Case Study Scooby

History: Scooby is in adolescence and was found abandoned with his mother and littermates. Despite this Scooby is an extremely affectionate dog who has no fear of unfamiliar people.

Assessment on walk: It’s nice and easy to put a harness on Scooby he is a friendly affectionate dog and walks well on a longline. Once out of the shelter in the local woods Scooby does not show any fear towards people he doesn’t know, even at proximity, in fact given half a chance, he would happily greet most people. Scooby was however concerned by the horses even at some distance and visibly faced the direction they were in and was alert. I walked Scooby to a side path as the horses were coming towards us. I then crouched down with Scooby to reassure him while we waited for the hoses to pass at a distance so he could observe them safely. Scooby also showed low level fear towards a large unknown dog. Again, we took a different path, and I reassured him.

Further update on walks: Having taken Scooby on weekly walks for a period of a month, Scooby no longer shows fear towards horses or larger dogs. He goes into his world of smells, occasionally checking in. Scooby will happily jump in and out of a car crate in the boot and was happy travelling.

Potential adopter: Scooby does have a high prey drive when it comes to birds and squirrels so I would recommend taking him on walks with a long line (I used 7.5 metres). Scooby would be suited to an adopter who is active. Given a choice Scooby would like nothing better than to roll around in fresh horse manure, so the adopter needs to be mindful of this. Scooby can be very enthusiastic in greeting female dogs which may not always be welcomed so the adopter should look out for this. Being part Labrador, Scooby loves food and given the opportunity would eat his treats and the resident dogs in a multi-dog household so I would feed and treat separately to mitigate against any potential resource guarding. Scooby does not like being left alone so his adopter would need to leave him for very short periods initially and build this up over time.

If you are interested in meeting this beautiful boy, please contact #friendsindeeddogrescue on 07527129642 or me directly J