Hugo

Hugo is as cuddly and loving as you can get. He's such a smart boy and thrives on attention especially if you are teaching him new stuff -He just loves to learn!

Hugo was surrendered to Starting Over Dog Rescue as he just got far to big for his last home as they only had a patio for him to live in and nowhere to run and play. Therefore he was showing problematic behaviors, such as over excitement, pulling on the lead when walked & jumping up and using his mouth softly to grab peoples attention when meeting them (this can be a little unnerving to people who don't know Hugo from such a large dog), he was destructive when given dog beds to sleep on and although he was never an inside dog he would scratch on doors & windows for the attention of people inside.

Hugo is a large Rottie and weighting approximately 50kgs his over excitement and jumping up was particularly problematic as you can imagine, he is learning not to do it but this will need to be continued in his new home and at the moment is DEFINITELY NOT suited to a family with small children (unless a strong commitment to training and understanding can be demonstrated) as he will unintentionally knock them off their feet and probably jump on them for kisses - hurting them.

OK, so enough about the bad stuff, Hugo is just a big smiley happy dufus with so much love and energy to give!

Since coming into foster care he has learnt to behave around cats, walk nicely on a head halter and not pull, sleep in a crate at night, sit patiently and wait for his humans to finish their dinner, to play appropriately with other dogs.. sometimes he forgets how big he is and is learning how to play nicely and not be so boisterous. I liken him to a young puppy when playing who needs steering in the right direction as to whats OK and whats just plain inappropriate and annoying to others.

He is learning how to hold a drop with lots of distractions which is demonstrating he is preferring to listen to his foster carer than follow his curiosity.

He is learning to cope much better at waiting outside in the backyard as he gets into trouble from his foster mum for trying to scratch the windows (she yells "no" at him and sprays him with a water spray bottle for doing this, so now he'd much rather wait patiently than get into trouble and knows he'll be invited in eventually)

Once inside the house he is learning to stay on his mat and is happy doing this if he's given a chew toy to quietly play with. He is always very busy and has learnt to only chew his toys and not his bed or things that aren't his anymore.

For most of Hugo's life he wasn't given clear rules and made to use his manners around people.
Therefore had grown into a over excited, uncontrollable, potentially unmanageable sized dog........................
BUT!! He's has only been in care for a minimal amount of time and has already learnt so much and has become a much more easy going manageable dog to have around.

THIS IS ONLY POSSIBLE, BECAUSE HE HAS A FOSTER MUM COMMITTED TO TRAINING HIM AND WHO IS CONFIDENT & CONSISTENT WITH HIM.

If you think you would like to adopt Hugo then YOU must also be committed to training him, confident to handle a large overexcited dog and consistent even when he is trying out your patience OR he will quickly go back to his old ways!!!

For lovers of the Rottie breed or even those who think they might have whats it takes, Hugo is a ripper dog and will blossom into a awesome family pet in the right hands. He desperately needs a family committed to training him and understanding that he is a large dog who has never been taught to compose himself but so desperately just wants to please you, give you cuddles and share his toys with you.

If you're interested in meeting Hugo he is currently located in Warranwood and would love to meet you.

Please fill in a an application at:

http://www.startingoverdogrescue.org.au/adoption--expression-of-interest-form.html