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Located near Ocala, FL

This is someone's very lucky day: Beautiful Foster Nico is up for adoption! (Our current dog is much too jealous of him, otherwise we would totally foster fail with this super pup!)

Nico will be one year old on April 26th, 2020. He is approximately 100 lbs… no, that’s not a typo - he came to us almost a month ago quite flabby and unfit, but has since been gaining stamina and muscle. He is a super sweet boy who loves to fetch a ball, go for walks, and cuddle. Although I am not an expert in tracking, he seems to have a natural interest in scent work and would do very well in obedience, as he learns very quickly. Agility would probably not be a forte due to his more solid build; he sheds extensively and his coat will need consistent attention. He is very polite walking on leash with a prong collar, is an excellent “alarm”, alerting us to any unusual activity (we live on a quiet farm, so trucks driving on our road is unusual activity). He is non-reactive, although interested, to barking dogs across a fence line when out walking. He wants to play with our other dogs, but he plays rough like a very large puppy, and they are geriatrics and not quite up to it (except our Mal, who is too jealous to play with him).

Commands that Nico knows as of now: sitz (sit), platz (place/lie down), wait, aus (out of mouth/let go), nein (no), komm (come), komm her (come here, i.e., close), fuss (heel), go inside (his crate), get the ball, OK (release word). He will need to have all of these reinforced with further training, especially aus and komm. He crates well, goes in readily (especially when rewarded with a treat), and waits to exit his crate; he will sit and wait until released when doors or gates are opened, and he waits until released to eat his food. He takes treats very gently, even from our toddler.

Note: even though Nico is not child aggressive, we strongly recommend not placing him with young children, as he could severely injure them without meaning to do so, simply due to his size and power. The same is true of small dogs. He sees cats as prey, as evidenced by his reaction to seeing our cat, although with the correct training, this could probably be changed - but that will take a lot of work and some risk.

Now for the work you’d have to still do… be prepared for Nico to: excavate your garden so that you can plant medium size trees without further digging, remove and disassemble mosquito netting on your windows, grab any object from any surface of the house or wall that catches his fancy and quickly maul it into an (ehrm...) interesting work of chewed up “art." Using the command “aus” along with a firm, but fair, hand if needed, and immediately praising with a treat once he lets go is working well in teaching him what is off limits, but will need to be consistently and constantly reinforced. You have to be sure of yourself, as he has at times snarled when asked to release something in his mouth, but he is unlearning that habit. If you are not working or playing with Nico, and unless he is tired and lying at your feet or being closely supervised, he will need to be crated if you want to save your possessions from the Nico-garbage-disposal. I believe that he will grow out of all of this, as he still is quite puppy like, but there is work to do before that happens.

Nico needs an experienced human. He will do best in a home with near constant supervision, structure and clear boundaries, a human with a firm, fair hand and who clearly and immediately establishes leadership. If those requirements are in place, I have no doubt that he will become an incredible and loving companion.

Contact Cindy Garcia for more information at MalRescueMiami@yahoo.com

Apply to adopt Nico here:  https://malinoisrescue.rescuegroups.org/forms/form?formid=5725

ABMR thanks you for taking the time to look at our malinois available for adoption.