Astro

Intake Date:  12/11/14
Last Update:  2/11/15
Age:  2 years
DOB:  3/10/12
Gender:  Intact Male (altered soon)
Weight:  48.5 pounds
Energy Level:  High
Color & Markings:  Tan & White 
Good with other dogs:  He would do best as an only dog in the home
Good with cats:  Yes, but he doesn't seem to care that he squishes the foster's cat when he jumps on the couch, so he gets swatted by her a lot.
Good with kids:  No, he is definitely too physical to be in a house with kids and his reactions can be unpredictable
Object Aggression:  Sometimes he gets upset when you take away his toys, sometimes he doesn't.  It's difficult to take things away form him.
Special Needs:  Diminished eyesight - may get better when the infection is resolved
Medications:  Vitamin C, FA Granules (skin vitamins/omegas), thyrosin
Crate Trained:  Yes but he will bark/scream if he knows you are still in the house
House Trained:  He's down to only a couple accidents a week. He needs to be let out often and will most of the time stand by the back door when he needs to go out.
Physical Fence Required:  TBD 
Adoption donation:  TBD

February 11 update:  Now that Astro is off the Ivermectin for his mange, he seems to be calming down A LOT.  It's likely that the high levels of Ivermectin that he was on for over a year were causing some aggression. It's very rare to have that reaction, but dogs aren't usually on it at that high of a dose for that long.

Now that he is free of mange & the meds - Astro is mostly a playful, goofy pup that is in need of more exercise than the weather is allowing. Even with a sweater on, he gets cold on walks so he's not able to go as often or as long as he'd like. Switching to a front attaching harness has made a world of difference in his pulling and both him & his foster mom enjoy their time with the leash a lot more. He seems to be settling down and enjoying life a lot more now, and even sleeps in his fosters' bed at night with no problems. He loves to play tug and does a cute, wiggly happy dance when his foster parents get home.

He's been started on a low, once a day dose of thyroid medicine as his levels were on the low side of normal so we'll see if that helps his hair come back.

February 7 update:  Astro is officially mange free after 14 months!!!  Congrats buddy!  Next we will be working on some behavioral issues that are (hopefully) due to the meds he was on.  We are hoping being of the medication will settle him down a bit.

January 23 update:  Astro is starting to mellow out some. He is a very opinionated and stubborn dog who demands your attention. He has finally learned to relax and sleep on the couch while we all hang out and is less upset about being in his crate. He is much more loving and likes to be hugged and kissed when he's in his relaxed mode. He LOVES to play and chew on his toys (or anything else he can get in his mouth). He has tons of energy and needs quite a bit of exercise to stay happy. A fenced yard or a lot of long walks are a must, or both! Although walking on a leash is still a work in progress. 

Astro is still battling with demodectic mange and it looks as though most of the 50% of his body with hair loss will probably not grow back since the damage done to the skin/hair follicles is too severe. He's still pretty cute even half naked. Astro is amazingly smart and food motivated and would do very well learning new tricks or maybe even basic agility. He needs something to keep his brain busy or he will get into trouble. He's very much like a short Border Collie in a wrinkled suit.

Astro will most likely need to be an only dog in the home. He usually ignores his foster dog siblings, but when he gets too excited or jealous he has started fights. He would do best without other dogs in the house. Meeting dogs outside of the house has been no trouble as long as they don't mind his in your face greetings.

December 28 update:  Astro is getting used to being in the house. He loves playing with his toys and running around the yard. He gets over excited when playing a lot and has to be put in 'time out' to calm down sometimes, but he is becoming less reactive as time goes on. He is slowly learning that personal space is appreciated and after almost 3 weeks he will finally just hang out in a room with his fosters instead of the constant pacing that was his norm. He is a sweet boy who is basically a puppy that didn't have manners taught to him in a 50 pound body.

December 12 update:  Astro is a young high energy boy who loves attention and car rides. He is fairly obedient but gets overly excited about everything he sees, hears and smells. He is VERY smart though and once he calms down a bit (and is neutered) he should be an awesome dog.

Intake info:  Astro came to BBR as an owner surrender due to not getting the attention he needs and deserves.  He has demodex mange and hairless on 50% of his body, and will be going to our vet for a full medical check.  We will update as we learn more about Astro.

Please consider sponsoring Astro to help with his medical bills.

Thank you to my sponsors!:
Toni Wagner
Rebecca Brennan
Lauren Gilmore
Wendy Vogel