Niklaus is improving every day! He will probably be on the adoption list https://nbran.org/affiliates.asp by the time this post. If not he will be available soon. If interested in giving this wonderful old man (10 -12 years old approximated by 2 vet exams) a furever home just go the The National Brittany Rescue site and complete an adoption application! He will make a wonderful companion animal to a good furever partner!
For those of you following Niklaus' journey you will remember that when he first came to me on Aug. 6, 2016 he was severely underweight, appeared to be severely dehydrated, had hearing loss, vision loss, balance issues, suspected arthritis, muscle atrophy in one hind leg, was nervous, had separation anxiety, and overall was just not a confident canine. These are all the reasons I decided to foster him and help him heal so he would have better luck finding a furever home! I had lost my own companion, NaKoda
In just a short 20 days, Niklaus has finally seemed to re hydrate himself and has gone from drinking multiple gallons of water each day to drinking a normal amount daily. With the rehydration his hearing appears to have improved. If I speak in a raised voice he pays attention. He knows the commands No, sit, and come. We are working on lay down, shake, and no bark. (he seems to like to bark at every strange noise in the neighborhood, cars, and people who do not belong to our pack. Niklaus has learned to use a system of bells hanging from the back door knob to let me know when he wants out although from time to time he still stands at the door and barks but any improvement is awesome!
Nicklaus has visited several of my friends homes who also have dogs (1 4 yr old female bull dog - Lizzie, 1 apx 4 month old female boxer puppy - Lola, 1 old male chihuahua - Tony, & 1 8 yr old female great dane - Sookie). He seems to do well with all of them however he wasn't greatly impressed with the great dane ....perhaps because she towered over him. He showed no signs of fear or aggression with any of them and while he was not greatly social with them he showed no issues with any of them.
Niklaus is also good with cats. He's a little curious about them but not to the point they mind him or run from him.
Niklaus even has managed to gain a few lbs in the 20 days he has been with us causing us to have to let the harness out a notch yesterday!
Niklaus' personality has yet to truly show itself but for now he seems to be affectionate, obedient and wants to be with his pack members all the time......especially the human one. He shows separation anxiety and doesn't like the human pack member out of his site for very long. We plan to work on this though by building up the lengths of time we leave him home with the feline pack members or by himself.
Niklaus does well on the leash for walks but prefers to be off leash however as of right now he isn't trusted to stay with his human off leash. He likes to wander and check everything out. We will try to build up to that but if not being on a leash when outside of his yard is not a bad thing.
He loves to go for rides and doesn't show any signs of aggression or fear towards anything we have encountered so far, including children which he seems to love!
Remember Niklaus is in need of a furever home! He will be a great constant companion to someone who needs some company and will love him unconditionally! Follow his journey and help us find him a furever home!
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