King – South Lincolnshire

King the Guard

It would be possible to write what might appear to be a full assessment of King and you would conclude that he is the 'perfect dog'. He might be a little rusty now, after some time in kennels, but he has been well trained, and this could be reinforced very easily. He is a joy to walk, as he is good with other dogs and even tolerates them coming up to him and yapping in his face. He has not had much time off lead, recently, but his recall was once good, when tested by a behaviourist. All in all, King is a lovely affectionate well-mannered boy, who is a kennel favourite. He is so wonderful that one prospective adopter insisted upon cutting short his trial period and adopting him within twenty-four hours, as he had behaved so well. And then ...
 
King has two issues, and he has failed two foster trials because of them. At the home where he was adopted so quickly, he was fine other than around food. To be fair, the couple who adopted him ignored advice, but King will resource guard. We advised shutting him away from all food and giving him his own meals carefully and then withdrawing. This advice was ignored and when King became threatening, over a supermarket delivery, his prospective adopters became intimidated.
 
The second issue is about guarding - well, both are really. King will guard his owner. As a precaution, you will need a strong guarding protocol.
 
King does require an experienced owner. He can seem intimidating, but his management should be relatively easy, if someone was tactful enough to negotiate the early days and listens to what we say. This does not mean that he should be indulged. Not at all. It is important, however, not to provoke a confrontation. We recommend him being shut behind a dog gate, when any form of food is being handled and equally, he needs a barrier between him and visitors, initially at least.
 
Since coming to our kennels King has been handled mostly by women. This appears to have gentled him and he is now something of a big softy. He is certainly a favourite and has quite a fan club.
 
We are looking for an experienced owner for this boy. He has gentled, but he is still capable of trying to be dominant. He needs tactful but firm handling. Are you tactful and firm? He can be a super dog for whomever adopts him.