Meet Beethoven! Beethoven is a 1 ½ year old “Newfiepoo” (Newfoundland and Standard Poodle mix) who has a TON of energy and personality. He has been patiently waiting since January for his forever family!

Temperament: Beethoven is a sweet dude who has loved every person he has gotten to meet so far. He’s a wild man but also extremely sweet and eager to please.  

Personality: (goofy, laid back, playful, etc) Beethoven is a giant doofus, and is extremely playful and goofy! He is just working on his ability to turn it off when needed. He’s still working on boundaries and basic manners, so his playfulness can escalate to inappropriate behavior like mouthiness and incessant jumping pretty quickly. He will do best with a family who will be able to accommodate his high energy but also dedicate themselves to providing him the ongoing training and structure he needs to be successful.   

Likes: Beethoven is still young, so naturally one of his favorite things to do is to play endlessly. He loves attention and pets and wants to be by your side 100% of the time. He enjoys training and has been learning basic scent work, which he seems to enjoy. He loves walks and car rides, and running around the fenced backyard in his foster home. Don’t ask him to fetch though…he likes to chase toys, but he’d prefer to be waited on and have you do the retrieving.  He also LOVES the water and really enjoys his splash pad and doggie pool at his foster home.

Dislikes: Beethoven does not enjoy being separated from his people. He also would rather not be made to stand still, especially while being groomed, though he is working on training for that. 

Energy level: (likes daily hikes, walks three miles, prefers to be a couch potato, etc.) It’s probably obvious by now, but this guy is HIGH ENERGY. His former owner commented that playing in a fenced yard is not going to be enough for Beethoven, he needs additional exercise outlets too, and his foster parents would tend to agree with that statement!

Favorite activities: Beethoven likes to ride in the car, and is an extremely good boy when doing so. He also loves walking and playing with some of his favorite toys (the Bento Ball is his current favorite one, but he is also a big fan of Yak Chews). His favorite is training though, because he gets to exercise his brain AND get attention! The treats, obviously, are a huge bonus too. He’ll do just about anything for a small hot dog slice.

Good with cats, dogs, and kids (over 6)?: Beethoven has reportedly lived with cats, as well as with other dogs of varying size in the past. However, some of that was when he was a puppy, and as an adolescent/adult he did have issues with a more dominant male dog he shared a home with in the past. Beethoven is currently living in a foster home with three other dogs. While one is not a fan of him, the other two have gradually learned to tolerate him. Beethoven would likely do well with a dog friend, as long as they will put up with his pushy and overbearing behavior. Beethoven does not typically immediately warm up to new dogs, and needs time to get used to them so if his new family has other dogs, they will need to expect to be patient and do very gradual introductions, and plan to keep him totally separate in the beginning, then start with slow introductions on walks. Once he gets comfortable with other dogs though, he has been really good. He seems to prefer smaller dogs over ones his own size.

Not good with: Beethoven does not do well with other large dominant male dogs. He also doesn’t seem to do well with critters like squirrels, bunnies or groundhogs.

Housetrained: Beethoven is fully housetrained and will run to the door and tell you when he needs to take a trip out.  

Crate trained: Yes. He is not a fan of being crated since he hates not being with his people, but his future family should definitely continue to enforce crate training and helping him to have positive associations with his crate, especially since he can be a little destructive when he’s frustrated or anxious. Until he is past his adolescent stage, it is unlikely that he can be trusted not to get into things when not supervised, so crating will be a must, at least at first.

Requires a fenced yard (physical fence and/or invisible fence)? Encouraged, but not required. Beethoven would love to be able to play with his future family in a fenced yard with lots of space for him to run around with his toys, so a fenced yard would be ideal for him. However, it is not required provided his adoptive family has alternative ways to provide him with the energy outlets he needs, in a safe and controlled setting. If he does have a fenced yard, the fence will need to be at least six feet as he has shown his foster family that he is capable of jumping over anything shorter if he sees something he wants to get to, like a squirrel.

Walks well on a leash? Beethoven is doing exceptionally well learning leash manners. He still pulls when he sees squirrels or other critters, and he’s a strong boy, so an Easy Walk harness has worked well for him. He will also pull to try to go see new people. We are still working on the pulling in those instances, but aside from that he walks beautifully on a leash.  

Challenges: Beethoven will test your patience at times, he can be a stinker. No paper product in the world is safe from him, and he will steal and shred your tissues and paper towels gleefully with zero remorse. He will try to knock over your baby gates, and shove in front of you to get through doorways, his rudeness knows no bounds. He is likely also going to test the patience of any other pets in his future home. But what he lacks in manners and training he makes up for in intelligence and sweetness. Once he can have the consistent training he needs, he is going to be a rock star, because this boy is super smart and eager to please! 

Any Medical issues? None

What would be the best kind of home? Beethoven would do best in a home committed to providing him with the love, patience, structure, and training he needs to be all he can be! Children or younger people who are willing to play with him and help channel some of his energy would be a bonus, but his lack of manners and pushiness should also be considered in this respect, as at present time, he doesn’t discriminate in who he jumps up on or gets mouthy with. Beethoven will also need a family who can provide proper grooming for him, and/or take him to a professional groomer because his hair is wild and will get out of control fairly quickly if it does not get regular attention, especially since he loves water, mud, snow, and all the other things that love to get stuck in poodle hair

Application Fees, Adoption Donations and Rescue Policy:

Please know that 100% of our fees and donations pay for the costs of rescuing dogs. These include, but are not limited to: pull fees from shelters, veterinary examinations, vaccinations, medications and care, microchips, neuter/spay surgeries, heartworm treatments, behavior evaluations, and foster care, as needed.

Our rescue policy requires the following:

• Adopters must have their primary residence in one of the following states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and parts of North Carolina.
• We will not adopt a giant breed dog to homes where the dog will have access to highly varnished hardwood steps inside the home. Any inside steps to which the dog(s) have access, must have carpeting, securely fixed stair treads, or a non-skid surface. We encourage you to remediate potential safety issues while your application is under review, prior to the home visit.
• Methods or devices using pain or force on the dog to control the dog, or to deter undesirable behavior is prohibited.
• Applications for giant breed dogs must be submitted by the property owner.
• Homes with children under 6 years of age will not be approved for adoption.
• Homes with children should have a fenced yard.
• Pets currently in the applicant's home must have a history of appropriate veterinary care. Veterinary records will be checked.
• All references must be checked before any visitation of the dog is permitted at the foster home.
• All family members must be present during the home visit to the applicant's home.
• Any dog(s) in the applicant's home must have an introductory meeting with the rescue dog being considered, before any adoption can be completed.
• Homes with intact dogs will not be approved for adoption. Exceptions to this policy can be found on the Adoptable Dog Page.

Mastiffs To Mutts Rescue reserves the right to approve or deny any adoption that occurs through this organization without disclosure.  We reserve the right to make exceptions for special circumstances.

For additional information please review our FAQs or contact mastiffstomutts@gmail.com

**PA Kennel License: 05845