Georgie 7

---

Update 09/17/08:

What a happy dog little Georgie is! This weekend she went with her foster mom to Pasadena, Maryland to attend a MAESSR picnic. To say Georgie had a blast is an understatement! Georgie got to do a lot of “firsts” this weekend. She got to stay in a hotel suite with her foster mom. She also got to ride an elevator for the first time. She went to the picnic and saw the ocean for the first time. She was a little afraid of the soft waves, so she may not have a future as a great dock dive dog, but she had a blast running on the beach! With time she might like to swim if her people actually go with her as she was only willing to get her feet wet if her foster mom went first! 

A group of Girl Scouts were at the picnic and Georgie got to walk around with them for their first event with MAESSR, helping to care for the foster dogs at the picnic. She was a big hit with the Girl Scouts and did a lot of flirting in true Springer style. She’s very quick to wiggle butt and has a tendency to drop belly up at the first inkling that someone would rub her tummy.

Georgie also took a try at completing the AKC Canine Good Citizen test. She passed all of the elements with flying colors… except… supervised separation. This part of the test demonstrates that a dog can be left alone, if necessary, and will maintain its training and good manners. The owner goes out of sight for three minutes. The dog does not have to stay in position but should not continually bark, whine, howl, pace unnecessarily or show anything other than mild agitation or nervousness. Georgie got a bit too anxious and couldn’t quite pass this one part just yet. For a dog who was so scared she would pee every time her foster mom walked in the house when she first met her, though, this is a remarkable accomplishment!!! 

There is little doubt that Georgie could pass the AKC’s CGC certification with continued work and training. She is an exceptional little girl and was a HUGE hit with all of the attendees at the picnic. She met every dog nicely and just wanted to play. She was also content to take a nap in her crate in the late afternoon which was another first for Georgie. She was much more prone to hide and be scared in the back of her crate when first coming into foster care. 

Georgie is special and has huge potential to be a therapy dog. She would make a loving companion for a family who would like to do obedience competition or just teach her tricks for fun. She’s very food motivated, so training her is a snap! Georgie would also take very good care of her forever family. Wouldn’t you love to have Georgie loving on you?

Update 08/06/08:

With the arrival of vet records, some of the puzzling pieces about Georgie are coming together. Her original owner gave her as a young pup to an older gentleman. That man tried very hard to take good care of her, but she was just too much for him when he became ill. His son then took Georgie in, but he already had three dogs and was at the legal limit where he lived. Counting her foster home, Georgie is in her fourth home in two years which can be a lot of continuing change for any gal!

A trip to the vet with her foster mom was taken in stride by Georgie. She was great with everyone she met that day. After a thorough review of her records, it was apparent that Georgie had battled urinary tract infections for many months and had developed struvite crystals. Treatment began and includes a prescription food for now and a short course of antibiotics. An adopting home where Georgie is alone no more than 4-6 hours at a stretch would be ideal for her. It would ensure she doesn’t have to hold her urine very long and lessen the chance of recurring UTIs. She does leak urine now so, once the antibiotics are complete, she may possibly need meds for incontinence, a very inexpensive and easy condition to treat. 

Before the vet visit, Georgie’s very experienced foster mom noticed a slight awkwardness in her gait and some pain in her right rear leg after rough play with the young, high-energy boy in her foster home. It does not bother her on a regular basis and the vet could not elicit pain during the exam. However, x-rays showed some hip dysplasia in that leg. Her vet said, based on her activity level, movement and lack of pain, that she should be started on a glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate supplement. He felt it very well could be that Georgie will not need further treatment other than an occasional anti-inflammatory pill after very rigorous exercise. 

More is known now too about Georgie’s submissive urination and how to help her overcome it. She has improved much already since coming to her foster home. She has just the occasional little accident when she’s concerned about something new or becomes overly excited. Getting her harness on for a walk, because she LOVES going for walks, is one time when there can be an “oops.” New places and new people may also do it. It does seem that as she bonds with her people, though, she gets more comfortable with meeting new people and less worries her. Recently she went to a small party of 10 adults and was excellent at reaching out to snuggle with everyone. She also visited another foster home with many dogs and did fantastic with every dog she met. During both outings to new places, Georgie didn’t have any accidents indoors. What a pleasure to see happening!

Georgie has never had a fenced yard in which to run. One will be required for her adoption for several reasons. One is that she just loves to run and play. A yard that she can run in at her own pace will help her overall health. It also will make it really easy on her when meeting new people. She is not a high energy girl, but she is very birdie and likes to chase birds, squirrels, rabbits and whatever crosses her path. She has been introduced to swimming in a pool and was frightened but didn’t try to get out, because her foster mom was right with her the entire time. A natural body of water might feel differently to her but they haven’t been able to try that yet.

Georgie is a special little girl with the personality of a sweet, bouncing field bred Springer. She’s a very food motivated girl but is not food aggressive or a resource guarder, giving up toys, bones, treats and food. She is looking for a patient family who will continue with her through obedience school to build her confidence and accept the few little steps it takes to make sure she is accident-free in the house. She also needs a playful pup, preferably a happy male buddy, to play with her. She will repay love tenfold with plenty of Springer kisses and lots of happy Springer wiggles!

Original:

Georgie is an adorable, young field-bred female who was turned into rescue by her owner from Maryland because he had too many dogs. This precious girl just worms her little wiggly self right into your heart! Georgie so wants to be a free loving soul. When she is outside in the fenced yard, she is carefree, running and enjoying herself; however, she has some fear issues that keep her more calm and cautious in the house. This is quite mild compared to what one sometimes sees in rescue and she is improving leaps and bounds every day. After just a few days in foster care, she is like a different dog than when she first arrived. 

Georgie does not get on the furniture except maybe her front paws to say,” Hi” or to solicit petting. At bedtime, she sleeps contentedly on her dog bed in the kitchen. Riding in the car, she is a good passenger. Georgie knows the commands sit and down. When called when she is in the fenced yard, she responds promptly to come. Since her foster mom does not want her to get spooked and take off, Georgie has not been evaluated off leash. She makes no attempt to jump the four-foot chain link fence and the privacy fencing in her foster family’s yard. 

Georgie fits right in with the pack of five dogs in her foster home and is submissive to every one of them. She enjoys running around the yard with one of her foster brothers and tries to initiate play with him. He plays quite roughly and she handles it well. Also, she likes to play with toys and will chase after them, though she’s not so good at bringing them back yet. 

When Georgie first meets new people, she has submissive urination. She also is on prescription food due to some past experiences with urinary tract infections. After her foster family receives the records from her original vet, Georgie will go to the vet to see if she can be weaned from the prescription food now and to verify that she is not incontinent. After her first week in foster care, her experienced foster mom thinks Georgie truly has submissive urination, but she is already much improved. Georgie was given a daily rawhide in her previous home and this might be the cause of the red staining on her mouth due to all that licking. Her foster mom has switched her to nylabones and she hasn’t seen Georgie do any licking. So, she thinks she has that problem licked – pun intended!

Georgie is not a dog who can or should be crated because she needs the confidence of having a little more space. She is excellent being confined by a baby gate in the kitchen and loves to curl up on her dog bed while her people are at work. She has not chewed anything inappropriately or tried to get into her food bin which has been left at her level in the kitchen purposely to evaluate her. She is VERY food motivated and loves meal and snack time, but she has not tried to help herself from her food bin! 

Georgie gets very excited when her foster mom comes home from work. She jumps around doing her happy dance and then races outside with her foster mom to go potty which she does right away. She does not have an accident at this time of day when it is just her foster mom returning home; however, she does urinate submissively if a stranger comes in with her foster mom. For this reason, her foster family will work on a more intensive training/socialization plan for her. She will likely do best in a home without a tremendous amount of activity and where she can meet people outside most of the time to alleviate clean up until she’s comfortable in her new home. 

Stay tuned to read more about this sweet girl’s progress! Georgie is a sweet, adorable little girl who makes friends quickly after her initial fear. She will be looking for her forever family in no time!