So, I mentioned in my last update that there was one more item of "news" that I would report on in a separate post.
Back in mid June, I received an email from one of my local Greyhound adoption groups, informing me that they had just had an adult male Magyar Agar surrendered to them. The email said he was 7 years old, that he came with a pet passport from Hungary, and his name was "Yummy". At that time, all I knew was that Yummy was not getting along with the other dogs in his home, and it had gotten bad enough that his owner decided to surrender him to rescue. Given these special temperament needs, and the fact that he was a Magyar Agar, the group contacted me. Obviously I was shocked, to say the least, given how rare the breed is, even outside the United States.
The one photo of Yumi I received via email from the rescue group
Long story short, I made arrangements to go up to the kennel facility the following weekend where Yummy was being kept to evaluate his temperament and see what could be done for him. I arrived at the kennel early in the morning, and Yummy was brought out to one of the play yards to visit with me. He was extremely people-friendly, but he was more excited by the prospect of zooming around the play yard that he didn't pay much attention to me or the kennel staff. Overall though, he wasn't giving me any signs of being dog aggressive; he totally ignored the other dogs in neighboring play yards, and when I walked him back to my car he didn't lunge or growl at any of the other leashed dogs in the vicinity. At that point, the decision for me to take him home and foster him was much easier, and so I loaded him up in a crate in the van and drove back home.
Yumi, first day at my house checking out the yard
He handled the introduction to my pack very well, and continued to not display any dog aggression whatsoever. At that point, I felt comfortable concluding that Yummy, who I was now calling "Yumi, was not truly dog-aggressive, but more than likely had a dominant personality that could easily be interpreted as such. Being as familiar with this breed as I am though, I suspected that sooner or later he would get comfortable enough to start asserting himself inappropriately and I would see his true colors.
Yumi as a puppy. I got this photo through the magic of Facebook!
In the meantime, I was able to get more information about Yumi and his history via the internet. Social media really is amazing when it comes to things like this! In short, Yumi was born in April 2008 in a city called Miskolc, Hungary. He lived there for approximately two years and then came to America with his owner-at-the-time, and another young hound. At some point after moving here, the younger hound was rehomed, and then a year or so later the same family that took the younger dog took Yumi as well. It was in that second home that Yumi started behaving inappropriately towards the other dogs and he had to go.
Yumi as a young dog, still in Hungary being measured for his airline crate
So, fast forward to today and Yumi has undergone a physical and temperamental transformation. When I got him he was significantly overweight and under-muscled, so he was put on a strict diet and joined my other hounds in their regular exercise regimen. I have not had him weighed, but I'm guessing he's lost at least 5 lbs since living with me. And while his personality hasn't changed, he has learned that aggressive behavior will not be tolerated in my household and I have not had any real incidents with him in months.
Yumi loves to go for walks and bike rides
So, here's a belated welcome to the latest member of the California MA group! I decided that since he's joined our little "club" that he needed a fancy name like the rest of the CA MAs. So, I have dubbed him "Acélváros Yumi" which comes from his hometown of Miskolc. Miskolc is an industrial city whose nickname is "The Steel City". Translated into Hungarian it's Acélváros :-)
Yumi sporting a fit new outline, August 2015
