#383 Tonka

Adopted on 11/17/2013

Biography

Tonka is a young, handsome, black and tan long coat.  He came from a shelter, as a stray, who contacted us to see if we could help take him into our program.

He is a very happy dog with a sweet, sensitive, loving and playful personality.  His energy level is medium to high and all he wants to do is play, play, play.  Indoors, he likes to chew on his Nylabone, Wubba, and tennis balls.  Outdoors, he loves to take walks, chase his foster brother in the yard, and pounce on the tennis ball like a cat.  He will chase a thrown tennis ball and pick it up, but he doesn’t always want to bring it back to you.

Although he is taken on errands, excited to get into the car and rides nice in the back, he does have car sickness.  He will drool all over the car and if he has a full stomach, he will get sick.  The foster home is working on the car sickness by taking him on shorter rides to get him used to it.

With people and dogs, he is friendly.  With known people and dogs, he is extremely friendly and engaging; however, being examined by the vet is not something he enjoys.  The foster home is working on a lot of positive visits at the vet’s office to get him more relaxed and comfortable with exams.  He has had a few visits just picking up food or medication/preventatives and has had great positive reinforcements.  He seems to be good during appointments with the vet and vet techs except with a full body exam, which is being worked on.

Tonka had a previous skin condition when he was found as a stray and it was thought to have been cleared when he was in the shelter; however, he has been doing a lot of itching and scratching since arriving in his foster home, so we are working with the vet to find out the issue and try to resolve it.  He is currently on an antibiotic and gets a medicated bath once a week to help with the issue.

One thing we learned about Tonka is that he will need to be in a home with another dog as he has shown signs of separation anxiety when he is not with another dog or his people.  He does not do well in a crate (potties in it, chews at the wire to pull open, breaks out of it and has flipped it on its side), and if left loose on his own, may potty in the house and get into things as he did when he first arrived in his foster home.  After working with Tonka, he is currently in his foster home loose in two rooms with the resident dogs and seems to do very well as long as they are with him.  He is also perfectly fine sleeping on a dog bed in your bedroom with you and a baby gate in the doorway, but not if left alone and you leave the house with the other dogs.

Tonka is cute as a button with a spunky personality.  He needs a home that will care for him properly, give him attention and a good life that he deserves.  You couldn’t ask for more from such a spunky pup!