German Shepherd Rescue Scotland
SexMale
Age3 years
BreedGerman Shepherd
Kenzo is a very handsome, large, 3 year old boy. When our volunteer arrived at the garden gate Kenzo barked loudly. When Kenzo's owner let our volunteer into the garden, Kenzo sheltered behind his owner, stopped barking and kept his distance from our volunteer. After a brief chat in the garden Kenzo's owner and our volunteer went into the house and Kenzo followed quietly. Kenzo kept his distance most of the time, but approached our volunteer very tentatively a number of times. Kenzo was wary of unfamiliar items, such as the clipboard and the camera used by our volunteer. By the end of the visit Kenzo was willing to accept treats, which he did very gently, and he accepted being gently petted for brief periods. Kenzo is used to getting some small scraps of food from his owner, after his owner has finished eating and has stood up from the table. Kenzo looks forwards to the food scraps and mouths his owner's hand in anticipation of getting them. Although Kenzo remained timid and somewhat anxious throughout the visit, he was very well behaved, lay down quietly much of the time and did not show any signs of aggression. It is possible that Kenzo's timid dismeanour is at least partly due to recent and very significant changes in his home life. Sadly, Kenzo's previous owner passed away in recent months and Kenzo had very limited socialisation for a lengthy time period before this. Kenzo was a constant companion for his original owner, being very close by her side most of the time. For a couple of years prior to his previous owner's death she suffered poor health and was unable to walk Kenzo. Although Kenzo did not get walks, he did have free roam of a fairly large garden area. Kenzo's previous owner's brother is now living with and caring for Kenzo at Kenzo's original home - while trying to find a new home for Kenzo. Kenzo spends more time on his own than he did with his previous owner, and is experiencing some lifestyle changes that are similar to those a rehomed rescue dogs might experience, e.g. loss of a known or comforting relationship with his previous owner, new handler/main companion and different daily habits and routines Kenzo's new temporary owner is taking him on regular walks and has successfully got Kenzo walking well on lead most of the time - although like some other large dogs Kenzo pulls strongly on the lead when excited. There are wild deer in the surrounding area, and Kenzo gets very excited at their scent. Kenzo also gets excited when he sees cats when he is out on his walks. During a walk with his owner and our volunteer Kenzo met a group of two people and two spaniels. Kenzo was quiet when they got close and were chatting a few feet away, but he did bark and pull on the lead when the group began to walk away. Kenzo's current owner says that Kenzo is good around some dogs he has come to know from meeting on walks. Kenzo is not walked off lead at present, which makes sense as his new owner does not know if he can rely on Kenzo recalling to him consistently and reliably. During the home visit a farmer on a quad bike came into the field immediately behind Kenzo's home, to tend to sheep in the field. Kenzo ran to the fence line barking, but did respond to a recall command from his owner. His owner gave the command three times before Kenzo responded, but given Kenzo's level of excitement it suggests that his recall might become better with further training and further time to bond with his owner. Kenzo is not used to travelling in the car, and his owner is presently working on this. Initially, by getting Kenzo to be comfortable in a stationary car - with the intention to progress, at a rate Kenzo is comfortable with, to making journeys in the car. Kenzo's owner has done well Kenzo's training in the short time he had been caring for him, but any new owner would have further work do to on this. In his new owner's limited experience of him, Kenzo has been good with people once he has time to become less anxious around them. His owner commented that some tradesmen recently carried out work in the house and Kenzo was fine with them. Kenzo has experienced very significant lifestyle changes in recent months, and given Kenzo's present timid and somewhat nervous demeanour he needs to be rehomed in a quiet, adult only home. Any new owners would need to understand how to patiently and gently manage Kenzo's nervousness and anxiety, and carefully manage his interactions with new owners and any other people he came into contact with while he settles in and gains confidence and trust. Good with other dogs - not known Good with children - not known
