Update from Ben (Ngapuhi Boy)

By Fatima |

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

We just got an update from Karen, who adopted gorgeous fawn boy Ben (Ngapuhi Boy) three years ago.

Ben did not come through GAP - he was homed privately by his trainer. Karen wrote:

We got  Ben off a work colleague that had him only a month. He was their first dog ever and I think that they were overwhelmed by him, his size, his appetite and his lack of interest in barking at people - they wanted a guard dog, and Ben is anything but! Our other dog, Toby,  and Ben get on really well.

Ben  settled in really well, he is very dog-social and needs the company of another dog ; he looks to Toby for guidance. He doesn't cope very well on his own. Yes.. he is lazy!!  He's not that keen on walking, about 1k from home, he is done, so I used to take my phone with me, so that I could get my partner to pick him up if need be. We now both walk the dogs and so he has to go the distance, but we've cut done on the distances now. We are all getting a bit older :)

We don't have kids or other pets apart from Toby, so Ben is not around them a lot, but he is very gentle and polite around all people - his main interest in new people is if they have food. I don't trust him with any small animals and the local cats have learned to avoid our place. He did catch/kill a rat in the  back yard when we first got him, which is a bonus!

Ben doesn't play much ( it is too much like excercise)! When he does find the energy, it's like, grab a toy, shake it, jump on it, tail going madly, for about 30 secs, then it's all over. He looks up, looks urprised at himself and calmly walks away, usually back to HIS couch. Very funny when it happens.

I think Toby would prefer a more playful friend, but has learned to accept and love Ben for who he is.

Ben is definitely a complete change from boxers, which we have had three of. We had decided against another boxer because of the health/genetic issues. We got Toby from the pound as a companion for our final boxer as she was grieving and very lonely after losing her mate. Our vet thinks that Toby is mostly greyhound too.

When we were offered Ben we accepted on the condition they they got along. Toby wasn't impressed that we had to get a professional in to beat him as he used to be the fastest dog at the dog park. It is truly amazing to see them running together (not often in our case) and we are still in awe at just how fast and graceful they are. The bonus with greyhounds is that we have had no health issues yet (and Ben is now 10 years old).