The problem of homeless and displaced animals is huge, causing shelters to constantly be overloaded. Homeless animals don’t have a choice, either being born homeless or abandoned by their owners. One of the worst things that can ever happen is to lose your family, yet every year thousands of dogs are abandoned by their owners and find themselves sad and confused in a kennel; they wonder what they ever did to deserve being locked up behind bars. They can’t understand and it is just beyond heartbreaking.
Today, we are re-featuring the handsome Sir. Sir arrived at the Town of Brookhaven Animal Shelter in October of 2017 after being found stray by a Good Samaritan. He has been patiently waiting for over 3 years for his family to come and find him, but sadly no one has ever called and no one ever came.
Although Sir is adored and well taken care of at the shelter, he deserves a loving family and home to call his own. Sir is yet another stunning forgotten soul sitting behind shelter walls far too long. This handsome, happy and energetic boy sits alone and unnoticed in his kennel, hoping and praying someone will come and rescue him.
When Sir first arrived at the shelter it was immediately noticed that he was leash biting in reaction to other dogs or when being corrected. He is not a fan of either dogs or cats and he has some resource guarding issues; especially with things he considers to be of high value.
While we have touched on resource guarding and its root causes in many of our articles we have not discussed the different levels there can be. To refresh your memory, food aggression is a form of resource guarding in which a dog becomes very defensive when eating, using threats to force others away. It can be directed towards other animals, humans, or both. At its essence, food aggression in dogs stems from the fear of losing the most life-giving resource of all, basic nourishment. The behavior is often learned at an early age, and that dogs that guard their food feel insecure, and guard it to keep others from taking it away. Resource guarding is thought to be caused by both genetics and environment, what is often referred to as nature and nurture.
There are some common theories as to why dogs guard their food. Newborn puppies often need to compete with their littermates whenever it’s time to eat. A dog in an abusive situation may have his/her food withheld for lengthy intervals, and a young dog alone on the streets may need to scrounge for every morsel possible. Since Sir came in to the shelter after being found as a stray we have know way of knowing what life was like for him prior to his arrival, but we would have to assume based on the severity of his issue that his life was not a good one.
There are actually three degrees of food aggression. Mild, where the dog growls and may show teeth. Moderate, where the dog may snap or lunge when approached. Severe, when the lashes out and bites. When a dog shows aggression to protect his food, it can be a serious issue. Not only is there the danger of other dogs or humans in the house being bitten, but over time it can lead to the dog becoming possessive over everything.
We know reading all of this can seem overwhelming and may possibly be a little scary to some people, but understand that this is a natural animal behavior. Guarding food is a fear based behavior. While it’s not a behavior that’s desirable in a home it is important to remember that it is a normal instinctual behavior. Resource guarding is a behavior that helps animals out in the wild — those that successfully guard their food are the ones more likely to survive.
Dogs in shelters actually exhibit a higher than usual rate of food guarding, as much as 25%. Keep in mind that the shelter environment is an extremely stressful one, so a dog’s anxiety about it increases. The assessment that dogs receive to rate their aggression with food might not correlate with how he/she would react in a home environment.
Just because Sir is guarding things like his food/treats it’s important to remember that it does not mean he is an aggressive dog, nor does it mean that he is trying to be more dominant. It’s a fear based behavior that used to keep others from taking away his food or possessions. The good news is resource guarding can be managed, and is not a reason for a dog to be passed over for adoption.
Sir has also exhibited a bit of stranger danger while at the shelter. Believe it or not, even just a single negative encounter, perhaps one in puppyhood, could be traumatizing enough for this general fear to take root. Dogs that have been poorly treated or had bad experiences may react with suspicion to strangers, and dogs that have suffered traumatic events, can be suspicious of everything related to that event. These beautiful souls have to learn to trust their world and the world that surrounds them. Again, because there is no way for Sir to tell us about his past, we can only assume why he has these issues and help him find what he has obviously been missing in his life, trust. Trust is an essential component of the human canine relationship, and both resource guarding and stranger danger fall into the category of not trusting people.
Sir is an affectionate companion and an all around amazing dog with a lively personality. He is around 6 years young, weighs 62 pounds, is neutered, microchipped, up to date on vaccinations and heartworm negative. He is obsessed with tennis balls and loves squeaky toys. He knows the entire agility course, and really enjoys the activity. He walks well on a leash, knows sit, leave it and will give both paws. He loves to play tag with his best human girlfriend at the shelter, loves to get on his bed and cuddle with a good cozy blanket.
Although Sir has gone for some training, and his issues have improved a great deal, shelter life is just simply too overwhelming and overstimulating, making it difficult for any dog to focus and concentrate on becoming the best he can be. For this reason, Sir is available to a highly experienced adopter through Rescue only.
The best home for Sir is with a very special Mom or Dad — savvy, highly experienced with resource guarding individual(s) who are committed to and will put in the time needed to gain his trust. An adult home, with loving, patient individuals who will give him the time he needs to decompress and adjust to home life. No kids, no other pets.
Please open your heart and give Sir the chance he truly deserves! Sir will make someone out there an amazing companion and best friend! Adopting a dog like Sir and giving him a chance to live in the comfort of a loving home is priceless. Don’t hesitate to give yourself the wonderful opportunity to brighten Sir’s life, you will not regret it!
Town of Brookhaven Animal Shelter
300 Horseblock Road
Brookhaven, NY 11719
(631) 451-6950
Be sure to head over to Adoption Central right here on Paws Give Me Purpose, share Sir and all the other Featured Dog Friday pups still in search of their forever homes.
One Reply to “Featured Dog Friday”
Comments are closed.