Entered: 02/10/2016
Status: Adopted
Age: 4, Born 10/07/2011
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 47 lbs.
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Severna Park, MD
Health: UTD, HW-, overall good health
Temperament: Good with children of all ages and with adults after initial shyness, timid with strange dogs, probably not good with cats
Original: “Her foster mom is happy to say there have been no escape attempts since Sage has joined her household.”
Who would have thought that lovely, quiet Sage was a perpetual escape artist in her previous home in rural Maryland. Even though her owners had an electric fence, Sage would bolt from the yard, taking another Springer with her, and disappear for hours sometimes ending up in the local shelter. Her owners turned to MAESSR for help in re-homing this errant girl.
Her foster mom is happy to say there have been no escape attempts since Sage has joined her household. Perhaps Sage’s need to explore has been satiated by the multiple walks she is taken on daily; going on walks is new to her since her previous exercise was limited to running in her yard.
The switch from a rural life to a more urban environment has been an eye-opener for Sage. She seems amazed at all the goings-on in her new neighborhood while out for a walk. She’ll stop walking to sit and stare at joggers, bark briefly while passing a basketball game, and turn around anxiously at small children’s screams from tot-lot. She loves her walks and the vet said she should build some muscle tone and trim some fat with this exercise.
This girl has great house manners. She is housetrained and sits by door to signal. She does no counter- surfing or trash investigation. There is no begging behavior or chewing or digging for this good girl. Although she accepts being crated, she is not fond of it. The crate isn’t really needed since she has free range of house when her foster family is at work and she is so well-behaved. Sage actually prefers sofas to dog beds but gets down readily enough when asked. At night, she prefers to sleep downstairs.
Being only a short time in her foster home, Sage is still quiet and subdued. She doesn’t play with balls, bones, or squeaky toys but seems amused by peek-a-boo with a blanket. Sage does chase squirrels and rabbits who enter yard, though, and when the neighbor’s cat came for a visit; it left quickly. Sage is a submissive girl who rolls on her back when asked, “Who’s a good girl?” A training class would boost her confidence and help her in bonding with her forever family.
Sage has not had any formal obedience training but she knows “sit” and “come” and has a cute half-bent “paw.” Her foster family is working on “stay.” She is also learning leash manners. In one week she’s learned not to duck behind when approached by another leashed dog. Also, she has already stopped jumping up in greeting. What a smart girl!
This sweet girl has no evidence of separation anxiety; she just sensibly goes to sleep when her people leave the house. Sage is nervous about getting into a car but settles down quickly. She probably just needs more experience going on errands around town. She stays quiet when left alone in car for short periods, too. Sage’s docile manner showed when being handled by strangers at the groomer and vet. Because of her calm nature, her foster mom thinks she’d be a good candidate for becoming a therapy dog.
Watch for more on pretty Sage as her personality unfolds in foster care!