Entered: 01/13/2013
Status: Adopted
Age: 0
Color: Black/White/Tan
Weight: 35 lbs.
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Bethlehem, PA
Health: UTD, HW-, overall excellent health
Temperament: Good with adults, good with older teens, good with dogs, unknown with cats
Original: “If his voice is taken in context with the rest of his behavior and body language (his face is soft and relaxed), it’s obvious that he’s just a boy having fun.”
Jasper was purchased as a four month-old pup by a senior couple from Pennsylvania. The family worked with him for several months but found him to be too much to manage. Fortunately for Jasper, MAESSR could step in and he’s spending some time with a foster family experienced in working with young Springers. Jasper’s foster mom just loves this 35 pound (and growing) gorgeous Springer puppy. He is living with three other Springers, ages three to eight, and two young teenagers. After a week in his foster home, he is settled and has found his niche in the pack.
Certainly a very high energy boy, Jasper requires at least two or three 20 minute play sessions out in the fenced yard to run out all of his crazies. He also benefits from very spirited play with the three year-old Springer several times during the day. When given this amount of exercise, Jasper is fairly well behaved in the house and is ready for bed at night. When he doesn’t get his exercise, he doesn’t settle down. His foster mom makes sure Jasper is a tired pup. If she can’t meet his exercise needs on any given day, she takes him to doggie daycare with the three year-old Springer. Unfortunately for his foster mom, Jasper won’t run around outside and play if she doesn’t go out too. He’ll go out to take care of business but won’t stay out and run. She is accustomed to this and is happy to walk around the yard and doing outside chores. So far, Jasper will run for a tennis ball but doesn’t bring it back.
Poor Jasper, who must be part chicken, really doesn’t like to go for a walk. His foster mom drove the dogs to a local trail for a nice outing but, after walking in the parking lot for a bit, Jasper wanted to get back in the van. He will need ongoing work to help him learn walks are not scary.
Still possessing puppy manners, Jasper is very mouthy and jumps up on people. At times he looks like a pogo stick bouncing up and down! His behavior gets worse as he gets excited, and, he gets very excited when people come over or when the kids get up in the morning. His foster mom has been working very hard on getting Jasper to “sit,” rather than jump up. Recently, he stopped himself in mid jump and sat. Good boy! Jasper has been getting treats and is becoming accustomed to looking at his foster mom’s hands for rewards. When visitors come, she is keeping him leashed and feeding him very high-value treats to calm down. Once collected, he is permitted to meet the visitors. Jasper’s behavior is not aggression. He very much wants the attention of people and jumping and mouthing have been self-rewarding in the past. His adopting family will need to continue shaping good manners in him. And, until he learns to keep four on the floor and his mouth closed, his interactions with younger children will need to be monitored carefully.
Jasper doesn’t bark much but he does vocalize. When he plays with his toys, he often whines softly and cries. When excited and playing, he growls. This type of growling isn’t aggressive. If his voice is taken in context with the rest of his behavior and body language (his face is soft and relaxed), it’s obvious that he’s just a boy having fun. The resident dogs are not fazed by his vocalizations. They read Jasper pretty well!
Housetraining is going well with Jasper. He will go to the door if he needs to go out, but has had a few accidents as he adjusts to a new kibble. He will require some monitoring until he learns the routine in his forever home. While his former owners crated Jasper when they went out, they would come home to find that he had drooled all over himself. In his foster home Jasper is not being crated. His foster mom is confining him to an area with the other dogs when she is out. At night he sleeps on the floor in his foster parents’ bedroom. The other dogs sleep on the bed, but Jasper seems to like sleeping in the corner with his back up against the wall. He would probably like one of those nice bolster beds!
Although he was uncertain initially about riding in the van, Jasper now enjoys going on errands with the other dogs. Jasper has spent up to four hours riding around, napping quietly or sitting and looking out the window.
Playful Jasper likes to carry around toys and chew bones. His foster mom ordered a half dozen new nylabones and he loves them. He is a bit of a brat and always wants the bone another dog has! The resident dogs are very savvy and play along with Jasper, who shows no food or dog aggression. His foster mom can touch him all over and take his food away. Like most puppies, Jasper will pick up things he shouldn’t and take off with a shoe or other item left lying around. His foster mom does not engage in any games of chase or “catch me.” She carries treats in her pockets at all time and trades for the contraband; she then offers a dog toy. He needs constant supervision since he doesn’t yet know exactly what a puppy can and cannot do.
The only command that Jasper seems to know is “sit,” but he has a really beautiful “sit!” His foster mom asks Jasper to sit about 200 times a day and he is rewarded often for doing so. With proper training, this smart pup will be a star. It is important for potential adopters to understand that 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 younger than one year old to enroll their puppy in an obedience class within 60 days of adoption.
Jasper is a very sweet youngster who needs a lot of love, attention, and exercise. He’s not a boy for an inexperienced owner. Although he will need continued work to modify his jumping and mouthing, all the hard work will pay off as Jasper will be a really outstanding dog. Do you have what it takes to help this sweet boy reach his potential?