Pontinho

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Pontinho’s owner in Maryland was unexpectedly reassigned to work in another country and was unable to take him along. The family had Pontinho since he was a pup and asked MAESSR to help this sweet young boy, who is actually a Cocker Spaniel. The word “pontinho” means “spot” or “mark” in Portuguese. One look at the freckles this 20-pound cutie sports and it’s evident that he is aptly named. 

Children were a part of Pontinho’s former family. He loves playing with children but he gets excited and jumps up, so a family with older children would be best for him. Pontinho does well with other dogs and plays with them enthusiastically. He has never shown any sign of aggressive behavior. He was great at the groomer until other people or dogs came in the room; he then just wanted it to be play time!

This smart boy knows the commands “sit,” “stay,” “come,” “down,” “paw,” and “heel.” He is housetrained and is learning to be a proper house guest. Still a puppy, he tends to chew random items so he must be monitored and his family should be careful about picking up after themselves. While he does counter-surf, Pontinho is too short to do much damage; his foster family is diligently working on the “off” command with him. Pontinho is crate trained and sleeps in his crate next to his foster Mom’s bed at night. While riding in the car, he stays in his crate and is a good passenger. When left alone, he stays in the house in a gated room with two of his young foster siblings and exhibits no signs of separation anxiety.

Playing is high up on Pontinho’s to-do list. He loves toys and likes to tug at them with his mouth. He also enjoys de-stuffing all of the soft toys to get to the squeakers. He is the poster child for dogs who just want to have fun, and since he has tons of energy he must have a way to burn it off each day. While he enjoys a good walk, he thinks he’s a sled dog when he’s on leash and can pull like a dog three times his size! His foster mom is working on better leash manners, but has had limited success unless Pontinho is tired out prior to the walk. When off leash, there are some signs of digging in the yard, but only surface scratching.

Pontinho’s adopting family must 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 under 1 year old to enroll their puppy in an obedience class within 60 days of adoption.

Pontinho is one beautiful Cocker Spaniel with a classic Cocker gait and traits. This is a puppy who wants to run and play and have a happy life with an active family. Does that sound like you?