Duke 10

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Update 11/12/10:

Due to a divorce in his adoptive family, Duke has been returned to MAESSR. He’s a healthy boy who has dropped some weight in the past year, now weighing in at a lean 44 pounds! Duke has settled into his foster home, displaying a very sweet personality.

Duke is a dog who yearns for human companionship. His goal in life is to love and be loved. While Duke has gotten along with other dogs in the past, he is a bit selective when it comes to canine companionship. If he were an only dog whose human could give him all of the attention, he would probably love it!

In the house, Duke can be trusted to roam unattended. Just don’t leave any food within his reach. He’s an enthusiastic counter-surfer and very quick, so his adoptive family will need to be on the alert to keeping clear counters! He is used to being home groomed and does not mind having his ears or feet touched. Thunderstorms make Duke a little concerned, so he seeks out his human for comfort. He loves to cuddle on the sofa to watch TV, and at bedtime Duke would love to be invited up on the bed to snuggle!

When outdoors, Duke enjoys running in a fenced yard, sniffing around and chasing furry critters. He will pull while on a leash, so it is recommended that he wear a harness on walks. With guidance, his walking skills should improve. Going for a ride? Duke’s right there! In fact, he loves to be the co-pilot and needs to be limited for safe travel.

Duke’s bark is quite assertive which can be misinterpreted by visitors. When people come to the door, Duke will bark when they first come in, but he quickly warms up to them. He will enthusiastically jump on people but then backs off. Generally, Duke is not a resource guarder and he can take biscuits and other quickly consumed treats around other canines. However, he does not want to share a longer lasting treat such as rawhide, so offering one when he can enjoy it away from other dogs works best.

This Velcro boy is looking to devote himself to that special family who can give him the love, activity, and guidance to channel all of his wonderful Springer energy!

Update 07/02/09:

Slowly but surely Duke is adjusting to life in his foster home. Duke is pretty comfortable around most everything that goes on, with the exception of the vacuum. He periodically “hears” something that gets him barking, but that is diminishing and one day he didn’t bark at all at the grass cutter. He will need ongoing training with meeting new people and learning to quiet when asked.

He now plays with both resident dogs and is one of the gang. He is a spirited player, with lots of hip butts, boxing, tugging, wresting and running. Not every dog would enjoy this type of play, but the resident male loves it as well. Duke is learning to tone down the play with the resident female with lots of guidance from his foster family. With this big boost in exercise, Duke has dropped two pounds and looks toned. He could probably be a 55 pound boy in time. While Duke is now comfortable with the resident dogs, he will be slow to meet and trust new dogs. Duke won’t be a dog park or doggie day care boy, but could easily live with a friendly, playful dog or become friends with a like-minded dog when introduced slowly.

Duke just loves to be outdoors with the family exploring, playing with the dogs and chasing birds. Every evening, six or seven small birds come by and get Duke going. He is truly in his element running all over the yard after these birds and it looks like they are enjoying it as well.

Duke is really blossoming into a fine boy. He needs some training and confidence building, but his foster mom thinks Duke has a heart of gold and could easily be someone’s special dog. He would thrive in a quieter home, one with routine and time to spend on a beautiful young boy.

Original:

Duke’s original owners moved into assisted living and gave him to a second couple in New Jersey. This couple moved into a retirement community shortly after Duke arrived. Sadly they then found it difficult to meet his exercise needs with no fenced back yard and busy work schedules. So, right after celebrating his third birthday, Duke became a MAESSR boy.

At 60 pounds Duke is a handsome boy, groomed all one length, who is really taking advantage of the fenced back yard at his foster home. He absolutely loves to run and chase birds. He runs from one big evergreen to the next, scooting under the branches to look up onto the tree trunk for birds. If he sees one, he’ll bark in a high pitched tone. He also likes to chase rabbits (probably any moving critter) and fortunately hasn’t caught any.

Duke is starting to settle in his foster home. He initially found all the sounds and activities a bit overwhelming. He’s living with two kids, 10 and 12, and two other springers, a two year old male and a five year old female. Duke lived in his first home with a male dog that picked on him, so he was very unsure of the new dogs in his foster home. He gave some growls and other distance increasing signals to them. As time went on, he slowly got comfortable around them and now plays with the male. He still avoids the female. He does like the kids, especially if they’ll pet and brush him.

He is showing nice house manners. Duke is 100% housetrained and does not mark. He has put his feet up on the counter a few times but hasn’t tried to take anything. He showed some interest in the trash so it was covered. He is a sloppy drinker so the big water bowl was moved outdoors and a few small ones were left indoors on mats. He has not tried to chew anything and isn’t showing interest in toys. He did drink from the toilet so the toilet lids are kept closed. He absolutely loves to go for a car ride.

Duke’s family is working on his leash manners with him. He pulls so he was started on a Gentle Leader head harness. He is getting used to having the straps around his nose and walks nicely using it. With a little more practice, he’ll realize the head harness means something good is going to happen. Duke knows “sit,” “down,” “speak,” and “paw.” He is very focused on his human so his learning potential is good. He sleeps through the night on a dog pillow bedside but is up with the sun.

Duke was at first gated in a study when his family was away but has quickly graduated to free run of the house with the other dogs. His previous owner said they crated him when they went out so he wouldn’t get on the furniture, but Duke gets upset being crated at his foster home. He isn’t trying to get on beds but has jumped up on the sofa to look out the window, as do the resident dogs. Duke does alert bark when he hears sounds or when new people come into the house. He is barking less as he learns the sounds and routines in the home. His foster mom generally leashes Duke and has him greet new people outdoors. If the guests ignore Duke, he’ll be over to investigate them in no time.

Duke is a great boy. He is a typical “always there” Springer. He’ll follow his person all over and looks up at his foster mom with the most soulful eyes of love. He likes to run for a Frisbee or ball outdoors and brings it back until he tires. He has no problem being touched anywhere and is not food aggressive with people. He has given the dogs a few grumbles at meal time since they stand waiting for this slow eater to drop a few pieces.

Duke is looking for a patient family in a quieter household who can teach him the ropes. He’d like a fenced yard and someone he can grow old with. He’ll make someone a great companion. How about you giving this boy the forever home he truly needs?