Background Info:



Dugong's previous owner sadly passed away, leaving him and his fur sibling without a home. Both dogs were relinquished to the city pound, which was a devastating ordeal for both of them on top of losing their owner. As if this was not enough the other dog (a German Shepherd) was adopted by a different family and Dugong was left behind, leaving him totally heart broken. This is when the plea came to MPR to welcome him into our program.

Adoption Fee:
Sponsored by Ben Morris
Breed: Pit Bull / Shar-Pei Mix
Sex: Male
Age: 1-3 yrs
Weight: 55-60 lbs
Health Condition:

Dugong is healthy, happy, and ready for adoption!

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Physical Description:

Dugong is ADORABLE and so unique looking! His beautiful tri-color coat, perfect medium sized build, boxy bully head with a wide Shar Pei nose makes him a show stopper and one of the most unique dogs we've had in our program!



Current Living Situation:

Dugong spent some time in MPR shelter before a foster home became available for him. He is now fostered in a suburban home, with a medium sized yard and 4 foot fence. There are two adults in the home and two other pets: one special needs senior dog and a cat. He has been getting along great with his furry foster siblings!

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Dugong is crate trained and has done great with his kennel in the home! He has slept in the kennel at night with zero issues. He's also slept in the bed with his foster parents. He's a great snuggle bug! When home alone, Dugong is crated in a separate room with the door closed.

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Doogie, as his foster mom calls him, is still adjusting to his foster home, coming out of his shell and building his confidence. He and foster mom go on 1-2 walks a day. He likes to stay close to foster mom on walks, but is attentive to things going on around him - people walking, dogs, or other animals. He seems leery of the outside world but as his confidence grows foster mom thinks he will become more adventurous!

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DUGONG YOUTUBE FOSTER VIDEO



Personality:

Dugong is sweet and happy, but still very reserved at this point. He loves his foster mom and always wants to be by her. He gets bursts of energy wanting to play with toys but is also very content to snuggle up on the couch. He is VERY eager to please. He wants to be a good boy very badly. He has responded very well to direction and correction. Because he lacks confidence at this time, his perfect person will take the time to let him experience things at his own pace so his fear of the world can slowly fade away. For example, he's been extremely afraid of cars - being around them, getting into them, etc. He's also not a fan of doors, or anything that moves suddenly,

In the few weeks he's been in the foster home. Foster mom has taken the encouraging and praising approach, giving him lots of praise and love when he experiences something new. This has been a good method for getting him to come out of shell. He feeds off praise of him trying new things, and in turn his confidence grows!

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Behavior with people:

Doogie LOVES people! He can be initially unsure when meeting new people, but quickly opens up and will greet everyone who's comfortable with him with an enthusiastic wiggle butt and is happy to get pets and love!



At the shelter when he first arrived, he showed some apprehension about men (growling lightly and cowering when he was in his kennel and they would walk by him). That went away after he settled in and met our patient and dog-savvy male volunteers.



He has met several men since being in foster care and has not had any of those reactions. He is happy to meet them and affectionate. (We think the fact that his former owner was a male has something to do with that stress response.)



Behavior with children:

Unknown. Duggie has not been around children since he's been in his foster home. Because he is on the shy side, a home with small children is not recommended, as they could accidentally be a little too rough with him and scare him.

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In addition, Doug does better with people who are familiar with dogs and have the maturity to read canine body language. Little ones are often too young to read doggy signals that a dog might be uncomfortable in certain situations. And while Doogie might be ok with his close family, he may need time to warm up to friends coming and going. A home with adults only is the best situation for this sensitive sweetheart.



Behavior with other dogs:

Doogie has been good with the senior special needs female in the home. You can tell he came from a home with another dog because he often tries to engage her to play. She is past the playing time in her life, so a few times she's had to correct him slightly with a little grumble and let him know she's not interested. He is very receptive and always picks up on her cues and leaves her be. We believe he would love to have a doggie sibling who he can play with and who can teach him how to "dog!" Dugong could do well with a compatible female after proper introductions and with owners who understand bully breeds well.



Behavior with other animals:

Dugong has been fantastic with the cat in the foster home! He has really shown little to no interest in him, and when introduced, he seemed kind of laissez-faire about him, which leads us to believe he's been around cats or lived with cats in the past. He treats the cat like another member of the pack!

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Training:

Doogie is a young boy so he has some puppy tendencies in him every now and then. Picking up things to play with that aren't meant for him to play with (a shoe, or purse, etc.). Mostly he's done this in front of foster mom, so it may be somewhat of an attention play. He's always easy to correct because he is so extremely eager to please!



He wants to be the goodest boy! He wants the teachers gold star!!



He has no potty issues, and knows sit and down. He's also currently in a weekly basic obedience class while in his foster home! He will be very easy to train and mold into a well-behaved and trained dog!

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Best Attribute:

A note from foster mom: "Doogie is one of the most unique looking dogs I've seen since I started volunteering with MPR 2 years ago! His beautiful tri-color coat, his perfect mid-sized body, and his pit bull head attached to a wide and adorable Shar Pei nose make him such a show stopper! He is sweet as can be, loves to be around his person, and is so eager to please! His perfect person will recognize he's building confidence and be willing to take life slow with him to start. With encouragement, leadership, support, and love, I believe he will slowly grow out of his fear of the world, and be an amazing companion and family member. He has TONS of love to give and wants to be your best friend!"

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