Belgian Shepherd Dog Sheepdog, Black Labrador Retriever [Mix]

ROMEO
Limington, Maine

Romeo now has his own Blog (Romping with Romeo)! Read updates about the adventures of Romeo and his canine buddies.

Romeo is a companion dog – a big companion dog, and that means he wants and needs a strong, secure pack leader to give him the rules to follow.

More pictures of Romeo

He does very well around other dogs who like to play. His dog friends range from an 18 pound Chihuahua/dachshund mix to an 82 pound curmudgeonly Plott hound. Romeo would far rather play than fight. Watching him and the little dog tussle is an amazing show. I still can’t imagine how neither gets hurt even by accident.

The Plott hound does have some food aggression toward Romeo, and if that goes too far (something that hasn’t happened for a long time), Romeo will not back down, so I wouldn’t put him with an aggressive dog. On the other hand, Romeo has yet to meet a dog he didn’t get along with and currently has four close canine friends.

Romeo weighs close to 100 pounds and is in good shape. Cats don’t seem to affect him one way or the other. There are no house cats here, but while the hound sees every stray cat as lunch, Romeo doesn’t seem to mind them at all.

I don’t know if he’s got Belgian or German shepherd in him along with the black lab, but he is definitely a shepherd. He bonds deeply and is very sensitive to the wants of the human with whom he has bonded.

He’ll do all he can to do what is expected of him, but keep in mind that he isn’t always the sharpest tool in the shed. If you work at the computer, he’ll want to curl up under the table or behind your chair.

He goes bashful at any whistling. Your shoes and slippers will be moved about the house so he has a part of you with him. Romeo has never chewed anything except his food at which he does very well, eating 4-5 cups per day.

He can be protective of what he sees as part of his pack which can mean you. I wouldn’t recommend him for people smaller than he is, and that includes children. Intentional or not, 100 pounds of dog bouncing off any one can be a shock.

For people who don’t know them, if the little dog barks threateningly, people just laugh and think he’s being a tough guy. He has quite a bark. When Romeo barks even in play, people are sure he’s going to tear their throats out.

On our twice daily walks of a mile each, Romeo sits peacefully if we stop to talk to someone he knows. He does want to lunge at cars, but short leash him and let him know you’re watching him and he doesn’t. The same is true of any motor vehicle or bicycle.

On the whole he’s not a barker. He will let you know if something is not the way he thinks it should be, but that’s not a bad thing if you like a dog to tell you when someone has come to visit.

He does love to hold hands and more than one human visitor has spent time just sitting with him, holding his paw, and smiling at him. It can make conversation difficult.

Baths, toenail clipping, vacuums, thunderstorms are no problem at all. In fact, once he knows there is no avoiding a bath, he’ll walk down the corridor, turn into the bathroom, and jump into the tub on his own. That’s a show that can awe many another dog owner. You don’t have to tell them that he loves snow and water, or that he never passes up jumping into a puddle or a snow bank if he doesn’t have to.

When Romeo first came here, he had no confidence to speak of. Any emotional stress, good or bad, would send him into a severe submissive state to the point of urinating. He never bit, but he would threaten to in order to back someone off if they made him afraid. Those days are all but gone. That behavior will only show itself now if someone he doesn’t know tries to force themselves on him, or if I do something that takes him back to whatever caused it in the first place. I haven’t seen either situation for a very long time.

His trust and confidence have grown tremendously. Several people who know him from our walks have commented that it’s hard to believe it’s the same dog. If he were a human actor, he could easily play Hoss Cartwright.

An ideal home for Romeo would be

-- One where he would not be left alone for long periods of time
-- One with a fenced in yard
-- One with another young canine playmate or two in residence
-- One where he would receive lots of exercise and long walks.

For those of you who love big and goofy dogs - Romeo is the boy for you:)

If you have room in your heart and in your home for Romeo, please contact: ddbmaine@yahoo.com

Unable to foster or adopt? Please consider sponsoring one of our dogs. Vetting for each dog averages $300 - $400 per pup. Monthly care of a dog in our foster program costs $50 - $70/month.