About Scout

Scout is an approximately one year old lab, adopted a few months ago from the shelter. He is neutered, chipped, and up to date on his vaccinations. When I adopted him, they knew nothing about his previous life, having picked him up as a stray, but he did have kennel cough, which we quickly bounced back from! He is heartworm negative and has been receiving his monthly preventatives. He is incredibly dog social and wants to play and run all day long. He has boundless lab puppy energy! He is a little too much for my older dog and doesn't have great play manners or take cues from him as to when enough is enough, however. He loves to play with my parents' puppy and could run for hours at their house in the country. He is also non-aggressive with kitties but wants to play with them as well...coming in at 60 pounds he can be overwhelming to cats and does need to be supervised to avoid being too rough with them. He absolutely adores people and thinks every person we meet must want to be his friend and give him pets. His manners have improved since I have had him but he is still overwhelming to new people a lot of the time. He does not jump on me often or mouth me due to my working with him, but it hasn't clicked yet that those manners should be applied to everyone. He loves kids, but would do best with older kids for this reason. He does not have an aggressive bone in his body and is incredibly eager to please. He is just FULL to the brim with energy and excitement! He knows how to sit and lay down, and is hit or miss with shake. 'Stay' is a command he needs to work on still. He does a pretty good job with 'leave it'. He is potty trained and kennel trained, but he has some separation anxiety and has escaped from and torn apart both his wire kennel and his enclosed plastic one. With the help of some zip ties on the enclosed kennel, he does well. Without them, he will escape and is very destructive, shredding books, boxes, and anything else he finds, as well as going potty in his room, despite being potty trained otherwise. He rides very well in the backseat of my car, generally just laying down. He is a puller on the leash, regardless of the type of leash or harness used. Scout is a true lab and water is his FAVORITE thing. I often find him hanging out in the bathtub and he wants desperately to roll in every puddle. He could spend hours in a kiddie pool! He is great at playing fetch and has a soft grip...he knows to bring his toys and balls back to me and listens to the 'out' command. Outside, he is constantly stalking birds, bunnies and squirrels. I have imagined since the day I got him that he would do very well as a farm dog or hunting dog, as he thrives on having a job to do. I have tried several enrichment activities to keep his mind occupied, but living in a small apartment with only myself and my older dog, he struggles to have enough to keep him busy. And while he loves to follow me around and would be by my side before he would be anywhere else, he is not really a cuddler...he just can't sit still that long. I currently work 12-14 hour night shifts and it's very hard on him to be left alone for that long. He is a beautiful boy and very sweet. Growing up with strictly labs and having a lab mix already that I raised from 3 weeks old, I thought I knew what I was getting into. But the truth is, he is not fulfilled with me in this apartment and without a yard to run in. The very same qualities I love about labs just don't thrive here with me, despite my best intentions. He's very destructive when left to his own devices and has no good outlet for that energy. He's not a good match for my older dog either. Our house has turned into a high-stress environment where Scout is generally always in trouble, which isn't fair to him. He would thrive with room to run and a job to accomplish, as well as a firm hand in training. All in all, he deserves more than I have to offer him and it's taking a toll on all of us. He needs the opportunity to be the best boy I know he can be.

Sedgwick County
Wichita, Kansas