Renzo

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Update 2/5/04:

Renzo has been adopted!

Update 2/5/04:

Renzo is doing great in his foster home! He loves going for walks, playing with toys, being hugged, eating snow, having his paw held and drinking straight from the tap!  He does however, urinate submissively and this was mistaken for not being housebroken at his previous home.  He is fine during the week and has had no accidents while his foster parents are at work or at night, but the change in routine at the weekends seems to make him unsure. He will pee whenever he is nervous.  His foster family have found that it just takes a bit of time to get to know Renzo so they can understand and avoid the things that make him frightened.  He is fine with other dogs and house visitors, but will pee submissively if corrected verbally.

A simple hand clap is sufficient to get him to stop and think about what he is doing, without any accidents.  His car sickness is getting better and he has never urinated in the car.  Despite his past experiences, Renzo is a loving, gentle dog who craves human contact.  His foster family feel that he just needs a wonderful family to restore his complete trust in humans and he will grow out of the submissive peeing, which is upsetting for both him and his family.

Will you give Renzo the secure forever home that he deserves?

Original:

Renzo will be 2 in March and he is still all puppy!  He is a gentle giant, at 21 & ½ inches tall, but weighing only 52 lbs.  The vet has recommended that he should gain about 10 lbs, which this boy is thrilled about!   Renzo either wants to play or be cuddled!  He is timid with strangers and other dogs, but becomes very playful once he gains his confidence. He is very nervous of car rides.  The poor guy drools continuously in the car and has been car sick once.  This is gradually improving with positive reinforcement, but his adoptive family may need to continue working on this at first.   Renzo was turned into the shelter by his previous family (already his 2nd home) who said that he wasn’t housebroken.  He was subsequently diagnosed with a urinary tract infection that seemed to be part of the problem.  He is currently on a 2 week course of antibiotics.  Renzo marked his foster home 3 times on the first day, once on the second day and has been the perfect house guest ever since.  It was reported that he was abused as a puppy, and he did urinate submissively when his foster parents first met him, but now he’s secure, it has not happened again.  He previously lived with 3 children (11-15) with no problems (the more playmates the better!), but appears to be very interested in chasing cats! He doesn’t counter surf, or get in the trash and sleeps dutifully on the floor next to the bed.  He knows “sit”, “down” and comes when called. Renzo doesn’t jump on the furniture, but since he’s a tall boy, he can give sofa occupants a big hug, while keeping his back legs on the floor!  And he may even try to steal a kiss!  He also has all his AKC papers.  Watching this boy come out of his shell in just a few days at his foster home has been wonderful.  Whoever is lucky enough to adopt Renzo will be rewarded with a true best friend.