Braveheart

I introduced Luke and Leia in the last post but there wasn't a lot of details about the personalities of each dog so let's get to know Luke today. 

Luke is a handsome dog who loves to snuggle and hang out with people but who needs the time and space to get to know people at his own speed. He lacks confidence but makes up for that in snuggle skills.

Many of the dogs that come through our foster homes have not gotten the life experiences that they needed as puppies and end up very worried about anything new to them for the rest of their lives. They lunge and snarl when on leash because they are afraid of unknown dogs and know the leash takes away their ability to safely avoid a confrontation. They may even snap when they feel cornered and when humans don't pay attention to their body language. 

They can move past a lot of that fear but it takes time and also help from their humans. Luke is this kind of dog. At home in situations and an environment he is comfortable with he seeks out attention and enjoys hanging out with his people and the dogs he lives with. But if you throw new people or situations at him - house guests, rearranged furniture, home repair people, etc. he need his person to give him a safe place to hide out so he can avoid the scary stuff until he feels ready to approach things at his own pace. If his fear is ignored and he is forced to stay in the situation that frightens him behaviors may occur like snapping or biting that could have easily been avoided. 99% of the time he is an easy, happy boy. He just needs his people to set him up so that percentage can move closer to 100%.

Sweet Luke is looking for a home with low key, relaxed parents who are willing to let him take things at his pace. When he is allowed to have a choice in how he approaches a new situation he quickly relaxes. He was fine with Troy and I on the first day. By the 2nd day he felt like he could come downstairs and hang out in the same room with all the dogs and Troy and I. At first he thought that was way too many people and dogs in one room so I just let him stay where he wanted to be - upstairs on a dog bed in a crate - and the next day he decided to venture downstairs to see what he was missing out on. Now he loves the couch down there so much it's tough to get him to come back upstairs!

Luke needs a kid-free, cat-free home. Kids just add too much movement and noise for his liking. He loves to chase cats so kitties would be very unhappy when he is around. 

In the right home Luke is an easy, quiet, undemanding family member with great house manners. But in a home that's not a great fit, he is a different dog and is pretty miserable. So this time round we are hoping to find a home where he will be loved and cherished for the great dog he is.