As you can see from these pics, Harley loves the snow! It’s almost all melted away here in NE Iowa already, but he enjoyed it while it lasted. Today Harley had a visit from a prospective family. Unfortunately, it was not a good fit, but we did learn some important things from the visit about the forever home we would like to see for Harley. First, Harley seems to love people and I’m sure he will make an amazing addition to anyone’s family because he got right in the middle of things and plopped down on everyone’s feet while they were visiting! However, we think he would do best in a home where he would not live with young kids. He would be fine being around young kids and actually does great with kids and lets them hug on him. But he was a little standoffish. In part I think this is because he is SUCH a calm dog. So he stays very calm with the kids, but doesn’t seem quite as happy as he usually is. We think he would be fine to have kids that visit him, but living with small children, I think especially if there were multiple small children who might have friends who don’t recognize doggie boundaries, he would not be happy. So we’ve listened to Harley and will try to find him a family with older kids—probably older teenagers—or a family with no children or children who visit occasionally.

Harley is such a big sweetheart and really deserves the perfect fit. We’re especially biased because he has just captured our hearts and we’ve just fallen in love with Harley ourselves. We were in tears thinking about him leaving because he is so special! But this means it is also even more important to find that perfect family for Harley! If you are looking for a big, calm, super-sweet boy that will think you walk on water just for loving him, then Harley is for you!

Here are some key things to know about Harley:

· A love bug—will follow you around just to sit at your feet and nap, and will plop himself in your lap for hugs if you sit on the floor with him

· Great with both cats and dogs

· Super calm inside (has not knocked over anything despite being 95 pounds, more than can be said for the 60 pound resident dog!). But he is also happy to be active when he goes walking or jogging. He doesn’t seem to require lots of exercise, but also seemed to love the hikes we’ve taken that have been several hours, and is a great jogging companion.

· Knows his commands well—Sit, Down, Stay, Wait, “In your house” (for crate) and “Go lay down” (for bed). But I think he would like to know more too because he is very smart and highly trainable. He is of course potty-trained and has no medical issues.

· Does get nervous without people and wants to look outside to see where they are (hence some claw marks on a door when he tries to stand and look out). But otherwise no destructive behavior. He has been kept in a dog-proofed room and given a peanut butter Kong when we leave. However, I believe after working to establish trust that he would be fine with free roam. Another dog might help this, but isn’t necessary.

I hope he’ll capture your heart like he has ours. Please don’t let Harley’s size scare you away. He is a very laid back boy and this way there is just more of this sweetheart to love!

Well, it’s official. Harley is an angel! Ok, he was officially an angel for Halloween! But he is a real sweetie the rest of the time too. He had a great time watching for trick-or-treaters yesterday and gave us the official bark anytime one was coming near. He just smiled at the kids and was calm as can be after alerting us to their presence! Otherwise, not too much excitement here. Harley is doing well being kept in a bedroom while we are gone, and has not been destructive. However, he is VERY excited when we get back, and we heard his big long legs standing up on the door the last time we came home. But this seems to be when we get home, not when we leave. He has been eating from a crate, so we may eventually try that again. He is crate trained, and goes right in on the command “go in your house” but since his previous owner said that one of the recent issues was that Harley had some anxiety when left in his crate, we are slowly getting back to that point and only creating positive associations with that right now—meals in the crate and then while the resident dog eats her food he sits in his crate with the door closed and his own treat. So far, so good! However, I would still be very reticent to just leave him in his crate for fear of creating a relapse of anxiety, so while he is said to be crate trained, I wouldn’t count on that right now. I would say any potential family should work on gaining his trust before then working with him to train him back to that point.

Harley would do so well with a refresher in obedience! We work with him a bit, but he follows commands so well that I think he’d have a good time bonding with someone while learning some new ones. He is definitely a pleaser, and also food motivated, so he would learn really quickly too. We just love having him here, but hope there is someone out there who is ready for this big, blond bombshell! He really deserves it. Please contact placement if you think it could be you!

Great news! We’ve been working with Harley this week leaving for increasing periods of time just in case he has any separation issues, and he stayed for over 1 hour tonight without any problem! And he hasn’t shown any signs at all since he has been here of anxiety over being left alone. He had been whining at his previous home while in his crate and getting really anxious, so we did not actually try the crate. Instead, we had him in a bedroom that was pretty much dog proofed, though there were pieces of furniture he could have chewed if he had tried. Yet nothing was at all out of order when we got back and there were no signs of scratching at the door or drooling! He did so well, and since with separation anxiety most of the destructive behavior happens within the first ½ hour, this likely means that this is not the problem. It honestly could have been just the new baby in his other household, or a lack of exercise, or both, that brought on his stress. However, here he seems to be doing great and I am increasingly hopeful that this is not going to be an issue at all! Harley is definitely a Velcro dog, but so far this has not translated into anything atypical.

Harley has been having fun playing around the house and we are seeing him really blossom. Here are some pics of him after a good play session with the resident dog. A happy boy indeed! We will be at PetCo in Rochester tomorrow if you’d like to meet this lovebug!