Entered: 10/14/2003
Status: Adopted
Age: 0
Color: Liver/White
Weight:
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Horsham, PA
Health: Excellent, UTD, HW-
Temperament: Good
Update 11/09/03:
Maggie has joined her forever home!
Original:
Maggie was purchased at 8 weeks by an 88-year-old lady. One month later her son “bailed” her out and took Maggie to live with him. His wife, however, is not a dog person and does not want her. They have had her since February and she is housetrained and knows sit and down although her attention span is short. Maggie is a high energy field type springer who loves her ball more than anything (they have several) and will fetch the ball nonstop until it is put away. She has been known to enjoy a swimming pool, too. She has the fitness and agility of a professional athlete.
When people are home, she has the run of a large yard with an invisible fence. When no one is home she is crated in the garage. She is only allowed to be in two rooms in the house, the kitchen and den. Her puppy chewing has decreased but she will still chew and swallow socks.
Maggie has not had a lot of exposure with other dogs but has been fine with the dogs that she has met. She has played well with a 9-year-old and a 10-year-old child. The owner’s children are older. It is unknown how she would do with cats, but we don’t think she needs that type of distraction.
She does not beg at the table and does not countersurf. She might jump up on visitors and might pee a bit in excitement over a visitor. She used to dig in the yard but has out grown that.
Her owner said that she has growled twice. Once when the wife was dragging her by the collar to go into the crate (this has been done many times without incident). She went into the crate when offered a treat. The second incident was when she accidentally got into the house and jumped onto the owner’s bed, and her owner grabbed her collar to haul her off. At that time she snapped into the air in defiance. A MAESSR volunteer was sent to evaluate Maggie and could not get a negative response even after pulling on her collar and taking many liberties with her. However, because of this, we recommend a home without young children.
Maggie learned to walk on a leash using a Gentle Leader but can now walk without pulling if asked to “take it easy”. She knows the commands to sit and down but has a short attention span. Maggie has trouble behaving in the house (she has had very little practice) and should wear a short leash when in the house to provide gentle guidance. She still has a lot to learn about being a good citizen and needs someone to show her how. She can’t afford to waste any more time. Maggie has had an inconsistent start in life with many confusing messages from people and needs positive motivation from someone who understands the field type springer. She is not a couch potato! Clearly, she is in need of a family that enjoys the outdoors and will include her in their lives. Could that be you?