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Hero

Mixed Breed · Male · Puppy · 18 months

Update October 2026: Hero loves caves. His cave-like sleeping box next to the bed (even during vacuuming) and his car crate are his safe space. In the living room, he now sleeps for 2 hours in his igloo bed even while the TV is on. At the foster home, with the foster family's 93-year-old mother-in-law, he sleeps under the kitchen table. For 6 weeks he has let "Grandma" pet him: at first only in the presence of his foster mom, and now he goes to her on his own. When she stops, he asks for more and pushes in even closer to her. His great strength is his nose. Tracking and mantrailing: he throws himself into it with full concentration. Outdoors he walks on a 5-meter leash in an escape-proof harness. Running and "letting off steam" are not his thing. Sniffing is his thing. He is open to bribery with special treats and learns quickly. What we are working on: city bustle still scares him. With crowds, small children, cars, bicycles, scooters, he seeks shelter in the bushes or leans against a wall. If something startles him on the leash, he makes a diving leap. He is not yet ready to be off-leash. That takes time, patience, and dog training school. With Casper, the foster home's older male dog, he is too boisterous and still reads signals poorly. Casper ignores him a lot. Conclusion after 4 months: a first-time dog owner is not a must. As a single dog with people who are home a lot and work with him, he settles down much better. If the adopter is a first-time dog owner, please choose not a young, playful whirlwind, but a truly confident, calm, steady dog (5 to 7 years old) that shows him how to be relaxed. Hero was once thrown over a 2.20 m fence. Today he eyes the 1.60 m fence of the dog meadow and wonders how to get over it! I trust him to climb as well. What he needs: a fenced sniffing garden (ideally over 1.60 m, with digging protection and a privacy screen) for 10 minutes of nose work, then back inside to rest. For him, the garden always means: a person present, harness and drag line on. No "open the door and let him run." A flat or terraced house in a quiet location with people who sit a lot and give him security is much more important than 500 square meters of lawn. We are looking for sensitive, calm people for our hero who understand "rest before activity." People who do not exhaust him physically, but tire him out with nose work. Not a family where "the dog runs around the garden," but people with time, patience, and a long leash. If you would like to meet him: we will be at the Bark Date in Cologne on 25.10. He will not be the dog who greets everyone. He will be the dog who leans against his person, ears back, watching. And when you let him sniff, you see his full ability. Update 01.07.26: Wow ... his first days with his foster mom are already over, and little Hero has already discovered and learned so much. He still meets his new world with a certain caution, but at the same time he is incredibly curious and interested. Outdoors he takes in everything new attentively and very calmly. His nose is mostly to the ground, reading all the exciting smells. 😉 Tracking could be exactly his thing; he would surely enjoy mantrailing or dogtrailing. His keen nose will certainly work very precisely here once he has really settled in. In city traffic he is still unsure for now. Many unfamiliar people, as well as bicycles, inline skates, scooters, and even small two-legged creatures, currently still scare him. Then he quickly looks for a sheltered spot in the bushes or leans his back against a wall to feel safer. His foster mom works lovingly and intensively with him so that these situations will soon become completely normal parts of his everyday life. The element of water brings him particularly great joy! He loves swimming and enthusiastically keeps bringing sticks back out of the water. Cars are not really his friends, but riding in the car has by now become almost fun for him. The car is a safe retreat for him ...

DE·Show original

Update Oktober 2026 Hero liebt Höhlen: seine höhlenartige Schlafbox neben dem Bett (auch beim Staubsaugen) und seine Autobox sind sein Safe Space. Im Wohnzimmer schläft er inzwischen 2 Stunden in seiner Iglu-Kudde, obwohl der Fernseher läuft. Bei der 93jährigen Schwiegermutter der Pflegestelle schläft er unterm Küchentisch. Seit 6 Wochen lässt er sich von „Oma“ kraulen – erst nur in Anwesenheit der Pflegemama, jetzt geht er allein zu ihr. Wenn sie aufhört, fordert er es ein und setzt sich noch enger an sie. Seine große Stärke ist die Nase. Fährtenarbeit, Mantrailing – da ist er mit voller Konzentration dabei. Draußen läuft er an der 5-Meter-Leine im ausbruchsicheren Geschirr. Rennen und „sich austoben“ ist nicht seins. Schnüffeln ist seins. Mit besonderen Leckerchen ist er bestechlich und lernt schnell. Woran wir arbeiten: Stadttrubel macht ihm noch Angst. Bei Menschenmengen, kleinen Kindern, Autos, Rädern, Rollern sucht er Schutz im Gebüsch oder lehnt sich an eine Wand. Erschrickt er an der Leine, macht er einen Hechtsprung. Er ist noch nicht ableinbar. Das braucht Zeit, Geduld und Hundeschule. Mit dem Altrüden Casper der Pflegestelle ist er zu ungestüm, liest Signale noch schlecht. Casper ignoriert ihn viel. Fazit nach 4 Monaten: ein Ersthund ist kein Muss. Als Einzelhund bei Menschen, die viel zuhause sind und mit ihm arbeiten, kommt er viel besser zur Ruhe. Wenn Ersthund, dann bitte kein junger, verspielter Flitzer, sondern ein wirklich souveräner, ruhiger, standfester Hund (5-7 Jahre), der ihm Ruhe vorlebt. Hero wurde einst über 2,20m Zaun geworfen: heute mustert er den 1,60m Zaun der Hundewiese und überlegt, wie er rüberkommt! Klettern traue ich ihm auch zu. Was er braucht: einen eingezäunten Schnüffelgarten (gerne >1,60m, mit Untergrabschutz + Sichtschutz) für 10 Min. Nase, dann wieder rein in die Ruhe. Garten heißt bei ihm immer: Mensch dabei, Geschirr + Schleppleine an. Kein „Tür auf und rennen lassen“. Wohnung/Reihenhaus in ruhiger Lage mit Menschen, die viel sitzen und ihm Sicherheit geben, ist viel wichtiger als 500qm Rasen. Wir suchen für unseren Helden einfühlsame, ruhige Menschen, die „Ruhe vor Auslastung“ verstehen. Die ihn nicht sportlich auspowern, sondern mit Nasenarbeit müde machen. Keine Familie „Hund rennt im Garten“, sondern Menschen mit Zeit, Geduld und langer Leine. Wer ihn kennenlernen möchte: wir sind am 25.10. auf dem Bark Date in Köln. Er wird nicht der Hund sein, der alle begrüßt. Er wird der Hund sein, der sich an seinen Menschen lehnt, Ohren nach hinten, beobachtet. Und wenn man ihn schnüffeln lässt, sieht man sein ganzes Können. Update 01.07.26: Zack … die ersten Tage bei seiner Pflegemama sind schon vorbei und der kleine Hero hat bereits so viel entdeckt und gelernt. Noch begegnet er seiner neuen Welt mit einer gewissen Vorsicht, gleichzeitig ist er aber unglaublich neugierig und interessiert. Draußen saugt er alles Neue aufmerksam und ganz unaufgeregt auf. Seine Nase ist dabei viel am Boden, um all die spannenden Gerüche zu lesen. 😉 Fährtenarbeit könnte genau sein Ding zu werden – er hätte sicherlich große Freude an Mantrailing oder Dogtrailing. Seine feine Nase wird hier bestimmt einmal ganz präzise arbeiten, wenn er sich erst richtig eingelebt hat. Im Stadtverkehr ist er zur Zeit noch unsicher. Viele fremde Menschen sowie Fahrräder, Inlineskates, Roller oder auch kleine Zweibeiner machen ihm aktuell noch Angst. Dann sucht er sich schnell einen geschützten Platz im Gebüsch oder lehnt sich mit dem Rücken an eine Wand, um sich sicherer zu fühlen. Seine Pflegemama arbeitet liebevoll und intensiv mit ihm, damit auch diese Situationen für ihn schon bald ganz selbstverständlich zum Alltag gehören. Besonders große Freude bereitet ihm das Element Wasser! Er schwimmt für sein Leben gern und bringt begeistert immer wieder Stöckchen aus dem Wasser zurück. Autos sind zwar eigentlich nicht so seine Freunde, doch Autofahren macht ihm inzwischen fast schon Spaß. Das Auto ist für ihn ein sicherer Rückzugso

Size
Medium
Age
Puppy · 18 months
Location
🇩🇪Germany
Shelter
saving dogs e.V.
Living with Hero
  • ✓Neutered
  • ✕Good with dogs
  • ✓Good with kids
Cared for by saving dogs e.V. · GermanyLearn about Mixed Breed →

Listed 1 month ago

Bringing Hero home

What you'll need for Hero in week one.

Hand-picked · prices indicative

  1. 01
    Required by most shelters

    Trixie Transport Box

    Sturdy plastic carrier — what most shelters require for pickup.

    View on Amazon→
    €35–45
  2. 02
    Editor's pick

    Folding Wire Crate

    First-week safe space. Shelter dogs settle faster with a crate.

    View on Amazon→
    €50–80
  3. 03
    Legal · EU

    Car Seatbelt Tether

    Legally required in most EU countries for transporting dogs.

    View on Amazon→
    €8–12
  4. 04

    Adaptil Calming Spray

    Dog-specific pheromone diffuser. Worth it for the trip home.

    View on Amazon→
    €18–25
  5. 05

    Orthopaedic Dog Bed

    Worth the upgrade — rescues often have joint issues from kennels.

    View on Amazon→
    €30–60
  6. 06
    Safer than a collar

    Padded Y-Front Harness

    Escape-proof for spooky rescues. Safer than a collar in week one.

    View on Amazon→
    €20–35

§ Affiliate links · TailHarbor earns a small commission, no extra cost to you.

About Hero

What life with Hero looks like

Hero is a medium-sized puppy mixed breed dog waiting at saving dogs e.V. in Germany.

Puppies need routine, gentle socialization, and roughly two short outings a day for the first year. The first six months are the formative window — house-training, leash work, and quiet exposure to traffic, other dogs, and unfamiliar people happen now or not at all. Expect early-morning wake-ups and a few months of chewing.

🇩🇪Adopting from Germany

German rescues typically require an in-person home visit (Vorkontrolle) or detailed video home check before approving adoption. Dogs and cats typically leave the shelter sterilized, microchipped, and with an EU pet passport.

Germany, Germany — browse more dogs in Germany.

Frequently asked

Adopting Hero, answered.

How do I contact the shelter about Hero?
Use the phone, email, or website link in the sidebar of this page. saving dogs e.V. handles screening and the adoption contract directly — TailHarbor doesn't broker the conversation. When you reach out, mention you saw Hero on TailHarbor so they know which animal you're asking about.
Can I adopt Hero if I live in another country?
Yes, in most cases. Rescues across Europe routinely place animals abroad — saving dogs e.V. will tell you what they need (EU pet passport, rabies titer, transport coordination) and whether they handle transport themselves or refer you to a partner. Transport is usually a separate cost, so ask for the exact figure before you commit.
Is Hero already vetted, vaccinated, and chipped?
Most dogs on TailHarbor leave their shelter with sterilization, current vaccinations, microchip ID, and an EU pet passport included in the adoption fee. The vet status on this page reflects what the shelter has reported — ask them directly if you need details on specific vaccines, recent bloodwork, or chronic conditions.
What happens if Hero isn't the right fit?
Every reputable rescue accepts an animal back if the adoption genuinely doesn't work — that's part of the standard contract. Talk it through with saving dogs e.V. early rather than rehoming privately; they know Hero and can place them more successfully than a second-hand listing can.
Why does the description sometimes read awkwardly?
TailHarbor translates shelter descriptions into English from the source language (DE). Translation is imperfect — names of streets, donors, and shelter-specific terms occasionally slip through unidiomatically. For the cleanest read, click the source link to see the shelter's original page.
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