Entered: 05/27/2011
Status: Adopted
Age: 0
Color: Black/White
Weight:
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Lenhartsville, PA
Health: UTD, treatment for ear infections complete
Temperament: Good with people as young as 8, good with other dogs, unknown with cats, will chase the resident chickens
Original:
Pat came to MAESSR along with her littermate Carly when their Maryland owner ran into financial difficulties. They are adorable, freckled, Springer/cocker mixes that are quite shy upon first meeting and just require a little time to warm up to a new person. Pat is the shyer of the two females but she still has a great tail to wag when she hears happy voices.
Doing very well in foster care, Pat is well on her way to being housetrained. The few accidents she has had were due to her humans not paying attention to her cues that she needed to go out. Pat is learning to signal her need to go out by going to the door. Crate-trained, Pat readily goes into her crate to eat dinner, go to bed, or just take a rest when she’s tired from all the play outside. In fact, she often needs coaxing to get her out of the crate. Since she and her sister Carly are living in the same foster home, the pups stay in their crate together and have done superbly with this. Pat very much enjoys the crate as her safe, quiet place.
Pat has responded very well to learning the layout of a new home. As with any puppy, this is a learning process. She is eager to please and very food motivated making the training that much easier. Pat is learning some basic commands such as sit, down, leave it, and bed for crate. She is quickly catching on to the idea that she must be in a sit position to get loved on rather than jumping up on humans or on her sister. As with all puppies, the leash is a new idea and walking on leash is a continued work in progress. Her foster parents are taking both girls on short positive rides in the car to help build confidence and let them know that they are not always going to the vet or a new foster home! Pat’s forever home will have to take her for obedience training as is required of families that are adopting a Springer a year or younger. This policy has life-long benefits for all involved.
Both hard toys and treat-stuffed toys are Pat’s favorites and she loves to gnaw on them when she is not trying to engage the resident dog in play. Like many puppies, Pat has spurts of high speed energy. As she continues to grow, naps will be shorter and play time longer. Her interaction with people is positive once she gets over her initial fears. When she arrived in foster care, she was fearful of coming out of the crate, coming out of the house, and coming back in the house. Patience, good treats, and positive upbeat voices are helping with this!
Pat would love a home with a family that would interact with her, take her places, and provide her with the love, leadership, and training she needs to be a great companion!