Entered: 09/14/2020
Status: Adopted
Age: 8 months
Color: Black/White
Weight: 26 lbs.
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Winchester, VA
Health: UTD, HW-, Lyme-, overall good health
Temperament: Good with adults, good with children met on walks, good with smaller dogs but timid with larger ones, unknown with cats
Original: “She is allowed to sit in the chair with her foster mom or dad and loves a good belly rub.”
Duchess came into MAESSR’s care when a Springer breeder in Maryland developed serious health problems and had to rehome his dogs.
Prior to becoming a MAESSR girl, Duchess lived outside in a kennel and was not socialized to the outside world. She has learned a tremendous amount since she joined her foster home.
Duchess did not know what stairs were and her foster home has plenty, inside and out! She soon learned how to go up and down stairs and now she’s a pro – leaping both up and down.
Duchess was not housetrained when she arrived, but she has learned very quickly. She does go outside every 2 to 3 hours, just in case. When she’s outside, she does her business and has had only a couple accidents in the house. Her foster family has to pay attention to when she trots around in circles or looks toward the door – then it’s time to go outside.
For never having lived inside a house before, Duchess is a perfect lady. She does no counter-surfing, nor trash picking and she does not beg when her foster parents are eating. Not food possessive, Duchess doesn’t mind having her foster parents put their hands in her dish, take away her food while she is eating, or hand-feed her. She does enjoy her treats and would be easy to train using food rewards.
Even though she is a pup, Duchess does no inappropriate chewing; she only chews her toys. Duchess seems to like fabric and may grab a rag or sock if they are handy; however, she is quick to give them up if told to do so. She had no idea what a toy was at first, but she has learned quickly about toys as well as stairs, treats, tennis balls, leashes, and many other things. She is not at all possessive of her toys and will give them up if asked. Her yard has an invisible fence and she has been trained quickly to it, using only the tone. She is allowed to sit in the chair with her foster mom or dad and loves a good belly rub. She does not jump into a chair by herself, but waits to be invited and helped up after she lets her person know she’d like to sit with him or her by putting her front feet up. She responds well to lots of praise, cuddles, belly rubs and hugs.
On her way to being crate trained, Duchess goes in and out of a crate as she pleases. She is not afraid of it, especially if there is a yummy treat in there somewhere. She has not been closed in the crate; the door is left open and she can come and go. She sleeps on the floor in her foster parents’ bedroom and has not attempted to get on the bed. Once foster mom and dad are in bed, she settles on the floor beside their human bed.
A fast learner who only wants to please, Duchess already knows “sit” and “wait” and walks well on a leash. She does get excited when meeting people and may put her paws up, not really jumping, just asking for attention. She LOVES attention and is a real Velcro Springer. She doesn’t like to be left alone and will cry or whine for a bit. She is beginning to learn that her people will come back. She really just wants to please her people. Duchess is very sensitive and reacts immediately to a raised voice or correction. She can get her feelings hurt pretty easily and can be timid.
Please note that Note MAESSR will require Duchess’ adoptive family to take her through a series of obedience classes within 90 days of adoption. MAESSR only places puppies – even older ones – in homes that are committed to training and bonding with the pup in obedience classes. Puppies require a lot of care, attention, and patience. MAESSR believes the decision to get a puppy and raise it to be a healthy, happy, and well-adjusted dog is a serious commitment. Duchess will be a star pupil!
Duchess rides well in a car/truck. She doesn’t like to jump in herself and needs to be helped, but once she’s there, she enjoys the ride. She will wait patiently for her humans to return if left behind. She has been exposed to the public by walking downtown on the pedestrian mall. She didn’t seem to mind people, children or other dogs walking past. She did shy away from a baby stroller that rolled by and prefers to sniff small dogs over large ones. She is a bit timid and does not approach others, but is calm if she is approached.
There are no resident dogs or cats in her foster home and she hasn’t had much interaction with other dogs off leash yet. When she met a 10 week old sheltie puppy, the puppy was more interested in her than she was in him. After an initial sniff, she sat next to her foster dad and allowed the puppy to approach her, but didn’t seem interested in playing. Friends brought their 4 year old border collie over to visit and the meeting went well. The dogs didn’t exactly play but were very comfortable with each other. Duchess has not been exposed to cats while in foster care. Duchess has not interacted with children, other than on walks. Because of COVID-19, Duchess has not had the opportunity to meet the two grandsons, ages 6 and 9, but hopefully they can meet soon.
Duchess is, overall, a healthy girl. Some of her bloodwork came back with some weird numbers so additional testing was done. Results were normal! No concerns. She is scheduled for her spay soon. The vet noted that her left front foot pad is a little odd, not well-defined between the toes, but causes her no problems. She can run and chase a tennis ball with the best of them! She was great for the vet too!
This royal miss is pretty mellow for being only 8 months, but she has spurts of energy where she runs and runs and runs outside, especially if a tennis ball is involved. She would love to be adopted by an active family who will give her lots of daily exercise and who will give her the loving and training she needs to be a well-adjusted family member.