Sabian

Sabian

Is a 2 year old male Boxer cross who is looking for his forever home.

He is a gentle giant (35+ kg), who loves to play, loves to walk and loves to cuddle on the sofa. Sabian is toilet trained and would love to be with someone who would be able to commit time and energy in walk training and dog socializing.

He has adapted well to a home with a small backyard, although we believe that he would thrive in a large backyard where he can explore and expel his energy.

Whilst he is a big dog, he actually prefers to spend time inside and near people, whether it be on his bed or up on the sofa.

His favourite toy is definitely a tennis ball, and you will need a few to keep him busy as he also likes to kick them around and chase them.

He will be a little cautious when meeting people, and may growl / grumble when first meeting new people – although after a few minutes of quiet time during the social meeting he comes around and will soon be coming up for kisses & cuddles.

He has also loved his time with our teenage daughter, so would be well suited to a grown-up family.

His appearance is that of a large Boxer dog. He looks like he is cross with a bull mastiff, which is why he is bulky and larger than a typical Boxer. His coat is short and does shed a little bit of hair.

OBEDIENCE

+ Is very well behaved. At home he is relaxed and likes to chill on the sofa / in his bed or relaxing outside on the grass.
+ Can sit on command, when food is the reward (more work needed on this)
+ Can fetch toys/tennis ball/doggie frisbee and return
+ He loves his tennis balls as these are fun to play with, but also provide him comfort to chew upon when relaxing.
+ Typically does not try to run out the front door... usually likes to stand guard when opening/closing
+ Is toilet trained, will tap on the back door when he needs to go to the bathroom.
+ Sleeps in the house during the night, does not stir or go to the toilet inside (usually from 10pm to 7am)

- He sometimes comes when you call him (recall work needed)
- Will need further walk training. Whilst he loves his walks, he is very excited and can pull on the lead. With his body weight, it may be sudden and forceful. Recently we have introduced a special harness, this has reduced this issue and would encourage further walk training to improve.

Sabian loves to go for a walk and becomes very excited when hears the word “walk” and sees you putting on your shoes and/or sees his harness.

Sabian loves our teenage daughter, and have seen no sign of aggression and would appear he would be good with younger kids as well. Although due to his size he may knock little ones over, so would suggest close supervision.

He is confident in going up stairs, and he loves getting comfortable in bed as well – so you may need to ensure doors are closed if you want to keep him out of the bedrooms 😊.

He is sleep friendly – you can comfortably pat him or make noise without any worry that it would startle him.

ENRICHMENT

Sabian has short bursts of energy and will chill most of the time. He sits back and watches when he has sight of possums or birds. He "may" bark along with neighboring dogs to get their attention.

He likes to view the world from inside, looking out of screen doors and windows and may bark at movement/dogs etc.

He is happy to relax at home, although loves to explore the outdoors as well. Time spent in the back yard and out for regular walks are appreciated and helps burn some of that energy. Loves his tennis balls and enjoys playing fetch with multiple tennis balls being thrown around.

We have made our back door open throughout the day and he regularly wanders out to the back yard for a sunbake / toilet.

SLEEPING
He has been sleeping inside, whilst he usually starts to relax at around 9pm, his typical bed time is from 10:00pm until 7.00am. Throughout the day he spends most of his time inside and outside whilst we are working from home. He is very well mannered, To help him settle at night, he will need his comfort teddies/tennis ball.

SOCIALISATION

Sabian has a number of short walks each day.

He does become very excited when seeing other dogs and due to his size, we have been cautious with not allowing him to interact with other dogs.

We have completed a short dog socializing exercise with 2 other dogs. One of these dogs (older female) quickly put him in line and he left her alone, although with the other dog (young male) Sabian had become a bit rough with play and tried to show his dominance.

Whilst out for his walks he does appear to be excited by other dogs & will try to pull towards them. With some time and regular training, these social skills could be improved once he is with his new family.

He has shown playful cheeky affection to all of us equally and is happy to sit or follow us around curiously. He has had a number of people visit during his stay and when meeting new people, he may be a little nervous and cautious.

We feel that Sabian would be best suited to an only dog home until he settles in, and is slowly introduced to other dogs. Although he does appear to be very social, this would be one aspect of training that he would benefit from greatly to reduce the excitement during walks/play and dominance around other dogs.

FOOD

He eats dry food & dog roll (snapper/chicken) He loves treats such as schmackos and doggy biscuits.

He is definitely curious about all human food as well, so ensure that any food is kept well out of reach (he can stand as tall as an adult on his hind legs), although he is very well mannered at the table and will not try and jump up or take food. He will just sit there with his doggie eyes and will drool onto your floor. 😀

HYGIENE

Sabian loves to have a bath outside. We have used a couple of watering cans with warm water. He is well behaved and loves the scrub/pat/attention. Due to his size we haven't tried getting him into a bath. At this stage we have only towel dried him & we are unsure on how he would react if you used a hair dryer

TRAVEL/CAR

He travels extremely well in the car, we secure him with the seatbelt in the back and he takes in the views from each of the back windows whilst the car is in motion.

IDEAL HOME

We feel Sabian would thrive in a home with mature kids 10yrs+ and older, who are home regularly and can spend time relaxing and playing with him. He is an inside dog and will let you know if he needs/wants to go outside. His family will need to invest time in him and ensure he has daily enrichment and continues to support training in the social setting, with slow introduction to other dogs, along with setting clear rules around behavior when walking and pulling on the lead.

• Dog Friendly, but slow introduction to other dogs is essential

• An only dog home

• May be suited for kids 10yrs or older.

• No cats as he has not had any introductions or training to cats

• Recommend the home has a large backyard so he can have lots of room to run around in.