Gatsby (bite history, no inhibition)

Gatsby is 9yrs old and became part of the QBSDR pack in July 2017 after having bit his owner and putting another person in the emergency room. Gatsby’s owner along with the owners of a corgi that came from Gatsby’s same breeder, reached out to the breeder about taking Gatsby back, but the breeder refused. With no where to go and euthanasia on the table, Gatsby came to QBSDR. Just like every dog that comes through QBSDR’s doors that has bitten, Gatsby was muzzle conditioned, learned all of the household rules and boundaries, worked on his reactivity with space, certain parts of his body being touched, and his relationship with people. He never had someone he looked to as his leader, which made him very insecure and reactive to everything he was uncertain of. In getting to know the true Gatsby - his good boy authentic self - we’ve come to learn that he’s an incredibly sensitive dog. He’s not one of those dogs that any person can just walk up to and get all touchy feely with. It takes time for him to be comfortable with people in his intimate space and he requires a solid relationship in order for him to trust and respect a person.  When that relationship has been established with Gatsby, it’s a special moment. He loves going on walks, hikes, car rides - anything where he can spend quality time with his person. He’s a playful boy when he’s with a dog he jives with, loves lounging around, chewing on chews, and thrives on taking direction from the people in his life. Gatsby is a very special and unique boy. He has a playfulness along with a serious side to himself. He’s a natural alert dog, notifying when someone is in the driveway, or when another dog is getting out of line. He’s fully embraced his purpose and jobs of socializing and guiding the newcomers, and is one of Susan’s main helper dogs when it comes to temperament assessments of other dogs, during training workshops, and when teaching about relationship building.