Foster Dog: Hanzel (Hanz)

Hanz' favorite place, sitting in the corner of the couch.  

Help us find Hanzel his forever home!    

Quick Facts

From: Kansas City Pet Project (Link to profile)

Gender: Male

Age: 6 years (estimated)

Altered: Yes

Breed:  American Pit Bull Mix
Came into Foster:  Jan 11th, 2013

Reason for Intake: Stray

House Broken: Yes

Kennel Trained: No, he escapes from kennels, but is not destructive when left in the house alone

Leash Trained: Yes, but does best with a Gentle Leader
Rides in Car Well: Yes
Bathtime:  He does great and does not freak out, he even gets in the tub on his own (with the help of a cookie or too)
Groomers: Yes

Does well with…
Other Dogs: He can be selective (read more below)

Cats: Not Yet Tested

Other Small Animals: Yes, he has been around 2 fancy rats

Children: Not Yet Tested

His Favorite Thing: Sleeping on the couch and cuddling

His Least Favorite Thing: getting his teeth brushed

He is Motivated by:  Attention and love

Commands He Knows: Working on sit, down, how to stay out of the way in the kitchen, and asking permission to get on the couch.

Interesting Fact about Hanz: He has the loudest most violent sneeze you will ever heard, and has the magical ability to always lick you right as you are opening your mouth. 

Hanz is a lovable pooch who is a great ambassador for his breed.  Hanz shows that not all pits are the terrible beasts everyone thinks they are.  He is a total lover who is happiest just cuddling all day with you on the couch, as well and keep you warm in bed.  He loves acting as a foot warmer or a pillow for you.  He is motivated by love and attention and while he likes treats he does not get too excited about them (nowhere near as much as our dog Eva). He also doesn’t seem to know what toys are all about, but he does enjoy chewing on a kong.  If he get's real playful he might chew on a rope toy. He tends to only bark when other dogs do, or when he hears unfamiliar sounds from outside.  He barks when people come to the door, so he makes a good alarm system :) but it is best to take him into another room before the people enter so they can meet him without being intimidated by him.  Once people are inside and he has met them he relaxes and just lays back down on the couch. 

He is a mellow dog who tends to match his energy level with other dogs around him.   However if you have an excitable dog or one who is selective I would highly recommend you do a dog to dog meeting to make sure Hanz and your current dog get along.  He does tend to correct other dogs who he thinks are being too high energy by nipping them, which may come across as try to start a fight.  But at KCPP they just call him a fun hater, because he would go around in play groups correcting other dogs who were getting too rough while playing.  Basically, he acts like a grumpy old man sometimes who has to put young whipper snappers in their place:) We have a female 5 year old dog who is very mellow as well with small burst of playfulness and they get along great.  

Hanz is house broken and has very good manners in the house and learns new house rules quickly.  While he loves the couch and the bed he knows at our house he can’t get up until he is invited (unless we aren’t home, then all bets are off).  He has occasional spurts of energy and playfulness, mostly when you get home for the day.  Then he loves to go outside and run circles around the yard…gallop is really more the word.  It is difficult to keep Hanz in a kennel since he seems to be part magician and always gets out. Even after adding locks to the latches of his wire kennel he still managed to undo the bottom one and wiggle his way out.  The good news is he is not destructive when left alone in the house, he just want to be in a more comfortable place than a kennel. 

It looks like Hanz was a stray for a while because he has a lot of tartar and plaque buildup on his teeth and some look chipped for what he has eaten.  Due to this he has pretty bad breath but is very leery to getting his teeth brushed and fights it a lot. His glums have shown signs of bleeding.  I would recommend whoever adopts Hanz takes him to see the vet to get a good professional teeth cleaning and then get him use to regular dental care.  Hanz does well when it comes bath time and doesn’t fight you hardly at all, but he does get a little bit of dry skin, so a conditioner should be used with each bath, and he could also benefit from some fish oil with his meals.  Other than that he appears to be a happy healthy boy.