Gryff (FKA Swazee)

NJ -

Male -

20 Months

This dog was adopted on 2012-07-01

Personal Information

Weight:60 Pounds

Color:Brindle

Ears:Natural

Tail:Natural

Spayed/Neutered:Yes

Shots Up to Date:Yes

Other Dogs:Yes

Cats:Yes

Children:Yes

Crate Trained:Yes

House Trained:Yes

Microchipped:Yes

Individual Needs:None

Adoption Donation:$375

My Story

08/25/2020

 The dog we adopted was called Swazee when he was with NLBR but has since been rechristened Gryff. 

 We adopted Gryff back in 2012 and he is still alive. He will be 10 years old in October. 

 Over the years, Gryff has had some minor medical issues. He has some allergies and ear infections that are treated with antibiotics and ear drops periodically. He also had a surgery to remove a snaggle tooth. Otherwise, he has been a very healthy boy. 

 Gryff has had an interesting time with others. When we first adopted him, we were childless. Over the course of the last 6 years, we have had 3 children. It was a major adjustment for us and for Gryff. He didn't always respond well to the children, but we have worked with a wonderful trainer and dog walker who have helped us every step of the way to find a system that works for our family. Gryff can be sweet and affectionate with close family and friends but is not always trustworthy around children. He treats them as he would treat a puppy and it hasn't always yielded positive results. Therefore, we make sure to keep him crated or separated from certain friends, especially those with young children. It's less stressful for him and safer for everyone. As for other animals, Gryff had been socialized when he was younger, even going to doggie day care for a time. As he has aged, he has become less tolerant of other dogs. Ours is a one dog home and I think he likes it best that way. 

 We feed Gryff Merrick dry food- 1 scoop twice daily. He also likes Stella and Chewy, Merrick, and Old Mother Hubbard treats. For special occasions, or when we train, he also gets steak, hot dogs, cheese, and chicken. 

 Gryff has always been very smart. He really enjoys training sessions where we practice recall, down, sit, stay, wait, heel, kiss, touch, go to your place/crate and paw. He can do some retrieving but gets bored with that quickly. He is excellent at the box toy where he has to open different compartments to find a treat and he has even learned to press the Staples "easy" button. That's all of his mental exercise! As for physical exercise, he goes for walks a few times a week with the family but mostly plays and runs around the back yard. As he's aged. and especially with this heat, he's been very content to nap a lot of the time. 

 One of my favorite Gryff stories is from earlier this year. My son TJ, my oldest, is 6 years old. Of the 3 kids, he has the best relationship with Gryff. One day, I couldn't find either of them. I happened to look out in the yard and noticed them playing together. My son had a pocket full of treats and was going through Gryff's entire training routine with him. It was so much fun to watch how they have grown together. It was one of my proudest human/fur mom moments to see them getting along so well. 

 

11/16/2016

Gryff is just settling into the daily routine that is life with a 2 year old and 6 month old human siblings. He is fairing pretty well for a dog who liked being an only child. He and his human brother have a typical little sibling/big sibling relationship. They love each other but they certainly have their disagreements! He is wonderful with the baby, very gentle and protective. 
 
Gryff continues to be an excellent travel companion, coming on vacation with us whenever possible. When he can’t come, he happily spends his time boarding with our wonderful trainer, Julie. She adores him and encourages us to go away often so that she can spoil our boy!

06/09/2015

I can't believe it's been 3 years since we adopted Gryff. It seems like only yesterday he came to live with us. At the same time, it feels like he had been part of our family for so much longer.  
 
Life is certainly different for Gryff. These days, he spends his time torn between loving his little brother (especially when TJ is eating!) and trying to get rid of him. They a typical brotherly relationship. Gryff had been pretty patient while TJ learns what is and is not appropriate behavior when it comes to dogs. Gryff is very expressive and makes sure that both his pleasure and displeasure are known. TJ is learning to respect Gryff's boundaries. 
 
Gryff goes to daycare once a week. He enjoys the time out of the house and playing with other dogs. It's a nice break for him. 
 
Gryff still takes his flower essences every day. They have helped him to be more happy and balanced. He went for a nice long walk the other day and he only had one barking fit when he saw another dog. That's a huge improvement for him. The formula we have him on is made especially for him and we keep in touch with the woman who makes it to update her and tweak the formula as needed. 
 
Gryff is a good traveler. We have taken him on several road trips to Michigan and he is always excellent in the car and as a house guest. Sometimes, however, he can't go on trips with us. When this is the case, he stays over at our trainer's house. She always says what an awesome guest he is and begs us to let him stay over more often!! 
 
Gryff is a lover, a cuddler, a protector, a spoiled brat, and a huge Mama's boy!

05/04/2014

Thanks so much for checking in with us!  Gryff is doing great. Recently, we welcomed a new baby into our home and Gryff has taken on the role of big brother. While I was pregnant, we did a lot to prepare him for our newest family member. We worked with our trainer on baby specific things and started Gryff on an herbal supplement that is specifically designed to help him relax. 
 
In the past, he had been known to be overly energetic and somewhat anxious. The training and the herbal supplement have really helped to address these issues. 
 
Gryff also goes to daycare once a week so that he can get out excess energy. As a bonus, he gets to play and spend time with Diane C.'s girl Tootsie. Tootsie was Gryff's foster sister and he just loves her. 
 
Gryff is a really wonderful family dog. He's very loving and affectionate. He's also an excellent listener in the house. His one issue is that he is very protective. He gets anxious on walks when he sees strangers and has been known to bark like crazy if they get too close. He is also wary of new people coming into our house. With the help of our excellent trainer, we have been addressing these issues. 
 
All in all, Gryff is an awesome dog and we are so happy to have him as part of our family. 
 
Thanks again for checking in with us!

01/31/2013

Gryff has had an amazing impact on our family.  He is an absolutely wonderful addition.  He makes us laugh and keeps us busy.  I love to tell people that he is an excellent trainer for when we have human children.  Our friends, family and his "team" (trainer, vet, day care staff and dog walker) adore him and cannot say enough wonderful things about him.  Because of him, I have learned so much about myself and about dogs.  I am grateful every single day that he has come into our lives.  He is amazingly smart and a wonderful companion!

06/16/2012

I'mmmmmmmm Baaaaaaaak!!!!  My adoptive family felt I needed more exercise than they could give me so they brought me back to NLBR.  Soooooo, I am still looking for that perfect family!  One who loves to walk with me!
Swazee is back in foster care and he is doing wonderfully!  More exercise?  Just a couple of walks a day will do it!  If you are an adopter who wants a walking partner, Swazee is the one for you!  He just loves his walks!  He plays with my dogs in the yard but then goes over to the gate after playing, looking at you as if to say..."Can we go for a walk?"  When I tell him "No, not now", he runs off to play again and then proceeds to go back to the gate to "ask" again.  He walks very nice on the leash and raises his head to catch all the scents in the air.  When he sees a rabbit or a squirrel he just watches it, I get his attention by saying "leave it", treat him when he looks at me and we continue on our way.  There is no more charging for those interesting rabbits or squirrels!  Oh, saying "hello" to people on the street?  He is a gem... just loves attention and people.
We have been working on obedience training in my kitchen and will soon take it into other rooms of the house so he will understand that it means everywhere, not just the kitchen!  We have been working on Swazee going into his crate on command and he is mastering that very nicely.  He performs "sit" and "down" perfectly.  We are still working on "wait", "come", "leave it" and "front" (which means, come to me and sit nicely in front of me).  We have fun with the games "touch" and "find it".  He is totally housetrained, crates nicely and is very smart, sweet and wants to please and learn all the time.  He is such a mush, just wants to be loved and wants to be with you.  He is an awesome dog!  If you have space in your heart and your home, please consider Swazee...you won't be disappointed!

05/10/2012

Hi again, Let me tell you how I've been and my jam packed weeks.  First things first, apparently this person called the vet told me I was healthy as a horse, whatever that means, what is a horse anyways?  So I am in love with this big machine called the car and what my foster mom calls a "ride".  I love them and she says I’m a good boy in the back seat.  (All I do is just sit there and look out the window…I don’t get it)   When my foster parents call me I just have to go and give them a hug no matter who I’m playing with.  I love when they call me Handsome and give me hugs and kisses…I will do anything for a hug!  Guess every place that is a park is heaven.  I went to this baseball game last night and wow, I love watching sports!  (I secretly just want to play with everyone I see but my foster dad thinks I was cheering him on…sshhhhh, don’t tell him)  I had a great time at the pet store and all those treats and bones…I just had to open one in the store, I couldn’t wait!  I met these people called grandma and grandpa.  I like them a lot!  They’re fun to play with, grandpa plays with my ears and I love how that feels.  I played with this girl dog named Darla…she is just my size and we like to chase my friend Brooklyn around.  My foster parents keep saying that anyone would be lucky to have me…they say I have an awesome personality and whatever a "ham" and "love Bug" is.  Well back to my bones and toys…I’ll keep everyone posted next week.

04/30/2012

Well, it's been one week since I moved into my foster parent's home in New Jersey.  Not only are my foster parents teaching me all that I need to know but my new pug friend Brooklyn is keeping me in check.  I love to sit by the windows in the house and look at all of the birds and squirrels in the trees and when I'm not doing that, I love playing in the backyard with my new friends that live downstairs from me.  (Yep, I can go up and down steps now without any problems!)  I love to 'sit' before mommy and daddy feed me and I also like to lay 'down' when they are giving me new treats and toys to play with.  You should see the size of the bone that my foster mommy got for me, it's huge!  (Don't tell her, but that's my favorite bone in the whole house!)
I hope that one day, my forever home will take me on long walks in the park and for drives in the car to meet new people and of course new doggy friends.  I love going for walks and just watching nature do it's thing!  Ok well, I'm going to get going now, I can smell something that daddy is cooking in the kitchen, so I'm going to go lay in my bed and wait for my dinner.  My foster dad is so cool, I think he is starting to love me!  (There goes my tail wagging again. It always does that!)  Talk to you soon! Love, Swazee

04/23/2012

After my first night with my new friends Rob, Kristina and Brookly, I am still getting myself situated.  I love how they play with me when I wag my tail and they give me treats to make me feel much more safe in my crate when they left for work today.  My new pal Brooklyn is going to help me with my commands and it seems to be working because she already taught me how to sit and wait for my food to be delivered!  (I never knew that pugs could be so smart!)  I will update my profile real soon.  Can you believe that I already know how to type!?

04/22/2012

Meet Swazee!  He just came into rescue today.  Further updates as he settles in...keep checking back.  He is super sweet and very handsome!

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