Taking (a) Chance

Q: What do you get when you take a 3 year old, 90 pound, yellow lab mix and confine him to a kennel 24 hours a day for 2 or 3 years?

A: A wild child, a lovable monster, a gorilla in a yellow coat.

Chance's owner called me before christmas. She's moving, taking her 2 little house dogs and her two cats, but not the dog she raised from 6 weeks of age. He got moved outdoors when he got big and the grandchild came to live with her.

The dog doesn't have a mean bone in his body, but he's freaking HUGE! He nearly knocked me down standing up on me to lick my face. The only time he gets out of the kennel is when he has escaped. He sits on command for a treat, but he's never been on a leash. His vaccines had expired because she couldn't get him to the vet's office. I'm quite sure she could not control him. I had a hell of a time doing so myself and getting him into the van was a wrestling match. Thankfully, Chance has a wonderful temperament, and he had some basic training at one time, but there has been no exercise or stimulation for this dog for far too long.

Chance settled down on the way home and he had a great time in the dog yard. He met Jeep, the hound, and later we moved him over to the other kennel with Bear and Bud. At 85 pounds, the German Shepherd, Bear, is the smallest of the three. Chance is neutered, but he and Bud (a very big rottie), had to work out their dominance issues. I had Clay stand by outside the kennel in case there was a major male event that I had to get involved in. But, there was no real fight, certainly no blood. There were a couple of snarling matches that looked (and sounded) like they could have escalated into a fight, but I've found that it is almost always best to let male dogs handled things themselves. Females are another matter.

Chance seems happy to have some company at last and more room to move about. In a few days I'll take him out to the pasture for a good romp and he will get to be a dog again at last.