Himmel
fabulous fluff
DOB:
04/05/2020
Location:
Melbourne
Microchip Number:
953 010 005 556 445
Source Number:
RE145276
We know, we know, Himmel is handsome. He’s the kind of dog so breathtakingly aesthetic that you will find yourself unable to leave the house without fielding a barrage of compliments on his beauty. With his German Shepherd side apparent in those upright ears and luxurious tail, and the rest of him all lean and leggy greyhound, this lurcher is 100% supermodel material. It’s only a matter of time before Dogue are knocking on your door offering him a cover shoot.
Having only known life as a well-loved pet, Himmel’s house manners are exceptional, he travels well in the car, and is confident navigating the world around him. He’s a clever clogs with fluent cues like Sit, Stay, Drop, Spin, Shake, and Touch - and is a really enthusiastic and engaged learner, he loves to use his brain. Himmel would love a forever home with the time and interest in training or even classes like scent work.
We all must have our vices, and our practically perfect prince has one flaw - he’s very food fussy. Prime roll for breakfast? Fantastic. Prime roll for dinner? Poison, he literally just ate that, why are you subjecting him to this kind of cruel and inhumane treatment?! During his time in foster care we have attempted multiple food trials with many different flavours, textures, and types of commercial diet and fresh foods. Himmel’s just a big variety guy and sometimes needs a bit of encouragement to finish a bowl. Because of how long it can take him to finish eating we recommend he be physically separated from other animals for mealtimes just to avoid any conflict if they felt the need to help him polish off the leftovers. His perfect forever home would consider themselves canine culinary artists, happy to spend time whipping up something delicious in the kitchen for his majesty.
Currently living with a cat and a greyhound in his foster home, Himmel enjoys the companionship of other animals - however his prey drive outside the house is very high and care should be taken if you live in an area with wildlife like possums, rabbits, or foxes. He has an exceptional talent of sniffing out an occupied possum box from hundreds of metres away, and is not above attempting to climb a tree out of interest. For this reason (and also, his health note below) we would recommend he be on leash at all times in public.
Himmel enjoys his two walks a day (20 minutes in the morning, and 40-60 minutes in the evening), and loves to get out on a 6-7km hike on the weekend. The adventure of new places and new sniffs is lots of fun! He can be a bit excitable when out and about, so needs a confident handler happy to continue his training on not pulling on the lead, he has made great progress on this but he can sometimes forget himself when he’s in a new place or sees something interesting. Although very social and sweet, Himmel can come on strong when greeting on lead, which can cause conflict with other dogs who don’t appreciate his 110% Be Best Friends energy. He is happily guided to sniff a bum instead of kiss faces, but sometimes needs you to be hands on to ensure he doesn’t rile up the other dog by accident. His foster carer has been teaching him to be more neutral so he doesn’t feel the need to meet every dog he sees on a walk.
When asked what their favourite thing about Himmel is, his foster carer said “it is absolutely impossible to pick just one thing about this boy. He is an amazing dog. People fall in love with him based on his looks alone, but once you see just how amazing his personality is too, he will have your heart completely” - if that didn’t sell you on this handsome hound, nothing will!
Health note: Himmel has low grade arthritis in his knees, elbows, and hips (despite his sloping conformation, he has been formally cleared of hip dysplasia and other conditions via recent x-rays). Due to this it is advised that high impact activities such as running be avoided where possible - moderate exercise like leashed walks are fine, and swimming or hydrotherapy would be a great way to keep him fit and healthy as he gets older. We would strongly recommend against regular dog park/off leash time, games of fetch, and jogging/running on lead
Suitable for dog-savvy indoor cats, and dogs of any size
Not suitable for pocket pets, birds, or backyard chickens
Suitable for children 8+ (Himmel is very physical in play and would bump/knock small children)
Suitable for full-time workers if there is access to toilet and another dog
Adoption fee $350
