Lugar was surrendered to the Valley of the Sun Giant Schnauzer Rescue by a couple that had him as a pup and loved him dearly. Their three your old son was playing with toys and inadvertently poked Lugar in the eye. He reacted instinctively by nipping at him. After a similar incident happened again, they made the hard decision to turn him over to rescue. This was one of the hardest rescues that Valley of the Sun had to do because it was evident how much he meant to the family.
Normally they don’t allow former owners to know where there dogs are, but in this case, the adopter is a good friend of a good friend of the former owners. So they know where Lugar is and how he is doing. They receive emails and photos because of the friendship.
Lugar is a giant ,that through no real fault of his own, needed a new home for his senior years. More commonly right now, the rescue group is seeing surrenders due to the downturn in the economy. Previously, it was usually due to lack of attention, lack of training, or lack of knowledge of the breed when owners made the commitment to take a Giant in their household. This is a very smart breed, and one who wants to be with their humans. They are oftentimes called Velcro dogs for this very reason. They need direction. Typically when they come into rescue, they need to learn boundaries as they were never taught those. Because they are smart, they will try to run the household. They need to learn that the human is the alpha in the household.
Valley of the Sun Giant Schnauzer Rescue says that teaching them that the human is the alpha is done by making them sit before they get fed or before before they go through a door. When they want attention, make them sit prior to giving it so that they know the human controls the situation – not the Giant. And when the human is done, let the Giant know you’re done and to go lay down. If you give in and continue petting, the Giant has won the battle.” Giants are a very intelligent breed. They must be socialized, trained, and exercised. The owner MUST understand that the human is in charge or the dog will be in charge. Giants must have a job of some sort, even if only protecting his/her family. They do not do well at all being crated for eight hours and then getting NO exercise. Some giants do not get along with other breeds or small dogs. It is all a part of the socializing that must be done from the earliest puppy stages. A small alpha dog will NOT do well with an alpha giant of the same sex and maybe not a giant at all. Sometimes same sex giants will fight if the owner is not aware of the training involved and of being the alpha in the house. Giants are not a dog for everyone. They can open cabinet doors, counter surf, and open exterior doors. They are trainable but not always on human time… it’s on giant time. They know what the human wants, but the human has to learn to make the giant want to follow the command. They do love children but will not tolerate a young child poking them. Giants will also knock smaller children (and adults) down when they get the rips and run. They don’t always watch to see if a human is in the way when ripping and running.
Lugar is now in a new home with a family that just adores him. His new dog-dad Steve brought him in for his photo session. I was thoroughly impressed Steve’s “loving disciplinary” manner with Lugar. Lugar is a very well trained dog that obviously respects his dad very much. It was a pleasure to meet them both.
Valley of the Sun Giant Schnauzer Rescue began in 2002 with a cluster of people who connected via the Internet and with the encouragement of the local Miniature Schnauzer Group. Their little group expanded as more Giant Schnauzer owners became involved and gave of their time. They are all interested in educating people about Giant Schnauzers and saving as many Giants as we can. Their dogs are vet checked, micro chipped and fostered to discover their habits. Then they look for suitable homes to match each individual dog. They are very proud of our group, and they volunteer their time out of love of the breed. VSGSR was incorporated in December 2003 and achieved 501(c)(3) status in April of 2004.
You can reach the Valley of the Sun Giant Schnauzer Rescue by phone at 602-212-6775, by email at phxgsrescue@hotmail.com or you can visit their website at www.vsgiantschnauzerrescue.org.
by adogslifephoto
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