7/28/26:
Buddy is ready to go to his forever home! He is a two-year-old Doodle mix.
Buddy is a playful, exuberant, and extremely loving pup! He came into GRRoIowa care recently after about a year living with his surrendering owner, who runs an in-home doggy day care in Missouri. Buddy was abandoned on her property in August 2025, left extremely underweight with a flea infestation. She took him in, nursed him back to health, and helped him socialize with countless other dogs over the past year – you’d have no idea what he’s been through! Since being transported to Iowa and living with us, Buddy has shown that he is a resilient dog who really just wants to play and be loved. His demeanor is overall very joyful and excited; he acts just like you’d expect a 2-year-old puppy to. He loves to be outside and run, play with toys, and hang out with other dogs. Behavior-wise, he is very gentle and respectful; there is no food guarding or aggression. He has no destructive behaviors, not even shredding toys. Buddy’s most prevalent personality trait is that he really enjoys attention. He will nudge his nose on you to get pets, paw at you to look at him, follow you around the house, etc. He’s a big boy (approx 100 lbs) who thinks he’s little; if he could cuddle on your lap, he would! We think he’d do well in a house with other animals; he loves other dogs and has proven to be good with cats. At first, he was TERRIFIED of our cats. He’d climb on the couch and head toward the corner to get as far away as possible, despite his size making it nearly impossible to hide. After a few days, all was well, and they now coexist together perfectly!
Buddy really is a great dog. He simply needs an active family who is willing to give him lots of love and attention, and extra room to play would be great too! He’s got a bit of extra exuberance, but settles down really nicely. Very limited whining, barking, or concerning behaviors. He’s a big boy who has a big heart, and is ready to find his forever home.
Requirements:
● Children: Can live with children; recommend ages 8+ due to his size and energetic nature, but he is great at interacting with kids.
● Dogs: Can live with dogs; recommend another dog in the family so he has a friend to let out some excitement with. Interacts well with dogs of all sizes/breeds he’s met thus far.
● Cats: Can live with cats; a little afraid at first but can adapt well as long as the cat is friendly with him. Buddy has no concerning prey drive at all.
● Fence: Fence not required, but adopter should have a solid plan in place to keep him safe.
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● Energy level: Medium. He has a lot of excitement, but can settle down well as long as he is adequately exercised and given proper attention. He acts young, but his energy is
nothing extreme or out of the ordinary.
● Health: great health, no concerns.
● Behavior: Very gentle with treats, food, and other animals. Very positive behavior overall, but constantly wants the owner’s attention.
● Walks: He enjoys daily walks, but it is not necessary. He tends to stop and sniff a lot, zigzag around, and meet new friends along the way. Walks are mainly social outings for him,
less about exercise. But I could also see him enjoying going on a run or hike if that is something his new owner does!
● Age of adopter: Probably a young(er) single person or family. Due to his demeanor, he would like a home that can provide him with excitement and activity.
● Obedience: He is generally very well-behaved. He’s very good at understanding his name. He understands basic commands like sit, stay, and lie down. As with any
puppy, sometimes he has selective hearing, and it takes a few times for him to successfully obey.
● House training: He is perfectly house-trained; we have had no accidents! We let him out every few hours, and he always does his business before coming inside.
● Trick training: We have not tested any tricks yet, but I don’t believe he’s learned many. I think he definitely could if you wanted to teach him some!
● Separation anxiety: Does not struggle with separation anxiety much at all. He does like being with his people when we’re home, so he stays close by and wants attention, but is
also perfectly fine when left alone.
● Crate: Buddy is crate trained and does well with it overall. He has a crate available to him and will occasionally go lay down in it when he wants alone time. We’ve used it off
and on when we will be away for several hours, and he is totally fine in there, no barking, shredding, accidents, etc. We usually just need to open the door and point inside, or give
him a treat to lure him in. When he’s let out, he just walks right out and usually heads toward the back door to go outside and go potty!
● Play: He loves to play! We have several balls that we throw around in the backyard, and he will run and jump all around. Inside, we have some balls and ropes that he plays with.
He likes to chew and tug, or throw/kick stuff around, but he is never aggressive or destructive with his toys. He likes doing things with his humans – for example, he loves to feel like I am playing with him and engaging with the toys.
● Children: Can live with children; recommend ages 8+ due to his size and energetic nature, but he is great at interacting with kids.
● Dogs: Can live with dogs; recommend another dog in the family so he has a friend to let out some excitement with. Interacts well with dogs of all sizes/breeds he’s met thus far.
● Cats: Can live with cats; a little afraid at first but can adapt well as long as the cat is friendly with him. Buddy has no concerning prey drive at all.
● Fence: Fence not required, but adopter should have a solid plan in place to keep him safe.
***
● Energy level: Medium. He has a lot of excitement, but can settle down well as long as he is adequately exercised and given proper attention. He acts young, but his energy is
nothing extreme or out of the ordinary.
● Health: great health, no concerns.
● Behavior: Very gentle with treats, food, and other animals. Very positive behavior overall, but constantly wants the owner’s attention.
● Walks: He enjoys daily walks, but it is not necessary. He tends to stop and sniff a lot, zigzag around, and meet new friends along the way. Walks are mainly social outings for him,
less about exercise. But I could also see him enjoying going on a run or hike if that is something his new owner does!
● Age of adopter: Probably a young(er) single person or family. Due to his demeanor, he would like a home that can provide him with excitement and activity.
● Obedience: He is generally very well-behaved. He’s very good at understanding his name. He understands basic commands like sit, stay, and lie down. As with any
puppy, sometimes he has selective hearing, and it takes a few times for him to successfully obey.
● House training: He is perfectly house-trained; we have had no accidents! We let him out every few hours, and he always does his business before coming inside.
● Trick training: We have not tested any tricks yet, but I don’t believe he’s learned many. I think he definitely could if you wanted to teach him some!
● Separation anxiety: Does not struggle with separation anxiety much at all. He does like being with his people when we’re home, so he stays close by and wants attention, but is
also perfectly fine when left alone.
● Crate: Buddy is crate trained and does well with it overall. He has a crate available to him and will occasionally go lay down in it when he wants alone time. We’ve used it off
and on when we will be away for several hours, and he is totally fine in there, no barking, shredding, accidents, etc. We usually just need to open the door and point inside, or give
him a treat to lure him in. When he’s let out, he just walks right out and usually heads toward the back door to go outside and go potty!
● Play: He loves to play! We have several balls that we throw around in the backyard, and he will run and jump all around. Inside, we have some balls and ropes that he plays with.
He likes to chew and tug, or throw/kick stuff around, but he is never aggressive or destructive with his toys. He likes doing things with his humans – for example, he loves to feel like I am playing with him and engaging with the toys.
● Barking: Buddy doesn’t bark much. He will occasionally bark if he hears something outside or sees another dog coming close to our house. If he really wants us to pay attention to him, he might let out one bark or whine, but it isn’t persistent. When people enter the house, he doesn’t bark at all, just runs up with his tail wagging and a smile.
● Sleeping: His sleep schedule is similar to ours. He of course takes naps during the day, but he gets most of his rest overnight. He either lies at the base of our bed, lies in his
crate, or sleeps on our couch in the living room.
● Food/water: He’s currently eating about 4 cups of Purina One dry food each day. We try 2 cups in the morning and 2 at night, but he’s not a super fast eater, so we let him graze
throughout the day.
● Car rides: He’s great in the car. He’s pretty relaxed and has not had any issues. He drools and pants a little bit, probably just because he doesn’t know where he is going,
but overall it’s a positive experience.
● Quirks: He has been super social and friendly with everyone he’s met! He might literally put his nose in a lot of things, just so he can be a part of it, but he’s really well behaved.
The one thing I can think of is that he’s been a bit hesitant about stairs – he tends to stay on the main level. Our stairs are also quite steep, so him being a big boy, he may just feel clumsy on them. Also, coming from a ranch with lots of land, the neighborhood lifestyle is new to him. He doesn’t quite understand cars or sidewalk rules, so we are
working on that exposure!
Submit your application today if Buddy is of interest!
https://grroiowa.org/adoption-information/
