19/08/2017
Meet Mona who is currently up for adoption.
Mona is a ten month old mastin who will be a very big dog, but she is a gentle giant.
Mona was found abandoned and was underweight with some bad sores and scratches on her. She was quite nervous when found and does have a tendency to cower at times (particularly when given the 'no' command in a stern voice) so she may have been abused in the past. However, I have only had her for three weeks and this is improving hugely already. She is learning to trust us and will walk towards us without a problem, with her tail-wagging and seeking attention - she is now enjoying being stroked and loves being brushed!!
She shares a pen with another mastin (Lisa) and they get on very well together regarding sleeping and playing. Mona mixes with all of the other dogs (male and female and pups) without a problem. She tends to ignore the pups and is quite happy wandering around the grounds exploring on her own. She is starting to learn some basic commands. Mona stays outside of the house so not house-trained but has selected a 'toilet area' in her pen which she always uses so I'm sure toilet-training will be easy.
Mona does have an issue with food possession - presumably as a result of going without food for sometime. She will growl if a dog approaches her whilst she is eating and she has tried to steal Lisa's food when she has finished her own. We are working on this and, again, have seen a big improvement over the last week.
She has improved so much in three weeks that I'm confident she will shortly be a well-balanced and happy dog who will make the most wonderful pet for someone with enough space to house a giant dog!