Entered: 12/08/2010
Status: Adopted
Age: 7
Color: Liver/White
Weight:
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Dumfries, VA
Health: UTD, HW-, treatment for an ear infection complete, abdominal cyst and fatty tissue on chest require no treatment
Temperament: Good with people as young as 4, good with other dogs, unknown with cats
Original:
When his owner needed to devote additional time to the care of his elderly mother, the time he had for Bailey was greatly diminished. Knowing that so much time alone was not good for this handsome Springer, Bailey came into foster care so MAESSR could find him a great forever home.
An easy-going boy, Bailey gets along with other dogs well. When meeting the neighborhood dogs, he was a little skittish at first but not at all aggressive. He holds his own with the young male resident at his foster home. The dogs are usually quiet all day in the house with no rough housing but, when outside, Bailey loves to run and play. When his foster mom took him to the family farm recently, Bailey fell into a stream on the property. Brrrrrrrr!! Once he got over the shock of being in the cold, wet water, he quickly got out when called and ran around until he dried off.
Bailey is a Velcro boy who has full roam of the house during the day. He loves to play fetch with his stuffed toy when he is inside. At night Bailey sleeps on a cushion in the bedroom.
Bailey is good when on leash and walks nicely following the heel command. He does not lunge at squirrels or other moving objects, but stays right next to his foster mom on a short lead. Though slow to do so, Bailey will sit and come. His foster mom feels he follows these commands due to the routine in the house rather than actually knowing the words. One area that Bailey needs to work on is his barking. This boy loves to bark but, fortunately, he also loves to please his people. When Bailey begins to bark, his foster mom just says stop or quiet and he will settle down.
Bailey is a great dog with few bad habits. He is house-broken and does not counter-surf or trash dive. He doesn’t get up on furniture, although he would love to be invited to do so. Bailey has a fairly rigid bathroom schedule and needs to go outside right after breakfast and dinner. He goes out to do his business and stays right in his foster family’s yard. Bailey may sniff around and explore a little, but he always comes right back and does not leave the area around the house.
Overall, Bailey was very well-behaved at his vet appointment. He was not too pleased with his back feet being touched, so he was muzzled for his shots and to get his nails clipped. Bailey is also not fond of being groomed at this point. His foster mom is working on getting him more comfortable with people touching his ears and feet and he has been making progress. During Bailey’s first few car rides while in foster care, he was jumping around the seats, standing to look out the window, and barking at the windshield wipers in the rain. After some work on learning to ride quietly in the backseat, Bailey has gotten much better at sitting back and enjoying the ride.
Weighing in at a healthy 50 pounds, Bailey is a sweet boy who is great with kids. He willingly allows his foster mom’s four-year-old granddaughter to shower him with affection and she can even walk him! He would fit in well with any family but would be an ideal match for someone looking for a beautiful, low-maintenance Springer boy.