Nick spent many years living in a shelter for dogs in Greece. For anyone unfamiliar with the conditions of such places, they are concete pens with metal bars (equivalent to a dog prison) where the dogs remain from the day they arrive until they either die or are miraculously adopted. They are not allowed beds, blankets, straw or toys. Some dog shelters allow volunteers to visit and those dogs that catch the volunteers eye, might be lucky enough to be taken out of their prison occassionally. But most of the dogs lives are spent in the barren concrete prison with very little human interaction.
Nick is officially called 'Cooper' but somehow he became 'Nick' - and he responds to it. He is a sociable boy who likes other dogs and loves people, but has not been cat tested. He is a medium sized lad of about 25kg and is intelligent and active, with a very long whip of a tail that sways and wags happily. He is the type of dog that needs stimulation both mentally and physically and he would probably do really well as a running companion, or at agility. He is super friendly and fantastic on a lead, making him a great sociable companion.
Nick needs a secure garden where he can see and hear things going on around him. He would hate being left all day with nothing to do and is likely to get bored and then get into mischief as he is a highly intelligent dog that needs stimulation and human interaction.
Nick is obsessed with food! This makes him easy to train but also easy to get into trouble in a home if food is left lying about. He is likely to pinch food left accessible to him and would take food from another dog as well as guard his own - this is easily dealt with and does not need to be a problem. Nick needs to be fed separately from other dogs and needs respecting while he eats and finishes his food (he would react if anyone tried to lift his food bowl before he was ready). Thankfully, training has moved on from the days when we were all taught to lift a dogs food bowl mid meal! Thankfully, most people fully recognise that it's wrong to tease an animal and we wouldn't want it done to us either! Nick has become an expert at catching treats as they fly through the air as we value our fingers(!) and find throwing treats easier as Nick can be over enthusiastic at taking treats from a hand!
Nick responds well to positive reinforcement - and tasty dog treats! The 'right' adopter will reap the rewards and find themselves with a loving and loyal companion.
