Fosters

Midnight

Midnight is a 4 year old, fixed male Rottweiler; he is huge due to early neutering with long legs. He is now 90 lbs, but will be around 120 lbs once fully feed; he is a bit on the skinny side right now.

His issues are:

Not fully housebroken (he has now started to let you know when he needs to go, and when this is written 27th of May he hasn’t had an accident for about a week, but if you miss the signals, you better have a good mop and carpet cleaner I can highly recommend baking soda and stain resolver and a big scrubbing brush)
Not safe with humans on the lead, towards your friends and family he will be perfectly fine. When a stranger approaches he starts to lunge. (If the stranger stops and gives him space, and Midnight gets to take contact he is ok. He is just VERY scared, so recommended would be to keep him out of people’s way, do not let them pet him. However he is getting better overall and now a day’s people can pass him while we are out walking fairly close without him reacting at all. So far he has accepted and been petted by 5 strangers, he also behaves really well at Pet smart.)
He is not tested with younger children; I will not let him go to a home where there are children under 18, unless you have a proven record of handling dogs like this.
He is a true opportunist; if he can gain on a situation he will try it. He needs rules and consistent handling.
No basic obedience. (However he has started to learn, he now has cues for sit, stop, stay, down, off, come, fetch and go. He wants to obey and once you have clarified something for him he loves to listen)
He is scared of outstretched arms, waving hands, dark voices, animated body language. He is getting better and off lead he is ok with it. If he is on lead and you play fight with your spouse he is likely to go VERY defensive. He needs to check out that everyone is ok.
He is a food thief, but is getting better at it. Do not leave anything unattended though.
He is good at the vets with the other animals, however, prior he will need slight sedation (You get pills from the vet I have a few here), and a muzzle at the vets. He is good at getting shots, but general exams make him VERY scared and therefore VERY potentially dangerous.
When hurt, he is more scared, he needs to be alerted before you handle him and you have to be gentle. I have no bigger issues with him but that is because we have built a stronger bond of trust. He does not respond well to being startled.
This dog will need his own place and area where he can have peace and quiet, here I have a room for him that when I get little children in the house or tons of guests I put him in there with a bone. Sometimes he barks a few times but mostly he lies in there and relaxes.

Now his good sides are:

Good with other dogs and cats; he is VERY gentle and respectful with my two females. Even my pit bull that is a bit scared of other dogs and is acting out a lot. I haven’t seen him play with male dogs, however when my neighbor’s male Pit ran through the fence he was perfectly fine with it. They sniffed and no more than that, no hackle, no measuring up, no growling.
He has neither possession nor food aggression, neither towards humans nor dogs. He actually shares bones with Missy.
He is easy to walk despite his lunging issues, when he goes scared he is easy to break and calm down again. I have even walked this guy in my high heels, he does not pull.
He will let you know when needing to go out, you have to be a bit perceptive though, he is a bit like a puppy, starts pacing, whine, looking for a good spot, go to the door and back. His bladder is a bit tiny still.
He has awesome bite inhibition, if you play tug with him and he accidently touch you with his teeth and you yelp he stops the play at once he is very considerate on that part.
He is a cuddle bug; he loves to sleep on the couch next to you with his big head in your lap. He can walk next to you outside while scratching his head. He loves to sit ON your lap if you sit on the floor.
He used to have issues being handled, however I get away with almost anything, I can lie on top of him, hug him, pinch him, tug his ear, pull his little stump. He learns rules easily, in just 30 minutes he learnt that it was no use going into the kitchen because he wasn’t allowed. He is very easy going for the consistent owner.
He is learning to jog beside me so you can take him running, he is so long legged though that he needs someone that is fairly fast, with my pace he can almost walk and he is a bit clumsy.
He is good home alone or with other dog companion. Not used to be crated, but used to be confined in a smaller room.
He will keep you safe at all times, his sheer size keep people at bay and his growling bark when someone is outside will also do the job.

I have not taken him to the dog park this due to him being insecure; I have feel that too many wild dogs and too many strangers would probably trigger everything in him at once. So that would not be recommended.

All and all he is an awesome dog, I do adore him to bits and he will make a really good companion to someone. He has a lot of energy and needs about 2-3 hours physical and mental exercise on a daily basis. He is VERY clever and good at problem solving, if he wants something you can bet that he will try to figure out how to get it. If you do not exercise him he will shred his home. He has had blood panel, fecal exam, heart worm test (negative), and urine culture made. He has a clean bill of health and is up to date on his shots. I want a vet reference by any interested party and a few others if you have the more the better. Like all other big dogs he will be needed to keep in fit form, this due to his hips of unknown status, I can imagine that with his size there is a risk for hip dysplasia. He is a sweetheart that deserves a good forever home.

So who am I looking for, a man, woman or couple that has no small kids, or can keep him confined when grandchildren come over (he works well with that and a chew bone). Someone that does not leave him home too long of the day, he is needy of his humans. People who keeps clear, simple rules and are consistent with them. You need to be strong because he is big, you can’t be intimidated by him. A lot of patience will be needed too; he behaves best around calm and confident humans. People with a big heart that won’t mind that accidents do happen and that don’t mind to keep me posted so I can keep on posting his progress on his page. If you feel you fill these requirements shot me an email at evelynn@dogpalace.org.