Meet Steve (ID6213)

Steve is a really sweet, BIG, 3-year-old purebred boy who is settling in nicely after having a pretty confusing last six months. His owner passed away, and suddenly Steve was without his constant companion. Before long he found himself in a new home with two unfamiliar humans and two female Ridgebacks. So far, he’s handling the transition pretty well. Given the sudden upheaval in his life, Steve can be a little hesitant with new people at first. Once he realizes everything is okay, though, he relaxes and shows what a good dog he is. He doesn't put up much of a fight about being handled. His fosters have pushed his comfort zone a bit and he’s allowed nail dremeling, teeth brushing, ear cleaning, and even mouth checks without much protesting. Around the house, Steve is a pretty easy keeper. He was used to being crated in his previous home, but with his fosters he has free roam when they’re gone and has done very well. They have a dog door and he enjoys letting himself out to wander the fully fenced yard and do some sniffing. When he first arrived, he barked at the neighbor’s dog through the fence, but after being told to knock it off he hasn’t done it again. He has great manners around food. Steve waits patiently for dinner and has shown absolutely no food aggression. Like many curious Ridgebacks, he does enjoy cruising the counters and he has nosed open the garbage lid, but so far, he hasn’t fully channeled his inner trash panda. Where Steve needs the most work right now is on leash. When he sees other dogs out on walks, whether in the neighborhood or at the beach, he can get pretty excited and will pull hard toward them and sometimes vocalize… think a fish on a line. When he sees people, he’ll often pull toward them as well, but without the barking and not in an aggressive way. The challenge is that because of his size, that enthusiasm can look intimidating, especially since his fosters live in a retirement community where many of the dogs are considerably smaller than Steve (think David and Goliath)! When Steve played with the female neighbor dog he was a little rough and a little humpy. He has already stopped trying that with his foster sisters. Hopefully that behavior, with other dogs, will continue to improve with consistency. He does have a bit of separation anxiety, since his fosters are home most of the time it hasn’t been a big issue. Steve isn't especially food motivated (is he even a Ridgeback?!?), so training takes a little more patience. When Steve was neutered, a lump on his rear thigh was removed and identified as a mast cell tumor (MCT). The pathology showed clean margins and it was low grade, so no additional treatment was needed. Steve was started on a protocol of H1 (Claritin) and H2 (Pepcid) blockers, which are recommended for him long-term. Overall, Steve is a really good boy with a sweet nature who just needs some continued work with leash manners and managing his excitability. With a little patience and guidance, he’s going to make someone a wonderful companion. Steve is being fostered in the Seattle area.