Brutus

We are ready to finally re-introduce you to our boy Brutus (formerly Warren/Bruce)!   Mr. Brutus was originally adopted from us as a puppy about two years ago and he has once again landed in our care after having behavioral issues in his adoptive home.  Brutus is now a little over 2 years old, just under 20 pounds, and a DNA test showed him to be a Chihuahua/Belgian Malinois mix. “Small dog with a large personality” really rings true when it comes to Brutus with his high intelligence, an eagerness to work and be challenged, and his desire for human companionship.   Brutus has been in his foster home for 10 months and has gone through a 5 week board-and-train program with our friend Stephanie at the Beckett School. During his training, he has become very familiar with tools that will be essential for his every day life to help him keep a healthy state of mind and make good choices. Any interested adoptive home will be required to continue the use of these tools, experience isn’t required, but is definitely a bonus. An open mind to training tools and balanced training methods is a must. Brutus is what we can best describe as a Sour Patch kid. He can be sweet, but he can also be sour. He struggles with food reactivity, resource guarding, and some other occasional cranky episodes that come mostly at night time, (waking up from a nap, not wanting to go in his crate) which his foster mom refers to as his night time “scaries”. He has not had one of these episodes in a couple months and is doing great!   Brutus is a great little adventure buddy and is always up for a walk, run, hike, or any other kind of activity his humans are up for. He loves being challenged mentally as well as physically and enjoys learning new tricks or working on the ones he already knows. He is also great when going on car rides and just sits back to enjoy the ride. Brutus has mastered the “place” command and while he is out of his kennel, spends most of his time inside relaxing in his “place” and practicing being calm and not letting himself get too over stimulated. Naps are one of his favorite activities and he makes some pretty funny noises while yawning. He is continuing to work through his food reactivity and resource guarding by practicing the “out” command daily. His favorite activity outside is grabbing a tennis ball or any toy and running around the yard with it in his mouth. Unlike a lot of us, Brutus loves the snow and will run around in the snow and chase after snowballs! After some extended decompression time, Brutus has been introduced to the dogs in his foster home and has done very well with them under close supervision. He likes to chase and be chased by his four-legged friends and just likes to feel like one of the gang. Brutus would do well co-existing with other dogs as long as they respect his space.   Brutus would do best in a home with adults only, NO CHILDREN! An active and structured home is his best fit, and a family that is 100% committed to keeping his training going throughout his life. Any leniency in this can create set backs and an environment that Brutus will take advantage of and will continue to act out in. He would love to do agility classes, obedience classes or other activities that help stimulate his busy mind. A home with a fenced in yard would be ideal to help him getting as much exercise as possible. He truly is a great, quirky, little dog for the right home. He may be a challenging dog, but he is worth it, he deserves a second chance at having a home. If you are looking for an adventure friend and feel like your home is the right environment for Brutus to continue to live a happy life, please fill out an application today!