Finn 2

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Update 11/15/2017:  “She is a funny girl whose antics have caused the resident Springer to regain the puppy sparkle in her own eyes and indulge in wrestling matches and dance routines.“ 

Finn continues to delight. She is a funny girl whose antics have caused the resident Springer to regain the puppy sparkle in her own eyes and indulge in wrestling matches and dance routines. The sessions always end in a sleeping furry pileup. Finn continues to improve on leash walking and there’s less counter-surfing.  She’s settled into new rules in her new house.

She visits a pet store with her foster family.  There Finn cautiously greets new dogs and then begins wiggling. She sits patiently in the car on errand trips.  But, the big news is that she’s regained her 100% housetraining record; she’s had no accidents for more than a week. When she wants to go out, she sits by the door. If that is ignored, she gives low, muffled huffy noises. 

Finn had two retained puppy teeth which needed to be extracted. She did fine with anesthesia and was prancing about that evening. The vet staff couldn’t keep their hands off of Miss Freckle Nose and wanted to know more about MAESSR. 

Finn’s dental recheck at the vet will be soon. After that, she’ll be ready to head to her forever home.  

Original:  “She flies around the yard entertaining herself, comes in the house to cajole the family dog into roughhousing, and then collapses for eight quiet hours each night in her crate in a spare room.”

Finn is a sweet and joyful seven month-old puppy who was relinquished to MAESSR because her Maryland owners weren’t expecting their pup to have such high energy and she began to play too roughly with a visiting three year-old. She was the only dog, crated at night, crated six-seven hours during the day, and put on a lead while in the yard because she gathered sticks and stones in her mouth. She was a Springer needing to be sprung.

In her foster home she has a dog companion and is less confined. After puppy-proofing was done (Finn showed her folks what needed to be removed from low tables), she was given the run of the downstairs and left alone with resident older female Springer for the seven-hour workdays. She now has several rooms and a staircase in which to zoom around and windows for a view. She gets a morning and evening walk with the resident Springer and mid-afternoon to evening happy hours in the fenced yard.  She flies around the yard entertaining herself, comes in the house to cajole the family dog into roughhousing, and then collapses for eight quiet hours each night in her crate in a spare room. Not a peep is heard from this special young lady.

All these outlets for activity and movement seem to be doing the trick; she is more relaxed each day and has exhibited no household bad behavior since.  Finn has no aggression—period–and shows no toy or food guarding although she does love to steal the other dog’s bones. This youngster is a boundary pusher.  Her foster sister is not very assertive with her (just looks offended), but another dog might feel the need to put Finn in her place.

After a couple of days of trying to bring rocks, sticks and unspeakables from the compost bin into the house, Finn is slowly accepting that all these treasures stay outside. She loves to snatch papers or small plastic items and run laughingly away. Her folks have learned not to chase her—they will lose!!.  If she has something in her mouth, she will trade for a treat and is gradually learning that the chasing game is over.  She loves to hear, “Where’s the ball?”  She’ll hunt and hunt for it, then leap up in the air and pounce down on it. 

Finn is 90% housetrained with occasional accidental wee. She can get through an eight-hour night when asleep but during the day she sometimes gets excited or distracted and has an accident. An ideal family would have someone who can let her out at lunchtime until she is a bit older.

Since she sleeps alone at night, the foster parents thought it good for her to have relaxed physical contact with people in the evenings. And so, Finn is allowed on the sofa with family dog. She enjoys the nature channel.
 
Finn is a beautiful girl with a gentle temperament.  She’s shy with new dogs, but overcomes it. She approaches all people and dogs with a wiggle butt. She barks to come in, but has not done any other barking so far. She has shown minimal interest in digging and can’t be accused of fence hopping.   Finn is a field-bred Springer, designed for sport. She successfully went for a run with a middle-school neighbor and would be a great jogging buddy.

Little Miss is learning not to pull on leash walks and to stop springing up like Tigger to see what’s on the kitchen counters.  She is learning “off” quickly but will need much reinforcement. She has a good “sit.”  She is an affectionate and happy pup who seems eager to learn and please.  MAESSR only places puppies in homes that are committed to training and bonding with the pup in obedience classes. Puppies require a lot of care, attention, and patience, and they do chew on things! The decision to get a puppy and raise it to be a healthy, happy, and well-adjusted dog is a serious commitment. To reinforce this commitment, MAESSR requires all adopters of dogs one year old and younger to enroll their puppy in obedience classes within 60 days of adoption.  Finn will be a star!

Finn was very good at the vet’s and fine with nail clips. She was bathed at home and was shocked by the dryer at first. She enjoyed being brushed but would have enjoyed chewing the brush just as well. She likes car rides and watched with interest (but no drama) as foster mom left her and went into the grocery. There was, however, a joyful reunion ten minutes later.

Finn will fit in with any family who commits to giving her the training, exercise, and structure all pups need to grow into a great family dogs. A fenced yard and playful dog companion would make their job easier so that she can burn off more puppy energy and not be lonesome or bored.  If a family were interested in any of the dog sports, she would be an ideal candidate.