Prince has been returned to me by his owner as of 10-25-08, through no fault of his own. His owner had only good things to say about Prince who has been very well socialized. He was an indoor/outdoor pet, has gone on daily outings and regular trips to the dog park.
At 10 months old he was 115 lbs and 32 inches tall.
Back here at our home he has been great with the other dogs, except my mature male Pyr who did not make Prince feel welcome, so there is no way in knowing how they would have gotten along if my Pyr would have been less hostile.
He has been great in the house and with visitors who have come by.
I have taken him along into my chicken yard and the goat pen, and he has been very good each time so far. Prince has grown up with my chickens and goats before he left at 10 weeks old.
I want to keep him here at least for a few weeks to make sure I know him well and can make a sound decision about placing him into the right home, though I think I have a very good idea already since his owner has always remained in contact so I know how he grew up and what he is like.
The pictures are taken at 10 1/2 months old, so he still has another 1 1/2 to 2 years of growing ahead of him. I will post pictures of him with the goats and chickens when he graduates to off leash training in a few weeks. He is very well behaved around the house, but usually he will leave and sit outside after an hour or so inside; when given a choice of sleeping inside or outside he usually goes outside. He loves to dig and he loves to mess with water. He has not been destructive here and has not challenged fences. Just like his mother, he complains initially when he is being left alone, but then settles down and is content. He has a good bark and does not bark excessively.
Prince is AKC registered (limited registration) and has a microchip. He is current on vaccinations. He is intact but has only one descended testicle. I would like for him to stay intact until he is at least 2 years old. Most veterinarians recommend to have an undescended testicle removed, however I have not found any studies on dogs that support this. Prince broke a bone in his right shoulder at 5 months old when he jumped out of a truck; this has been surgically repaired; he had no problems with the anesthesia and his blood work was normal. He still moves a bit awkward at times, but he keeps up running and playing with his buddies here and does not limp or act like he is in any discomfort.
He would fit well into a home with at least one half acre of space for him to exercise in; he does need at least one other dog for company to play with. He does great with my Jack Russell Terrier, so is okay with neutered males and small dogs, and of course he is good with females also. He has also been okay with his intact brother initially, but eventually the two of them did get into a fight and they have been hostile to each other every since. He is used to being with people, but he has done well here being outside to survey his surroundings. He is definitely a good guardian; he was barking at something the first night back already and has been paying close attention to everything. He has been socialized with children but has not lived with children. He has seen horses when out for walks and has not had any issues with that.
Prince is available to a special home. He is past the labor intensive puppy stages, has a proven good temperament and shows a lot of promise as a dual purpose family and livestock guardian as well as a companion.
Click on the links below for more images:
Still a puppy face
What big teeth you have
Another beautiful face
Prince loves Skunk
He is polite
Mr. Handsome
13 month update: Prince is still the same height and weight (I think the weight given at 10 months was inaccurate, but I had him weighed at 13 months and he was 115 lbs at that time. He is really skinny, eats 7 to 8 cups of food a day, more than any of the others and loves to run around and play. He is Leydi's favorite son; she really enjoys playing with him, well, she likes to put him in his place, too. Prince enjoys the outdoors; even when it got really cold here at 18 degrees, he refused to come inside. As I am writing this he is the only one of my dogs that chose to sit in a dog house in the pouring rain while everybody else gladly came inside for the day. Prince is such a sweet and mellow boy; he catches on quickly when I teach him a new trick.
He is not totally trustworthy with the goats and chickens yet, so we will see how he does as he matures. He is a pleasure to have around and he doesn't miss anything that goes on in the neighborhood. When there was a stray dog (it could have been a coyote too based on the size) a few nights ago Prince was relentless in his quest to keep the predator away.
Volunteered to do flood control
Prince loves water
Always ready to dig
And dig some more!
Doesn't mind getting dirty....
Or play-fighting with sister Enya
Playing with Ayla
Loves to play
Prince the runner
Where's the fire!
Prince just loves to run
