About Boomer

I adopted Boomer in May of 2013. He was six months old then, so he is about 6 years old now. He is 40-45lbs and terribly handsome, but difficult to live with at times. He is very high energy, always wants to play and constantly seeks human attention. He lives with me, my three cats and my parakeet and does pretty well. He has lived with three other dogs before (all smaller than him), and they got along just fine, but he is generally very nervous when other dogs approach him and would prefer to only have human contact. He is also nervous with children and guards some resources. He is an anxious dog that is constantly moving and has compulsive behavior of jumping on areas of light or shadow while yipping (I can share a video, please ask). He is reactive to most noises and hates when I am using the computer and typing on the keyboard. He also panics when people sneeze or make other abrupt sounds. He is touch sensitive on his feet and mouth, though we have been working on this and making some headway. I have a background in animal sciences and have spoken with a few behaviorists and veterinarians about his anxiety and related behaviors, we have not found a solution to bring him (and the rest of the household) peace through medication or training. He has gotten marginally better as I have worked with him through the years, but my setup at home is not ideal to give him all the space to run and quiet places I would like for him to have at the moment. My whole house is under construction and there are no separate rooms that he can be in while I work on areas that bother him. We take walks as often as I can manage, but I am a graduate student and do not always have as much time as he needs. I also do not have a yard that he can burn energy in at my small home, which I think would benefit him greatly. He knows basic commands and is extremely treat motivated. We have been working off leash at the park with no distractions on recall and other basic commands and he is doing quite well. He is extremely intelligent and picks up on new behaviors remarkably quickly, but because of this he needs constant stimulation. He is crate trained and does very well being left alone during the day. He is a great dog that would do very well under the right conditions, unfortunately I do not think I can provide that at this time.

Douglas County
Tuscola, Illinois