About Lewis

It is with great sadness that I am seeking a new home for our 6-yo boy. Lewis needs to spend majority of his time outdoors away from windows/reflections and needs a patient owner committed to providing constant behavioral training and mental stimulation. Lewis has a rare issue called canine compulsive disorder, in the form of extreme obsessions over indoor lights/reflections. Lewis's obsessions translate to uncontrollable whining, barking, and visible anxiety. Over the past 5 years, we have worked with him tirelessly and gotten him to a point where he is responsive to commands, will lay down and fight to ignore the stimulus (while whining, but no barking), will sleep at night, and on an overcast day will be generally calm. However, any kind of stimulus that he associates with possible reflections sends him into a total frenzy (sunlight, opening a sliding glass door, turning on a new light in the house, unloading the dishwasher, using aluminum foil, opening a laptop) that is very challenging to control. In addition to stimuli that he associates with light, any stimulus that generates excitement for him has the same effect... having a guest over, making loud noises, showing excitement, bringing him to someone else's house... these types of experiences are detrimental and create uncontrollable anxiety. When Lewis is outside (and away from glass windows or reflections), he is a COMPLETELY NORMAL dog. He plays well with other dogs outdoors (although a bit rough and rowdy at times) and absolutely thrives outside. We unfortunately do not have a home where he can spend a majority of his time outdoors. We love him to pieces and on the rare occasion when he is not anxious, he is the sweetest boy in the world. The most ideal environment I can think of for Lewis would be a large fenced property away from windows/reflections where Lewis can spend most of his day running around outside. He needs a patient owner to continue constant behavioral modification, mental stimulation, and diversion from stimuli when time is spent indoors.

Hamilton County
Carmel, Indiana