Entered: 09/14/2013
Status: Adopted
Age: 7
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 65 lbs.
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Aston, PA
Health: UTD, HW-, could lose 5-10 lbs. but otherwise healthy
Temperament: Good with adults, has lived with children 12 and older, good with most dogs, would probably chase cats
Original: “Not only is Ruddles housetrained, in his former home he would ring a bell to go outside!”
Ruddles lived with his Virginia owner since puppyhood, but when his owner married, Ruddles didn’t get along with the wife’s male dog and began getting into fights with him. The family decided that Ruddles needed to be rehomed in order to keep the peace. Reportedly this was the only dog Ruddles did not like.
Ruddles loves all people and is reported to be good with all children. He has lived with 12–14 year old children. When meeting neighborhood children while on leash, Ruddles mostly ignores them. He also appears to be fine with the other dogs in his foster home, where he’s gotten along with the young female dog and mostly ignores the older male terrier. He cautiously but calmly greets other dogs on leash with no aggression, seeming more interested in saying hello to the owners instead. He is unknown with cats, but has a reasonable prey drive towards bunnies and squirrels.
Not only is Ruddles housetrained, in his former home he would ring a bell to go outside! In his foster home, since he lives with an 11 month old pup, he just does his business when she’s let out on a regular basis. He doesn’t bark, dig, chew, jump the fence, or submissively urinate. He will, however, beg at the table and was given people food in the past.
Ruddles has not had formal training, but knows “sit,” “stay,” “come,” “down” and “paw.” He was never crated in his past life and is left uncrated in his foster home since he’s trustworthy if the door to the kitchen is closed. He sleeps on an area rug in the breakfast room at night. On walks Ruddles will initially pull some on leash, but he settles down after a bit. He will trot along for two miles with no issues now that the weather is starting to cool off, mostly ignoring distractions other than the neighborhood bunnies. There is nothing wrong with this boy’s eyesight as he’ll spot them lurking in yards and immediately go into “’red-hot sportsman in search of rabbit” mode.
In the car, Ruddles reportedly would whimper for a while, but by the time he arrived at his foster mom’s leg of his MAESSR transport, he just curled up in the back and slept for the final 80 miles. He seems to love being brushed, but reportedly will nip at the offending clippers during his quarterly hair trimming session.
This polite boy is your typical Velcro Springer. He and the young female canine play chase and even eat out of each other’s bowls without any issues, though not at the same time. Inside, he usually settles on the floor near the humans until someone’s ready to go out. His favorite thing is taking a leash walk and exploring the world. Ruddles is getting more playful each day in his foster home. Initially reserved, he seems to have decided that this isn’t a weekend “away” visit; that these are the folks he’s dealing with on a regular basis. So, he now greets them in the morning with a serious butt-wiggle to his step.
Ideally Ruddles might just like some humans to call his own as an only dog. At the least, he’d rather not have to put up with too much in the way of pushy puppies. He tolerates his foster sister’s energy and her “’look where I can stick my long nose” attitude, but it’s with a heavy sigh sometimes and he definitely enjoys his one-on-one time with the foster folks. All in all, he’s a fine guy and would love to make someone’s day brighter just for his presence and his “Hi, I’d like to lean into you and feel like I belong” demeanor. Do you have time to cuddle with Ruddles? Consider adding this gentleman to your family.