Meet Otto

Puppies come and puppies go, but some of our adult doggos have been here for awhile. They’re ready to go home! So every day this week, we’re going to do a little feature on one of these deluxe doggies who we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know during their weeks or months here. Meet our diamonds in the Ruff.

Happy-Go-Lucky Otto likes to play. If he gets the impression you’re not catching on, he’ll toss a Frisbee in the air himself, and catch it in his mouth. See? It’s so much fun! Don’t you want to try?

All doggos have their weak spots, and Otto’s is that sometimes he forgets that humans aren’t dogs. When he gets really excited, he might stand up on his hind legs to do a little tippy tap dance and try to put his paws on your shoulder to give you a kiss. So there can be a bit of reminding him “hey! I know you want to give me love, but you’ve got to get down!” He’s getting good at listening. One solution seems to be getting down on his level and giving him a big hug and telling him he’s a good boy before going out on a walk. He wants to look you in the eye and check in to make sure you know he’s happy to see you.

He can also get a little mouthy when he’s trying to play with you. You know that thing where puppies play-bite at each other when they’re doing puppy wrestles? That. They’re not chomps, they’re not angry, they’re not bites – he just didn’t have humans to teach him that even though that’s how puppies express their affection, it’s not how humans do. We’ve been letting him know that we prefer snuggles by saying overdramatic “ow”s (it doesn’t hurt, we’re just making sure he understands) and he pretty quickly figures it out and remembers to be a bit gentler. He really likes playfully roughhousing… and just needs some people who are up for giving him reminders until he’s got it figured out.

He’s only two years old… so that’s still some puppy energy in a big dog body. He’s really good at learning, though! A few weeks ago we would have been telling you he pulls really hard on a leash… but now, it’s really not a problem. When I was walking him this morning, he forgot himself for a second and tugged… but then looked over his shoulder at me with a doggy smile and let the leash go slack. You could just see him thinking, “Oh, wait, I get told I’m a good dog if I slow down!” (Don’t worry. I did tell him he’s a good dog. We had a nice walk).

Otto’s wishlist for a forever family includes adventures. He likes catching Frisbees (we recommend TOUGH Frisbees, because they’re going to get a real work-out). He’s good at fetching tennis balls, too! And he would looooove it if you’d play tug-of-war. He’d also like to let you know he’s really, really good at running! He’s so fast. He’d love to come along on your morning run, or hikes, or camping, or to the beach, or…. Well, he doesn’t know yet, but he’s up for whatever you want to do! An active family with older kids would be a great fit for him (like many big, happy dogs, he can forget that not everyone is as big and strong as him).

Our outtakes from Otto’s photoshoot. He’s such a happy galumphing doggo!

He has one more VERY important request. He’s going to need belly rubs. He’ll flop over on his back with his tongue lolling out and his paws flopping in the air, ready for some love. He likes pets and hugs and head skritches. He’s all about the physical affection. Do you need a dog who wants to hug you? Otto’s got you covered.

He’s also super pretty. He has this variegated grey coat that’s lighter at the root at darker at the tips. He’s ahead of the trend with ombre. He’s probably got some German Shepherd and Husky somewhere back in his family tree, giving him that wolfy look. (He’s a bit smaller than that, though).

He knows sit, and… maybe he knows crawl and roll over? Either that or he just likes to make you laugh by wiggling around on the ground – we’re pretty sure that’s a good feature to have in a dog.

If your ideal dog is a happy-go-lucky adventure buddy, we’ve got your guy right here.

Sound good to you? You can fill out an adoption application and we’ll give you a call to schedule a meet-and-greet to try out some belly rubs and throw some tennis balls. He’s going to be SO happy to see you – get ready!

If you hit it off, you can take him home for a free home trial – with all of our adult dogs, we want to give you the opportunity to make sure you’re the right match, because Otto deserves a home that’s forever, and we want you to know you’ve hit the jackpot with a great dog.

We don’t know much about his experiences in a home, but he has expressed some fear of men. While we don’t know if this will be true for all men, we suspect he would prefer his new best friend be a woman. We know he’s met exactly one cat, who he barked at a lot. Was it just that one cat? Might he get along with your cat? We don’t really know. That’s what home trials are for!

Perfect adventure-sized companion. For your reference, this is a small-ish human.

Even if you’re not ready to adopt a dog, Otto would be so happy if you would foster him.

Otto is ready to bring a lot of joy and energy to your life.