Entered: 07/16/2022
Status: Adopted
Age: 2; born 12/01/2019
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 44 lbs.
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Springfield, VA
Health: UTD, HW-, treatment completed for the following: UTI, worms, and bilateral yeast and bacterial ear infections; otherwise overall good health
Temperament: Good with adults and teens (unknown with younger children), good with other dogs, initially cautious around dog-savvy cat but now has warmed up to cat presence
Original: “Poppy’s world is expanding every day. With patience and steady encouragement, Poppy will continue to blossom and prove herself a faithful companion to her people and dog buddies.”
Upon the sudden passing of her Virginia breeder, this extremely sweet Springer found herself relocated from her kennel home to a suburban household with four companion MAESSR springers. Her housemates include the 15.5 year old male, two females who came from a breeding kennel later in life and a rambunctious 2 year old male. A cat is present to round out the group. All readily welcomed Fancy into the household and she graciously accepted.
Poppy was named “Fancy” at her kennel. Unfortunately, she had absolutely no name recognition to “Fancy.“ The neighbor teenagers decided that her lithesome movements and eager to please personality was deserving of the name “Poppy.” After a couple of weeks, Poppy shows a glimmer of recognition to this name. Along without knowing her name, Poppy does not know any commands. She keeps a close eye on her foster mom and will follow the pack around the house and outside. Poppy is overcoming her reluctance to cross over the door threshold to the backyard. Brave girl!
While Poppy is slow to respond to verbal commands, she quickly figured out that fun times occur in the kitchen. If she hears a rustle, Poppy will be the first on scene to investigate the food situation. Since she is so food motivated, future training should occur very easily. When Poppy first arrived, she was too nervous to eat the “new” food. This was fixed with a high value lamb and blueberry canned food. Now she eats regular kibble. She eats out of her own bowl along side the older male. Poppy respects the bowls of the other dogs and will somewhat back away if the pushy females try to get into her bowl. Her foster mom does her best to keep everyone separate during twice a day meal time. Initially Poppy did not know what to do with dog treats – soft or hard. This was a foreign concept. Poppy was very wary, but after her first soft chew she is now first in line for treats. Her foster mom is trying to work with her on “sit” and “come,” but Poppy has her own ideas at the moment.
Poppy has spent the past two weeks acclimating to the cushy surroundings of pampered dog life. She was not interested in the crate. Upon her initial arrival, Poppy followed the two year old male’s lead and went straight for his spot on the sofa corner. She looked so exhausted that her foster mom has relented and allowed her access to the sofa, which is covered and dog proof. During the day, Poppy sleeps in the living room on a dog bed (there are a lot to choose from) or on her corner of the sofa. She stays with the other dogs. At night, Poppy wants to be on the bed along side the other dogs. She sleeps through the night and waits for her invitation to leave the bedroom and head outside. Poppy has been left home alone for up to four hours without any obvious separation anxiety. Most likely, she snoozes with the other dogs. Poppy seems to need the companionship of other dogs. During her spay surgery stay, the vet tech noted that Poppy started barking and doing a deep howl when left in the kennel area alone. At her foster home, Poppy has been very quiet and only barked upon seeing the neighbor’s dog across the fence, which turned out to be a happy meeting.
Poppy’s potty training has progressed very well. Since she is under treatment for a urinary tract infection, Poppy seems to have “to go” more frequently than the other dogs. Her foster mom figured out that Poppy needs to get outside immediately upon waking up. Poppy will take care of all business prior to meals. After she eats, Poppy usually has to urinate right away. Having immediate access to a backyard helps Poppy maintain her bathroom hygiene. She will go to the back sliding door and pace a bit as her signal. Her foster mom is home a lot during the day, so Poppy is let out frequently. If she still has an accident, it will be on the throw rug along side the sliding door.
The neighbor teenagers are thrilled to have Poppy next door. She runs to the fence to visit with the neighbors. A couple of times, Poppy started to play with and chase the two year old male around the yard. The backyard affords Poppy a lot of places to discover new surfaces and scents. Poppy will nuzzle the other dogs several times throughout the day. She is extremely affectionate with people and other dogs and has warmed up to the cat. While the cat’s presence initially had her extremely confused, they can now walk by each other with no reaction.
Poppy just started on leash walks out front. She walks nicely on the leash and never pulls or jumps. Poppy waits to get home to take care of business. She is thrilled when the leash comes out. Car rides are a challenge for Poppy. Initially she pants a lot, but will settle down. Poppy experienced motion sickness on the long car ride to her spay surgery.
The vet’s office reported that Poppy is extremely sweet and endearing. After two weeks, Poppy has been through a lot of new experiences and medical treatment. Since she is used to a kennel environment and not a lot of activity, Poppy is always ready to run outside with the dogs or go for a walk. Otherwise, she sleeps contently near the dogs.
Shortly after Poppy arrived, her foster mom did a quick groom, nail clip, a deep ear cleaning, and a couple of baths. Throughout it all, Poppy was cooperative and seemed to relish the attention. Her foster mom went very slow with these activities, since everything is “new” to Poppy.
MAESSR requires adoptive families to take puppies through a series of obedience classes with 90 days of adoption. While Poppy is a little older, she has not benefited from formal training. MAESSR only places older puppies in homes that are committed to training and bonding with the dog in obedience classes. Poppy still requires a lot of care, attention and patience. MAESSR believes the decision to get a puppy, including an older puppy and raise it to be a healthy, happy and well-adjusted dog is a serious commitment.
Poppy thrives on the attention from her foster mom and the other dogs. She seems to be very happy with people and dogs around her throughout the day. Poppy’s world is expanding every day. With patience and steady encouragement, Poppy will continue to blossom and prove herself a faithful companion to her people and dog buddies.