Hankie

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Update 10/10/2024: “He is a typical Springer Spaniel in a lot of regards – he loves attention and is a hugger and a snuggle bug.”

Hankie was moved to a new foster home due to his high-energy and attention-seeking behavior, which made it difficult for his previous foster parent to work from home. Hankie is truly a Velcro dog, and he can be disruptive for anyone working from home. He is a relentless follower and needy for attention. He will also incessantly “talk” until a ball is thrown for him. 

Despite that, Hankie is thriving in his new home and has adjusted well to his surroundings. He enjoys playing fetch, cuddling, and spending time with his human family and canine companions. His foster family loves having Hankie as part of their pack. He is a typical Springer Spaniel in a lot of regards – he loves attention and is a hugger and a snuggle bug.

Hankie has adjusted well to his new foster home, and he loves the backyard. He will get up on every couch or chair and he likes to spread out on the couch. Hankie discovered the big leather chair, and he curled up in it and fell asleep. He definitely has made himself at home! While he could counter-surf, he doesn’t do it very often. He gets in his bed at night on command. Hankie likes his suspended dog bed, and he only sleeps in that one, pretty much sleeping through the night on command. He will come see his people… most certainly in the middle of the night and in the morning.

Hankie is housetrained. A loving and gentle boy, Hankie is, overall, a wonderful dog who has found a loving and supportive home.

It appears that Hankie has had some training as a younger dog, but he must be worked with every day. He is a good sitter for treats, and he does a good “touch.”  He has no “down” or “find it” training. He is learning paw (“shake”.)  His foster dad suspects at one time he would “stay,” but he no longer is interested in staying. 

If the ball is around, Hankie has no resistance, and the ball motivation is stronger than the food motivation. He will not drop the ball after retrieving it. Hankie loves to chase a ball, and he has great recall instincts or training to a squeaky ball; this is very helpful. He loves to play with his step foster sister, a Beagle-Shepherd Mix. They play together and run together. 

Looking at future training, according to his foster dad, Hankie could benefit from: 1) Down Command: This could be helpful in managing his energy levels and teaching him to relax; 2) Find It Training: This can be a fun and engaging way to stimulate his mind and reinforce his training; Ball Retrieval and Release: Teaching Hankie to drop the ball on command can be beneficial in various situations.

Hankie’s foster family takes him to large fenced-in areas and fields where he loves to fetch and then zoom, and zoom, and zoom!  He is a high-energy, active dog that needs to run two times a day. His demeanor is a lot calmer when he has extra activity. Hankie loves to play chase on 1,000-yard runs with a ball in his mouth alongside his Beagle buddy. His foster family looks forward to taking him to the water; he seems like he will love to swim. Based on his love of exercise and play, his foster family believes Hankie would likely enjoy activities like swimming, hiking, or agility training. These experiences can provide him with physical and mental stimulation and help him bond with his human family.

With continued training and enrichment, he will continue to thrive and bring joy to his family. Are you that active family that can provide Hankie the activity, training, and love he deserves?

Original: “He seems to love people and dogs; his foster family hasn’t seen any aggression at all out of him.”

Hank was turned over to MAESSR because his owners had 2 children under the age of 2 and his ‘”ON” personality was too much for them with the 2 small children.  Though they loved him dearly, they thought that finding a quieter home for him would lessen his and their stress levels.

Completely housetrained, Hank just holds it until someone else wants to go out.  He doesn’t self crate but if directed into a crate to keep him out of the way while the humans are doing things, he doesn’t mind it much.  When the humans are away, Hank is gated out of the kitchen but since he doesn’t really counter-surf or trash dive, it’s mainly to give the resident male some personal space.  He seems to love the sofa, but because use of that is for the adoptive home to decide, he’s not allowed on furniture.  Hank doesn’t chew things that he shouldn’t though he might move a sneaker from point A to point B without gnawing on it.  At night Hank sleeps on his raised bed at the foot of the stairs to the human’s bedroom.

This handsome fellow knows to “sit” if treats  are around or someone is cooking breakfast.  He’s okay on leash; his standard “must sniff everything” mode would make him hard to use as a running buddy.  He seems to love people and dogs; his foster family hasn’t seen any aggression at all out of him.  In the car, his owners recommended that he be crated to keep him off the driver’s lap, so his foster folks have been doing that.  Fed a few feet away from the resident dogs, he shows  no food aggression  at all.  He goes out on leash in tandem with the resident hounds.

 Hank just loves TOYS–soft ones, bouncy ones, Kongs for sure. He wants to engage the resident sight hounds in play but when chased by a Springer carrying a stuffed chicken, they really don’t know how to react. His swimming desires are still unknown; he’ll stand in the baby pool to drink but doesn’t drop and flop  .He’s medium to high energy, but during the work day if his foster mom takes away most of the good toys and says, “GET in your bed,”  he does just that.

Hank likes being brushed and doesn’t mind having his nails or ears touched.  His behavior is unknown at the groomer, but his foster mom expects he’d love the attention and probably feel the same way about the vet.. 

This guy just wants to have someone be his best buddy.  He doesn’t mind sharing his humans.  His concept of personal space might bother some other dogs, but his foster mom could see him flopping in a pile with another Springer.  Or just enjoying having a human of his own.