it may change as we learn more about the dog.

Welcome Yankee! This handsome boy came into RAGOM due to allergies in the family. You can tell he was well-loved and has been a great houseguest. Yankee is 4 years old, housetrained, and good with other dogs. He isn’t neutered yet, but it’s scheduled for July 27th. Despite being intact, Yankee hasn’t marked in the house, but he is kept busy when outside; he spends lots of time sniffing and marking!

Yankee has a beautiful coat, a blocky head, short legs, and a long body. We are working on getting some weight off him currently; I think he could lose 10-12 pounds, but he will still be a big boy; currently he’s 94 pounds. He does the Golden nudge and would love to be petted all day long. He has really started to play with his foster brother, a Saint Bernard puppy, Hugo. He handles the puppy play very well and respects the older girls when they tell him to calm down. We had a couple male Lab visitors over the weekend, and Yankee did well with one exception: one of the Labs must smell good or something, but Yankee was a bit obsessed with humping him. I was able to call him off after a few attempts, but he kept trying, so eventually I just kept them separated. On that note, Yankee respects baby gates and doesn’t try to tip them or jump over. I have a fenced yard, but I think with work, he may be able to be trusted off-leash. Sometimes he gets so focused on his smells, I don’t think he pays attention, like a little kid. But he’s very eager to please and is definitely treat-motivated, both great qualities for training!


Short legs, long body!


How do you get a puppy to stop biting? You sit on him!

I haven’t had him around kids yet, but I think he would be just fine. I think older kids, 6 and up, would be better for Yankee, just because he’s a big boy and could knock a younger kid over when excited. He doesn’t resource-guard with humans and has been good with the other dogs, though I haven’t had any high-value items out yet. He is very strong and pulls like a horse on a leash. We are starting to use the Gentle Leader, and it helps some, but he still pulls. He has quite a bit of energy and would benefit from an active home. I’m hoping to test him by the water soon to see if he likes to swim. I don’t have cats, but will see if I can-test him; he doesn’t seem to have a high prey drive, so I think he would be okay. Yankee is able to have free roam during the day and is trustworthy! I make it a habit to not have anything on the counters, and I have a locking garbage can, so I’m unsure if he would counter-surf or get in the garbage. He does like to beg; I’ve been spraying him with bitter apple spray, and he’s already much better!

Yankee is a great boy:

  • good with other dogs
  • housetrained
  • eager to please / very trainable
  • always happy
  • loves all people
  • loves to be outside and active
  • gets free roam during day (can be kenneled, though, and is comfortable with that, too)
  • doesn’t go on the furniture
  • up to date on vaccines, microchipped, will be neutered

Things Yankee needs work on (both of which will come with time and training!):

  • pulling on a leash; will work on use of a Gentle Leader
  • getting his attention when he’s focused on something else

Things I will try with Yankee:

  • getting him cat-tested
  • having him around kids
  • seeing if he likes water/swimming
  • focusing exercises

What Yankee needs in his new home:

  • someone strong who can work with Yankee on his leash skills
  • a family dedicated to continue with training and focusing
  • an active family who will include Yankee in their activities

Yankee is a fun dog that will make some lucky family very happy!

Updates

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Yankee is officially kid- and cat-tested and passed both with flying colors! He had the opportunity to attend the Saint Paul Saints game and be Pet of the Game. I was more nervous than Yankee was! He met so many nice people and soaked up all the love and attention. It was at this event that Yankee was around kids for the first time since coming to stay with me, and he did just fine. He handled the noise and crowd well; I was very impressed! Last weekend, I had kids ranging in age from 15 months up to 9 years at my house, and again, Yankee seemed to really enjoy being around them. He is pretty gentle, but he is a big boy who could accidentally knock a young child over in excitement, so I still think kids over 5 or 6 would be best. This week, Yankee and I visited a fellow volunteer’s home so he could meet her dog-savvy cat. At first, Yankee barely noticed the cat was there, as he was so into the pets he was getting from his new friend! He eventually sniffed the cat and walked away to go and smell other things. When he came back to the couch, he sat for more pets, and the cat began licking his face! It was pretty fun to watch. I think Yankee would be fine living with a cat(s).

We have houseguests again this week: the same Labs that were here over the 4th of July. Yankee is no longer humping the one, and rather, they have been playing quite well! Because it has been so hot out, we haven’t had a chance to practice his leash-walking skills much, but there has still been improvement with the Gentle Leader when we have been able to use it. He doesn’t much like it and will sometimes stop to try to get it off. I don’t have an Easy Walk harness big enough to try on him, but that might be another option to help with walking. He continues to love playing with his foster brother (Saint Bernard puppy) and foster sister (German Shepherd) while respecting his other foster sister’s space (Saint Bernard adult).

Yankee likes to be your shadow and follows me wherever I go. He loves car rides and gets very excited when he knows he’s coming with you! He’s the perfect passenger and rides well.

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Yankee is doing great! He got to meet my sister's 10-month-old puppy, and Yankee was the life of the party; all the dogs wanted to play with him at once! He handled himself very well and absolutely loves playing with other dogs. There was a real dog pile in my living room! I think he would enjoy being an only dog as he's a bit of an attention hog, but would be more than happy living with another dog and having a playmate.

Yankee rides very well in the car and likes to rest his head on your shoulder. At home, he tries to be a lap dog, but doesn't come all the way up on the furniture. He likes to watch the world pass by and is oftentimes looking out the window. He does jump sometimes when he's excited, but he's pretty gentle about it. I'm working on this by telling him, "Yankee, down," and having him sit; he's picking up on this quickly!

My sister thought Yankee was super cute and handsome, and enjoyed his loving personality. That is Yankee in a nutshell: always ready for some lovin' and a sweet, gentle soul that aims to please and put a smile on your face. :)