Scooter is a very funny little guy.  He snores when he sleeps, snorts when he's excited, loves toys and snuggling,  loves to be curled up in bed under the covers, walks nicely on a leash, and is 100% house trained.  

 

Some "quirky" things about Scoots: he is scared of hardwood floors, tile, linoleum, and docks.  It takes him a REALLY long time to get comfortable with those things.  He's been with me for a month and a half and is still afraid of my Pergo floors, but at least now he will scurry across them to get where he wants to go.  He's dog friendly, but he gets SUPER jealous and will snap at dogs if he thinks they are getting into his space (which includes beds, your lap, etc.)  Because of this, he MUST go to a home that will not coddle him, which I understand is difficult because he's so darn cute.  But this could cause a lot of problems in the long run, if not taken seriously.  I've also seen him try to get... "frisky" with both people and dogs because he is trying to establish his dominance.  Again, his new family should correct him for this behavior, regardless of his adorably squishy face and silly, bouncy gait.  Crates are not his favorite and sometimes you have to chase him down when he knows he's going to be put in the crate.  He's learned quickly to decipher my behavior when I'm getting ready to leave the house and then he runs away from me.  

 

Scoots will NOT tolerate overly rambunctious dogs.  The few times he's met them, it ended with him resource guarding and then getting into a scuffle.  With that being said, I think he would do best in a home with another dog that is happy and well balanced.  I don't know how well he picks up on other dogs' cues since he can't hear (for instance, a warning growl would go over his head).  Any dogs he lives with or interacts with should be tolerant of snarky dogs or the type to ignore other dogs.  I had him around my toddler niece and nephew for an evening, and he seemed terrified for most of the night.  So I would not recommend he go to a home that has young kids.   

 

Since Scoots is deaf, his new family will have to learn a new way of communicating with him.  I can definitely share what we've figured out together (this was my first time fostering a deaf dog) but this should be an ongoing learning process for Scoots and his adopters.  When we're hanging out on my deck outside and people walk by, he will growl and bark at them.  I haven't quite figured out how to break him of this habit, since I can't just tell him "No" in a mean voice.  I've seen him do this a few times while hanging out at a park and when I brought him to a dog friendly patio.  These don't seem to be a big deal to me, but depending on your tolerance level for barking dogs, it's something to take into consideration.

 

Any other questions?  Feel free to fill out an application so we can chat about Scoots! Scooter is available for adoption local to the Twin Cities Metro only.