A few facts about Riker:

He walks well on a leash. Either a harness or martingale collar will work just fine. He has tons of energy, so someone who walks/runs regularly would be ideal. He loves toys, but can destruct a toy in a matter of seconds with those powerful Pit Bull jaws. Kong products and Nylabone toys are probably best for him. He is a jumper! He can jump 5 feet in the air from a sitting position. He NEVER walks down the stairs, he takes them 3 at a time. And does the same thing going up the stairs. So make sure to get out of his way. He rides in the car well. And, he doesn’t get into things in the house. He doesn’t dig in the trash, or counter surf, or potty in the house. He does like to hump things and people. But, he is very quick to correct. He’s a complex dog and needs a ‘super wonderful’ adopter to come along and give him the life he so deserves!

Riker's Biggest Flaw

Riker’s biggest flaw is his aggression when strangers approach his crate. But, let me say, Riker does LOVE his crate. He walks in by himself when asked to do so and sometimes without even having to ask. He’s great in his crate, doesn’t make a peep. If he’s whining in his crate, he needs to go to the bathroom. He’ll lay right down and won’t give you any problems. His crate is his security during thunderstorms. He really hates thunder and doesn’t want to be outside at all when one is brewing. When someone he trusts approaches his crate, he’s all wags. And, he’s very happy to see you. There are times when I walk by his crate and he doesn’t even raise his head. But, when a stranger approaches his crate, he gets very nervous. He barks, growls and lunges; Even biting at the crate walls. It takes him a while to get used to someone new approaching. When he first came to stay with us, we gave him a treat EVERYTIME we approached his crate. It took him about a week to realize that when we approached something good was about to happen. But, he got it and it has been great since. Let me be clear – when he’s out of the crate, he’s not the same aggressive dog. When you have visitors, he will need to be ignored. As if he doesn’t exist. He will need to be the one to approach the new person. He is not the dog that you can walk up to and expect to love all over him. At some point, you will be able to, but you have to let him make that decision. In order to love him, you have to be able to provide him with the security he needs to become comfortable with each new situation. If you can do that, he will thrive in your home. If you can’t provide him with this, he’s not the right dog for you. He’s come too far to start over again.

8/23/2010

As Riker’s foster mom for over a year, I debated on where to start this write-up for him. Should I start with all the good traits that Riker has, or the few not-so-great traits he possesses? I’ve decided to start with the good, since that’s the way I see him through my eyes. The first thing I see when I look at Riker is LOYALTY! He’s one of the most loyal dogs that I’ve had the pleasure to foster. He follows me around the house no matter where I go. He comes over to investigate the dishwasher when I’m loading dishes, but he NEVER sticks his nose in. And, he NEVER licks any food from the dishes. He follows me to the bathroom and waits outside for me to finish. He lays under the dining room table when I’m sitting there helping my kids with their homework. He loves laying on the couch with me and really enjoys a good ‘rolling around’ in the pillows. He sits and watches me fold the laundry. I do believe this dog would go to the end of the earth with me (as long as it’s not storming outside, ‘cause he’s scared of them). The next best trait I see in Riker is CHARACTER and PERSONALITY! He has tons of it. He absolutely adores this flower rug that we purchased and sometimes refuses to move off of it. He’ll roll around on his back on this rug forever if I’d let him. Of all the rugs in our house, he’s picked the most girly looking rug of them all. It makes me laugh to see this muscular Pit Bull rolling around on a girly flower rug. When Riker doesn’t feel like going into his crate or believes he should get a few more minutes, he freezes! When I walk over to him, he rolls over on his back for a belly rub. Silly! He NEVER runs from us, just plops over and exposes his belly. Kinda like he’s saying, “Mama, I know you’re going to take me back to my crate, but before you do, can you rub my belly, please?” It puts a smile on my face every time. And, yes, he usually gets that little belly rub, too. Most of the time, if I’ve put Riker in a sit and start to walk towards him, he’ll throw his left (always his left) paw up in the air. Like a high-five or a shake. We didn’t teach him that, it’s just what he does. Another wonderful trait of Riker is DESIRE! He has a desire to please, a desire to love, a desire to forgive and a desire to be just like every other dog. He’s a little rough around the edges, but once he learns to trust you, he’ll give you everything he has and more. Once he knows that you’re not going to leave him or hurt him, you’ve gotten yourself a new best friend. A true companion! One that would defend you to his death. This dog has tons of love in him for the family that is willing to work with him, be strong leaders for him, and love him no matter what.

**We only adopt our dogs to INDOOR homes. All BRBR dogs are kept indoors. There are NO exceptions to this rule!
**All current pets have to be current on all vaccines.
** Dogs must be on Heart Worm Prevention.

1-15-09 Riker Petfinder Update:
Hi, it's Riker here. And, I have a lot of news to report to all of you folks. I think to start, you'll need to hear my story. This is hard for me, but it needs to be said. I've been seeing my therapist and she says that in order to start off on the right foot with anyone, I'll need to open up and admit my flaws, fears and accomplishments.
So, here's my story: I started my life off living with a family and they had an older son. I belonged to the son, but he eventually moved away and left me with his parents. I was only fed about once a week and I was really hungry. My body showed the lack of food because I was very thin. I rarely had clean water. It was green and slimy with mosquitoes in it. And, the worst part yet, there were neighborhood kids that would throw trash at me in my pen. My pen had things like broken boards with nails, bottles, cans, and trash. These kids would yell at me and, overall, were just never nice to me.
Because of what I've been through, it's been very difficult for me to trust people. I tend to initially think all people are bad, and my therapist is helping me to understand that most people aren't bad. I wish that I could stop being scared, but I can't seem to find the courage just yet. My doctor says it will take some time. And, fortunately, the people at Blue Ridge Boxer Rescue and my foster mom/therapist are willing to give me as much time as necessary. I have been making lots of progress since coming to my new foster home. They are working with me every single day to overcome my fears and be the best dog I can be. They tell me over and over how very proud they are of me and I really like that they treat me so good. Sometimes I still think I'm dreaming!
Here are some of the things I'm learning: Sit, Stay, Down, Come…And, I have to do these all the time. I must sit to come out of my crate and stay until I'm told that it's ok to come out. I'm getting an A+ on this one. I must sit and stay to go outside, to have my leash put on or taken off. I must sit and stay before going on a walk and leaving the house. I also have to do the same to come into the house every single time. I have to sit and stay for my food and my water. And, they make me sit and stay at random moments during the day…just because. My foster mom/therapist says that, with the exception of a few stubborn moments, I'm doing extremely well with all of these. The come command is a little difficult, but I love attention and we're going to keep working. I just started to learn the 'down' command, and I haven't quite mastered it, but I did get it a few times. Everyone seemed to be happy with that progress because I hear it's a hard one. We're going to continue working on that one. I'll report more later on these commands.
A few other tidbits of info: Unfortunately for me, I'm not allowed on the furniture at all. My foster mom says this is for the best, but I would much rather sit on the couch with them. She says that I need to learn my place in the house, then I might be able to earn a coveted spot one day. I'm not allowed to sleep in the big bed at night either. I have to sleep in my crate, but I do have a very nice comfy dog bed in there, so that's not too bad. I also must earn affection in this new foster home. Don't get me wrong, I know they love me. But, if I come up and put my paws up in someone's lap, I don't get petted for it. I get told that I must get down. But, if someone calls me over and I come to them, then I get all the affection I can stand. I'm not allowed to jump on ANYONE!! This is a big no-no. I'm learning, but I do still get excited sometimes. I have been going for walks at night and I am happy to tell you that I'm heeling right beside my foster dad and I am not pulling on the leash at all. He says that he really likes taking me out because I walk so well.
Things to come: My foster mom says that once we establish a really good relationship with lots of trust, that we are going to start working on meeting new people. Of course, she says that she's going to take it really slow at first. But, hopes to eventually get to the point where I get to go everywhere with her. Can you believe that?? I can't wait and I'm going to try my best. I also haven't really met the resident dogs here just yet. My foster mom put my crate in the same room with them and I am crated right beside one of the boys. But, I'm not allowed out at the same time just yet. We hope to be able to do that real soon. They just thought I needed as much time to get used to the new rules as possible. I've never really had 'rules', ya know. So, we have meet the dogs, meet new people and somewhere in between all that I'm going to have to get my heartworm treatment done, too.
At this point, it's going to be quite a long road for me, but I will try my absolute best to be a good boy. And, I'm going to be working really hard on learning all the new things that I can.
Until next time,
Riker



10/30/08

Hey everyone, it's Riker's foster mom. Riker is such an amazing little man. He has so much love and energy he just always wants to be near you. He's extremely smart and learned the house breaking thing in about a week. He is completely crate trained, he whines a little when he's in but no problems getting him in and after a few minutes he calms down. He loves to give kisses and snuggle, he'll run up to you and sit his little head down in your lap and look at you with those big brown eyes that make you just melt. He was okay with my cat when we first got him, now he thinks it's a toy and constantly chases him so it would probably be best for him to go to a home without cats. He is also still very young and very active so a yard with a fence would be really nice for him. He gets along perfectly fine with my two boxers and just wants to play all day. Riker does jump alot when he gets excited, which we are working on. Since he does jump though, it probably would be better for him to be with older kids that he can't knock over. He's such a sweet and handsome man and really deserves someone to love him for the rest of his life. Please consider making Riker the new addition to your family!




10-8-08 Hi Everyone! My name is Riker and I'm so excited to be with BRBR! I was a little shy at first but my foster parents and fur-siblings made me feel right at home and now I'm finally coming out of my shell! I'm a little man at about 42 pounds but don't let that fool you, I have plenty of energy to burn! The doctor said he thinks I'm about 3 years old and he said I have these nasty things called heartworms. I'm not sure what they are, but my foster mom said I'll just take some medicine and be as good as new in no time! I love my foster mom, in fact, I follow her around so closely that I accidentally step on her feet sometimes! Oops! She just laughs and lets me give her more kisses though so I don't think she really minds. I love to give kisses and hugs...in fact, I just love attention, and I think I deserve it since no one really paid much attention to me before I came here! My foster mom calls me a love bug and says I'm the sweetest dog she's ever met...call me cocky, but I like to believe it! As much as I love my foster home, I really want someone to call mine for the rest of my life! I do have a lot of energy and love to run so a backyard and a playmate would suit me just right. I'm good with other dogs and although I like to chase my mom's cat, I would never hurt him, I just don't understand how he is faster than me! I need someone to show me all of the love that I missed in the first part of my life! I'm such a good little boy and I'm patiently waiting for my perfect home to open up their arms to me...don't you want to be that perfect home?