Roscoe 3

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Update 06/23/10:

Roscoe is doing great in his new foster home. He is completely house trained and loves the backyard. He enjoys his daily walk, but he does get very hot due to the heat and humidity. While he hasn’t been given the opportunity to swim in a nearby lake, he acts like he would love to take a dip. His foster mom thinks that he might enjoy having a baby pool filled with water in the backyard.

Roscoe’s house manners continue to be very good. He does not counter-surf or trash pick. At meal time, his Springer nose starts sniffing around, but he will lie down politely when he realizes the food is not for him.

This good boy responds well to correction. His foster mom finds that snapping fingers or clapping hands gets his attention, and feels that the “clicker” method of training might be great for Roscoe.

Roscoe interacts nicely with the resident 7 year old and 10 year old humans. He tends to be a little mouthy with all of the humans in his foster home, but he has responded well to correction for that behavior. He also gets along well with the resident 4 year old ESS. He wishes she would play more, but since she’s not interested he just runs around the yard instead. Roscoe likes the resident cat. He barks at her and wants to chase her for fun, but she has explained to him the rules and he is trying to abide by them!

Playing with stuffed toys is one of Roscoe’s pastimes. It is cute to watch him toss one up in the air just for fun. Another of Roscoe’s games is playing ball by himself. He picks the ball up, throws it and chases it down. Roscoe is not destructive with his toys; he just enjoys carrying them around in his mouth. He does not chew or destroy anything.

Roscoe walks perfectly with a Gentle Leader head harness and his leash-pulling is a thing of the past.

After moving around a lot, this fun-loving guy would love to find his furever home. Roscoe would be a great family dog or a devoted companion to anyone willing to spend quality time with him.

Update 05/27/10:

With more time to settle, Roscoe is putting his best paw forward! Roscoe is very friendly. He wants to be loved on by everyone. He is very energetic and curious about everything but has calmed in the house a lot. He goes to the groomer every 2 weeks for a bath, brushing and nail trim. He has won over the groomer too who says she has no problem with Roscoe coming back!

Roscoe has no problem with crating and goes right in when his family tells him to go to “his bedroom.” That is where he stays while they go to work or run errands. He loves to go for car rides and has hurt feelings if he doesn’t get to go with his family. Yet, he does not bark when left alone in his crate; he just settles right down and waits for his folks to come home. At night he can be rowdy while they try to sleep, so there are nights when he is in his crate sleeping. At other times, depending on how tired he is, he will sleep on the bottom of their bed or on the floor. Roscoe does get up when the sun starts to rise so don’t expect to sleep late, even with the curtains pulled. Just the least bit of daylight and he is raring to go!

He is so eager to learn. Simple commands are part of Roscoe’s basic training at this time. He knows “sit”, “lie down,” and “no.” Roscoe does not get into the trash can and does not counter surf but he has been spotted going around the counters sniffing. As a typical 2 year old puppy, he gets along with his neighborhood fur buddies but can play a bit rough. He remains good with the resident cat and the little poodle but, because he wants to pounce playfully, he must be watched.

Roscoe’s idea of a perfect forever home would be a fenced in yard as he loves to run, jump and race off. He needs a home with a young family that loves to get out and walk, run, or hike– anything outdoors as Roscoe loves the outdoors. He will chase after the Frisbee or ball. Sometimes he brings it back, and, then at other times, he wants his playmates to chase him. Whatever the game, it’s going to be fun when Roscoe is playing!

Roscoe is a very good dog and knows that he is loved at his foster home. He is almost ready to be loved in a forever home. He is planning to take in the Springerfest in Richmond in early June with his foster family. He will surely meet lots of Springer-loving people there, lots of other handsome springers and maybe, just maybe, the perfect match for him! If you’re picnicking on June 5th, please keep an eye out for Roscoe. He’ll be putting his best paw forward!

Original:

Roscoe has had a bit of a rocky life after being abandoned by his first family when they moved out of their rented home. The landlord found him all alone and brought him to a North Carolina shelter where he was held for five days to see if his family would return for him. No luck. Then, he was adopted along with another dog by a couple, but all of the changes were too much and Roscoe was brought back to the shelter. It was then that the MAESSR family came to his rescue.

When Roscoe moved to his foster home, he did not know what to expect. His new home had stairs which he did not know how to climb, so his foster mom had to carry him up. But after a few hours of exploring his new environment, Roscoe conquered the stairs! Anyone who has been around a two year old Springer knows that you still have an active puppy on your hands and there are some quirks to be worked on. Roscoe’s foster parents are patiently working on bringing him through these active teenage years and working on improving his behavior.

Roscoe loves playing with his favorite live toy– Kitty-Kitty the resident cat! In good fun, Roscoe loves to chase her up and down both flights of stairs! Knowing that Kitty-Kitty does not need this much aerobic exercise, Roscoe’s foster parents are trying to curtail this dog-cat game of chase. His parents know that if Kitty-Kitty wouldn’t run from him, Roscoe wouldn’t be chasing her. Try telling Kitty-Kitty not to run! Right!

When his foster parents are at work Roscoe is left in the basement where he has free run. Although Roscoe is crate trained, his foster dad doesn’t like to crate him. He has only gotten into a couple of things like chewing a hole in the laundry detergent bottle which his foster mom didn’t find out about it for a couple of days. He did drag out a couple of winter coats, but he didn’t chew them up. So, it’s a toss up as to who will win: foster mom who wants to crate Roscoe or dad who does not want to crate him.

Roscoe likes to run, jump, and prance around in the yard burning off his adolescent energy. In his enthusiasm, he sometimes can get a little rough in his play. He will even cavort in the house which, of course, his foster parents are working on! Roscoe loves it when his foster dad gets home from work and takes him for a long walk and a dip in the creek. Roscoe loves being outside where he can play with his fur buddies, especially the neighbor’s dog; however, he is equally content to just sit and watch the world go by. Although he is leash trained, Roscoe has a tendency to pull due to wanting to get to where his foster dad takes him. His foster dad is working on that, too. Squeaky toys are Roscoe’s passion and he will grab one from the resident poodle when she isn’t looking and sometimes when she is! In this game, Roscoe gets vocal in a playful way. If it is time to go for a car ride, Roscoe is a good and willing passenger.

House manners are a work in progress for Roscoe. He has had a few accidents in the house, but is getting better at signaling his need to go outside. He loves being in the kitchen, which is small, so he is typically under foot, but he has only counter-surfed a couple of times. Now all he does is walk around the counters with his nose sniffing the air! His foster parents have to laugh when all they see are those little nostrils in the air moving around the counters! At dinnertime, Roscoe has been known to spit out what he doesn’t want onto the floor or he takes a mouthful and carries it to another location. At night he will sleep on the floor, but he would rather sleep next to his family as he is a Springer Spaniel that wants to be close to them at all times. When foster dad is cutting the lawn, Roscoe has to watch the lawnmower very closely since he is not fond of it. The safest place to be when that awful machine is out is right next to foster mom!

Roscoe’s ideal forever home should have a large yard and/or field so that he can run, jump and prance to his heart’s content. He needs an active family who will give him the exercise that a young Springer needs to keep him out of mischief. Energetic two-legged or four-legged playmates are a must for Roscoe! This Springer boy will keep his family filled with laughter at his antics and filled with love for him that he will gladly return.