Entered: 09/24/2020
Status: Adopted
Age: 4
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 42 lbs.
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Little Silver, NJ
Health: UTD, HW-, treatment for worms complete, seasonal itching, treatment for ehrlichiosis complete
Temperament: Shy with new adults, unknown with children, fine with other dogs, curious but respectful of neighbor’s cat
Update 11/19/2020: “Addie loves to ride in the car, and she discovered that treats come through a pneumatic tube when she goes to the drive-thru at the bank.”
Since she came into foster care, Addie’s confidence has improved as she has encountered new things and situations. House building in her neighborhood has brought all sorts of machinery and sounds for her to get used to. It doesn’t faze her in the least to walk past a building site now. This confidence has not carried over to people, though.
With her foster parents and their next-door neighbor and friend, Addie is totally comfortable but when four other friends joined them for dinner on the deck, she was frightened initially and barked and hid behind her foster mom. By the end of the evening, she was fine and was accepting petting. Leashed on walks, she does not bark at people she passes.
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Addie’s hunting instinct has really become apparent as she scours the yard with her nose following scent tracks of the deer and squirrels whenever she is outside. When Addie is on an off-leash walk, squirrels beware! She and her foster brother love chasing those pesky critters! Both dogs are great at the “leave it” command when it comes to deer; deer chasing can lead to danger, so it is a definite no-no.
Housetraining is going very well for Addie. She is taken out frequently during the day and the last thing at night. Trustworthy in the house, Addie no longer is crated when her foster parents need to leave. She frequently goes into the open crates in the kitchen and bedroom to rest or to gnaw on a bone.
Addie has discovered the toy basket in the living room. Her favorites are balls and big soup bones. She will carry a ball in her mouth when she goes outside and is elated to run after one if it is thrown for her. She brings it back and will sit next to her person but won’t drop it. Her foster folks now carry a second ball to throw! She has found some dangerous balls in the toy basket—scary ones that have a squeak. She hasn’t gotten used to squeaky toys yet. Addie also loves playing chase with her foster brother. They get the zoomies together and wrestle and roll. Such fun! Addie likes to pick up slippers and shoes and carry them to another room. Luckily, she just carries them and doesn’t chew them.
Addie really loves to snuggle and be close to her people on the couch or in bed. She lavishes them with great kisses too. When the resident dog is getting loving, Addie noses her way in. Her foster parents are teaching her there is plenty of love for both of them and she must share.
In the beginning of October, Addie came into heat so her spay surgery is now scheduled for mid-December. She has now put on some needed weight and she is looking good at 42 lbs. She likes to pick at her food; it is left in her kitchen crate, so the resident boy doesn’t help himself. Addie’s foster mom has her eating a limited ingredient duck diet to see if this will help her itchy feet. It is too early to tell whether this itchiness is due to diet or seasonal allergies.
“Come” and “sit” are well-ingrained in Addie’s head. She sits to have her leash put on and taken off and also when a car comes down the street on her walk or when they come to an intersection. “Okay” is her release word. “Down” is coming along well but “stay” is a work in progress. She has good leash manners, though. Addie loves to ride in the car, and she discovered that treats come through a pneumatic tube when she goes to the drive-thru at the bank. Nice invention for delivering dog biscuits!
Addie is a gardener! She loves to dig deep holes and then pull at the roots that she finds. Her foster mom has many flower beds fenced off from the deer, but the fences can protect the plants against Addie attacks! A trip to the beach is in order so Addie can try her digging skills in the sand.
Little Addie is a sweetheart, and she will make some family very happy!
Original: “Addie is good on her recall and never wants to be far from her people or her house.”
When a Maryland breeder developed serious health issues, he relinquished his Springers to MAESSR. Sweet Adrianna was one of these breeding females.
When she came to her foster family, Adrianna (now Addie) had just weaned a litter of three puppies. She had some experience living inside a house since the owner kept females and their pups inside of his house; otherwise, his dogs lived outside. So, Addie was not reliably housetrained and had some accidents in the house. She does not have noticeable signals so she is just taken out on a schedule. Her foster mom initially used a 30’ lead so Addie could snoop around the unfenced yard to find the right spot.
At night and when her foster parents are out of the house, Addie is crated and she goes into her crate without hesitation, settling in nicely and quietly.
Addie loves being loved on and is quite the cuddler and kisser! Dogs are allowed on the couch in this foster home and Addie takes advantage of that as it gives her chance to cuddle and have a belly rub. She like to sit next to her people and get ear rubs too. If her person stops, she reminds them to continue by nudging them. If two hands are needed on the keyboard, Addie will just settle down near them.
Very agile, Addie has jumped up on chairs and stools to steal something from the counter. Her foster parents are working to stop this behavior. Other than that, Addie has good house manners. The only thing that she chews on is a big beef bone. Addie is not object possessive or food possessive and doesn’t mind the resident dog or her people to interrupt her eating or playing. She has discovered the tennis balls in the toy basket and loves chasing one that is tossed for her. She will bring it back to the thrower but needs a treat bribe to drop it. She also just likes to carry her tennis ball around in hopes that someone might play with her.
Addie gets along famously with the resident dog and follows his lead especially when outside in the yard. She has learned yard boundaries from him and they are off-lead together running and playing but not straying. Good dogs! Addie is good on her recall and never wants to be far from her people or her house. When she and her family were invited for dinner at their neighbor’s house, Addie got to meet the resident cat. She was very curious about her new kitty friend and backed off when the cat swiped at her when she got too close. Addie will eventually be good with cats.
Since Addie was not well socialized earlier in her life, she has been very skittish around new people, sights and sounds inside the house and out; however, she has gotten much better in her reactivity since she has been in foster care. She enjoys her leashed walks in the neighborhood with her foster brother. Chasing squirrels while on leash is a no-no, so she satisfies that need in her yard off leash. Watch out squirrels, chipmunks, and birds! The only critters that scare her are the suburban deer that frequent the neighborhood.
Addie is a smart little girl who is food and praise motivated. She has learned her name and “come” very quickly as she gets loving when she responds promptly. “Sit” and “down” have come easily too, especially when a training treat is involved. “Stay” and “off” are still works in progress. Addie likes to jump up on people but has not caught on that this is not done by polite Springers. She is not much of a barker but will join in with her foster brother when he starts. She is a good, calm passenger in the car.
Now up to date with her vaccinations, Addie has been a good patient at the vet’s office. She was afraid of going in the door at this unfamiliar place but once in the examination room, she was fine. Bloodwork found that she was Ehrlichia positive so she is receiving antibiotics for that. Yeast infections in both ears were causing her to be very itchy so she has been treated for those infections. One more treatment remains for worms; otherwise, Addie is a healthy girl. She has come into season so it will be a while before she will be spayed.
Addie was terrified getting her first bath; the spray nozzle from the shower was intimidating to her. A grooming will have to wait until after her heat cycle ends. Her coat is fairly light and he hasn’t minded being brushed too much. She was fine having her nails cut at the vet’s office. Good girl!
Addie will need a fairly quiet forever family who will be committed to helping her overcome her timidity and who will give her the training and love that a good Springer family member needs.