About Barney

Barney is the absolute squishy, soft, and sweet 3 year old bully mix EVER! Barney is pure love. If you are seeking a true companion, Barney is your guy. He's a shyer guy, so he does need to feel safe before he goes exploring but he just needs an understanding adopter who will go at his pace. Barney is neutered, microchipped, up to date on vaccinations, heart worm negative and house and crate trained. Child appropriate? Kids over 14 would be fine. Other dog appropriate? He seems to enjoy the company of other dogs and plays nicely. We think he'd enjoy a calmer, medium energy dog of the same size as him. Cat appropriate? Barney appears to have a quite a prey drive toward the farm animals at his foster home so because of this we are thinking cats might not be an option for him. It's not out of the question and he hasn't been formally cat tested so we are just guessing on this one. How is he with strangers? Barney is a little reserved with strangers, especially men. He will spooky bark at new men but once he's given some treats and allowed to approach the men without the men trying to pet him and get in his space, he's completely fine. Once he's met the man and determined he's ok, Barney is all love from there on out. His fear is only upon the initial meeting. He does fine meeting new women. What is his play style? When playing with other dogs Barney will engage in play and chase and will tolerate a dog being a little pushy but he seems to prefer to play a bit calmer. When playing with people Barney can get overexcited and this causes him to mouth so keeping the energy lower key is best for him. He'd much rather sit and get pets and rubs vs. play anyway. Does he like toys? Barney loves his toys! He likes stuffies and rubber squeaker toys and he doesn't really destroy them. He really likes any toy you can stuff with treats and peanut butter like Kongs and other food puzzles. Does he like water? Barney does not appear to like water. He has access to a pool but does not go in and does not show interest in the hose. Does he like car rides? Barney rides well in the car and likes to look around. He does prefer to climb his way to the front seat to sit next to his person, but that's because he loves people so much. He will also lay down in the back seat and relax after a bit. Exercise level needed? Barney would do fine with daily walks and getting to run around the yard. Behavior issues? As mentioned previously, when excited Barney can mouth a bit and occasionally his kisses turn to teeth but he is continuing to receive training around this and needs to be reminded that it's not ok. He does get a bit squirmy when putting his harness on or when leashing so he's working on that as well. He just needs patience with this. Barney does have some separation anxiety, which means when home, he must be kept crated in a heavy-duty crate because he does search endlessly to get out of wherever he is if left alone. Barney can escape any outside kennel so he should not be left alone outside ever. Having an adopter who works from home or where someone is home more often then not would help this issue. Medical issues? Barney tends to have running eyes but there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with his eyes. A vet has checked him and it's just something that he has. It doesn't cause any issues, we just wipe away his eye boogers! Skills? Barney knows 'sit' and he's working very hard on 'wait' before going in and out of doorways. Ideal home? Barney's ideal home would be one where someone is home often and where he won't be left along for long periods of time. Barney needs a home that is willing to invest in a heavy-duty crate to help Barney with his separation anxiety when they are gone. The ideal home would be one that has a secure, 6 ft. solid wood fence in the back yard because Barney can climb chain link and he's a master escape artist! We haven't seen him climb a wood fence so we think that will do the trick. Barney would love to be the star of the show and be the only pet in the family but he would likely be ok with another friendly, calm dog. Barney needs a home who will be patient with him and allow him to be the house dog that he is as he's not really the kind of dog who wants to go to public places. Due to his wariness of the world, he's just happier being home.

Placer County
Auburn, California