Entered: 08/29/2007
Status: Adopted
Age: 2
Color: Liver/White
Weight:
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Havertown, PA
Health: UTD, HW-, Lyme positive
Temperament: Good with adults, unknown with children, good with other dogs, good with cats
Original: Owen was found wandering in Lebanon County, PA where he was picked up by animal control workers and brought to the shelter. Then, MAESSR stepped in to foster him and help him begin a new life.
Owen has been very good in his foster home, getting along with the resident dogs and being nice to the resident cats. He shows many good household manners. He is housebroken and uses his crate. He doesn’t try to get on the sofa, nor does he rush the front door to get out. Owen is not a chewer and has not destroyed anything. He is a polite counter-surfer, though, and when he is startled, Owen will bark and jump up on you. His foster family is working with him on these behaviors and he does listen if told that what has startled him is okay. He seems to be learning his name and responds properly when corrected. Outside, he hasn’t tried to jump the backyard fence and he doesn’t dig. He is pretty good while walking on a leash, too. When foster family members leave the house, Owen doesn’t make a sound. He likes to follow his foster mom around, but she can walk out of view and he’s fine. He really likes being petted.
It takes some dogs in foster care more time to adjust and show their true personality than it takes others. Owen’s foster mom thinks this is true about him. Owen is a very nice boy, but seems a bit anxious about life. Every day he relaxes a bit more and he does a little more, though. When his foster family first introduced him to their swimming pool, he was frightened even though he was a strong swimmer. Subsequently, he’s gone swimming on his own multiple times. Yeah! Also, Owen did not seem to be interested in toys initially when he first arrived in his foster home. Now, he will pick up a kong or a squeaky toy and actually attempt to play, but he then runs away with the toy and hides in his crate or in a corner with it. His foster family is encouraging him to interact in play with them. Patience is needed.
Owen needs to gain experience playing with other dogs. He seems to want to play with the resident dogs, but he gets excited and starts making a growling noise while his tail wags the whole time. This makes the other dogs stay away. He has run around with the resident, crazy young male dog, though, but did make the growling noise at the same time. His foster mom feels Owen doesn’t really know how to approach other dogs appropriately to play with them with any confidence. She senses that he may be a bit scared of the interaction. Again, time and further positive exposure will help Owen learn to socialize with more confidence.
Owen doesn’t show any timidity about riding in the car, though! He loves to ride in the car. Initially on his rides, he would bark at people who were walking on the street; however, his foster family has been taking Owen on little trips in the car just to get him used to seeing people. After telling him “no” twice, he hasn’t made a peep at anyone. He passed people and squirrels and other dogs on the leash and didn’t seem to care.
Keep watching Owen’s progress in foster care as his true personality blossoms and he gains confidence!