Please read our dog bios carefully to be sure that the dog you are applying for suits your family and lifestyle. At Pound Dog Rescue, we believe in the benefits of post-adoption training for our dogs and their families. This allows for continued socialization, and learning and helps to create a well-mannered and balanced dog. Post-adoption training is a requirement in our adoption process.
We’re excited to introduce you to a girl whose heart is as big as her paws: Kitty! Weighing in at a healthy 106 pounds (with a few more to go as she fills out) , this 2 year old gentle giant is certainly not your typical ‘kitty’. Kitty is a recently spayed female Landseer Newfoundland dog, with soft black & white fur and kind brown eyes that appear hazel in the sunlight. She also proudly dons her iconic “cow spots” on her leg fur, complete with long feathery tufts.. or as we lovingly call them, her ‘furnishings’!
Kitty came from a caring home, where she lived with a cat and older children. Her happy-go-lucky temperament is certainly reflective of the loving upbringing she was fortunate to have. Due to growing health-related costs & medical challenges (more on that later), her family recognized that she needed and deserved a chance at getting that under control which they couldn’t manage. We knew that un-spayed Newfs are commonly targeted by commercial breeding operations (which we’ve seen first hand), and we had the resources to spay her and get her health under control so we welcomed her.
Kitty would be best suited to a home with a good sized fenced yard, and with folks who are home more often than not. She is quite the velcro dog, and absolutely adores people — almost immediately, she became her foster mom’s shadow. She likes kids and is friendly with everyone, but due to her size and occasional lack of spatial awareness, we’d recommend she goes into a home with (or without) children who are 12+ years old.
She is medium energy level, meaning she’s more than happy to get her typical 50+ minutes of exercise per day, but doesn’t need sprinting sessions, or hours of exercise to be content. We’ve had some days where she’s cleared 15,000+ steps from trail hikes, and other days where she’s had several “short n sweet” neighbourhood strolls; in either situation, she’s a happy camper! When humans are busy, she’s able to chill out, snooze, or get to work tending to her treasured Kong toy with Greek yogurt in it. While she doesn’t need a lot of house space, having easy access to a fenced yard would be ideal as she generally prefers to have a wee every ~3 hours, and her foster mom says she could probably be the future face of a Metamucil commercial given her healthy, regular bowel movements. A detached home is also ideal because she has been known to let out a couple short barks when she can hear vocal dogs on the other side of the door.
Kitty is house trained and will make it known if she has to urgently take care of business. When her tummy was initially upset from a diet switch, she was smart enough to make a fuss in the crate and wake up her humans, and then held it until we could get her outside.
Perhaps her most endearing trait, this girl cannot get enough of belly rubs. She will lean into you, look up at you with doe eyes, and then almost somersault to the ground with a thump, rolling over for her belly scratches. If you finish up too soon, she will gently tap her paw on your arm to request more. Her temperament is fantastic and she is an
absolute doll towards men, women, and children alike. She doesn’t even bother coming to the door or making noise when there’s a knock, and instead is only interested in slowly making her way over to the door if she can smell that Uber Eats has arrived.
Let’s begin by reviewing the good stuff with regards to her health. Kitty was successfully spayed while in our care, and has received all of her core vaccinations in addition to being dewormed. She is a healthy weight, and had no red flags in her physical exam. We had her hips x-rayed and all is good there too! WOOHOO! Her teeth are in pearly-white condition, and every time she smiles during belly rubs, the room practically lights up!
Now for the not-so-fun health stuff. Typical to the Newfoundland breed, Kitty has allergies that must be closely managed. When she came to us, she was constantly chewing herself and finding all types of ways to itch every few minutes, and she would moan as if to say “please make this stop!” Prior to coming into our care, a couple of allergy treatments were tried, unfortunately without success. When transferred into PDR’s care, Kitty immediately saw our vet and an allergy treatment plan was created. She has been on Apoquel 16 mg (1.5 chewable pills per day) and an allergy-friendly, top quality, fish-based kibble diet. She has responded very well to this plan, and rarely itches or gnaws herself anymore. Getting to the root cause of the allergies would be the next step, which could be diet-related or from environmental triggers, or both. The mystery of figuring out allergies is a long, drawn out affair and won’t be something solved in foster care, and will be something her future owner, along with a veterinary allergist, can work on. Ongoing Apoquel treatment is likely part of her long term allergy management plan. Adopters must consider the cost implications; allergy medications unfortunately will not be covered by pet insurance as it will be considered a pre-existing condition. Before applying for Kitty please make sure you check with your vet about the monthly cost of Apoquel for a dog of Kitty’s size and on the dose we have listed. It is imperative that anyone adopting Kitty is fully aware of, and can readily manage this expense as her Apoquel is a must have for her at this time. Giant breed dogs go through much more food, which can certainly add up especially when it is a top quality diet like she is on. We fully acknowledge that Kitty will be a costly dog to own and her new family must be in a financial position to manage this, but what we can tell you is that this dog is 100% worth it!!! She makes up for her awful allergy issues with a darling personality and tons of love.
Kitty’s ears are one of her cutest features, especially when they immediately perk up at the sound of bags of treats or shredded cheese opening (every. single. time). Unfortunately those cute floppies will be prone to ear infections longer term as she has some damage to her ear canal from prior infections. Ongoing cleaning of her ears will help avoid infection. When she does have an infection, she responds very well to prescription ear drops. She is happily infection free now and we plan to keep her that way with regular cleaning and preventative care.
Kitty is a good walker, and pretty easily managed despite her size. On her strolls, she loves pets from strangers and friends alike, and trots beside you with a pep in her step, being sure to stop and smell the flowers along the way. She is walked on a Martingale collar and 6ft leash and this has worked wonders in almost entirely eliminating prior pulling on the leash behaviour. If she’s in a new walk location that is very interesting, her pulling can make an appearance from excitement, but again – it’s manageable and she can be redirected. Regardless, she’s a big girl, so adopters should be physically able to handle the occasional pulling episode.
She is dog selective on leash. Some dogs, for reasons unbeknownst to her human, have a special ability to fire her up. When she feels a certain way about a dog passing by, she begins to huff and puff, and her hackles go up. With certain dogs, and sometimes bikes passing by too closely, she may even add some dramatic flair. The good news is that this girl is extremely food motivated, making it quite easy to re-direct her attention and teach her that no reaction = yummy rewards. She doesn’t snarl or bare teeth at the dogs; she’s just excited/curious/worked up. Jumping at close by bikes/some dogs does happen from time to time, but it’s not an everyday occurrence and is something that with continued training, and being proactive and working her “sit” and “watch” off to the side while these exciting things pass is very effective. She has responded well to training, so now when she doesn’t bark or react to a bike or dog, she is quite proud of herself and immediately turns to you in anticipation of her “good job” treat. Her new family will be required to attend obedience classes so this will only further reinforce her learning and good behaviour.
Kitty was tested with another friendly PDR dog (shoutout to Lentil the pug!) and a friend’s larger , calm, dog, and we saw that with a slow introduction, she does well. After some initial excitement (pulling/barks) for a couple of minutes, she becomes unphased. She was even totally fine with both dogs checking her out with sniffs after everyone was calm, and vice versa. Slow introductions will be key . But Kitty will not be a dog that will want to live with another dog, and any friend dogs should be neutered males who are calm and well socialized.
When it comes to the crate, Kitty is tolerant. She sleeps in the crate overnight and is quiet and calm. During the day, she prefers to take crate time in small doses, and can become restless and vocal when left for longer periods. Outside of her crate, she can be trusted in the home, and avoids mischief when unattended, instead preferring to stretch out and lay down. If she doesn’t have a Kong or something appropriate to chew on, she has occasionally shown interest in nibbling on a stinky shoe. This has only happened a couple of times, but if she’s unattended in the future, it’s best to keep shoes out of reach.
Kitty is wonderful in the car and enjoys sleeping in the back seat, resting her head on the centre console, or calmly poking her snout out for fresh air. She also loves to gaze out the trunk window while resting her head on the top of the back seat. She hops in and out without issue and would be great on family adventures!
While Kitty did grow up with a cat sibling, we’ve noticed she can be sassy towards neighbourhood cats on our walks and would not recommend a feline sibling in her forever home. When cats catch her attention during walks, she wants to get up close and personal with them and is VERY interested. Especially if the cat is arching their back, it’s go time for Kitty, and she’s ready to pounce!
Kitty is an amazing love of a dog who will quickly become your best friend. She’s the perfect balance of fun, active, and chill, and could easily fit in with families who like adventures and hitting their step goals just as much as they enjoy a lazy Sunday. Despite her allergy situation, she remains joyful, and has the typical adorable Newf personality that is sure to make you smile. If you are ready for a well-mannered, loving, pony-sized best friend, then Kitty is ready to meet you!
Should you wish to apply for Kitty please let us know in your application the cost of the Apoquel allergy medication so
we know that you did take this into account and are prepared for this so we are sure that this is something that has been researched. Thanks!