Tae

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Original: “T-A-E: three letters which you will find in the words ‘enthusiasm’ (unbridled, at times) and ‘excitable.’ “

This cheerful, sweet, and beautiful Velcro fieldie came to MAESSR due to the major health issues of one of her Pennsylvania owners.  The couple were Tae’s second home as she was found to be too much for her first owners who returned her after three weeks.  She is currently residing with three seniors – her foster mom and two Spanish Water Dogs.  She came to her foster home with much energy, taking the transition in stride.  Naturally, there has been an adjustment period while learning routines and expectations of both foster mom and the resident dogs. 

T-A-E: three letters which one will find in the words “enthusiasm” (unbridled, at times) and “excitable.” She is a very high energy girl and extremely smart. She may be the canine version of the Energizer Bunny.  She is now receiving an inexpensive supplement to help calm her exuberance.  FYI – Tae in Korean means “great” and her name on her vet record was Taelynn.

Upon arrival, Tae quickly figured out on her own that treats are given upon return indoors and sitting is required; she is usually the first one sitting.  Tae is quick to follow prompts but praising her will often break the spell, and she requires redirection. She tends to be impulsive at times, jumping up on foster mom to get attention.  This behavior was quite frequent at first, but she quickly learned that foster mom will not give attention unless she is calmly sitting. Sometimes Tae forgets this but quickly recalls the requirement when her behavior is ignored.  

Tae is housetrained and whines to be let out.  At times, she has accidentally rung the potty bells at the back door so training her to use them could be an option. There have been no known accidents.  Tae is crate trained and sleeps in her crate at night and during absences, calmly waiting for foster mom to return.  Her former owners report that she tears up any bedding in her crate, but foster mom has been able to put an old quilt in her overnight crate in the bedroom. She does try to chew on the pad in the family room crate. On average, Tae was crated up to four hours when her family was gone at her former home and once did an overnight.  Foster mom has left home for short periods a few times, checking on Tae via camera and each time she was quietly lying in the crate next to a crated resident dog.

She knows commands “sit,” “lie down,” “off,” and “bed.” Tae did attend training classes with the former family.  Overall, her house manners are fairly good. There has been no counter-surfing or trash-diving.  She does not beg and will patiently sit and watch while foster mom eats.  Foster mom has continued the former family’s policy of not allowing her on the furniture.  Tae may chew on inappropriate items like pencils if not supervised but stops on redirection; she was known to occasionally steal things in her former home.  

Tae is now fed in a slow bowl as she can choke on her meals by eating too fast.  It didn’t take long for Tae to learn and respect that her food is the last to be put down.  She will wait for the go-ahead to dig in. She will usually calmly accept treats with occasional reminders to be gentle.

Tae does not bark excessively.  Initially, she was very vocal when the vacuum was run but is now quietly accepting it.  Even when the resident dogs bark, she does not usually join in. (Thank you, Tae!) When doing stairs, it is best to let Tae precede her person for safety reasons. 

Tae is very good at entertaining herself at times, getting almost everything out of the toy box. Teaching her to put away toys would be a plus as she tends to want to play with everything as it is picked up to return it to the toy box.  The best way for foster mom to pick up toys has been to do so after letting Tae outside. Tae enjoys playing ball, chewing on bones, and will enthusiastically engage in tug-of-war.  She tends to tear apart soft toys, leaving a trail of destruction.  

At this point, Tae tends to be very needy of attention, at times pushing the limits of how much she is going to be petted or engaging in fetch or tug-of-war.  The resident dogs were very much annoyed with her behavior initially as she was in their faces way too much which resulted in their curled lips, low growls, and minor tiffs when she did not heed hints to get out of their faces.  Tae is slowly learning what resident dogs will put up with, is playing with the female SWD in the yard.  Tae does not yet recognize the signals when this resident female has had enough.  She sometimes gets too rough and is informed by the female that play is OVER!  She is fairly respectful of the male SWD who sometimes intervenes when she becomes too rough with the female.  Tae has a hard time stopping play when she becomes overstimulated. Sometimes foster mom must prompt her to lie down or crate her when she won’t give her desire to play with resident dog a rest. 

Good news!  – neither rain nor snow deters this young lady from taking care of personal business outdoors. As a Velcro girl, Tae will not leave the deck without foster mom being outside. She enjoys flying about the fenced yard, doing crazy figure eights, stopping to sniff around for critters who have passed through the yard.  She does require supervision in the yard as she likes to search for and chew on rocks and other objects.  Prompting will often redirect the behavior, and sometimes she will give up stones in exchange for a treat. Other times, foster mom must remove them. Tae wants to participate in yard work and tries to pull the weeds out of foster mom’s hands. Tae has made no attempts to escape but is likely a flight risk if given the opportunity.  At her former home, she was gone for two nights after being spooked by a storm while outside. So far, Tae’s recall is good, but she doesn’t usually need to be called to return to the house – she will come running if she sees foster mom going inside.  She is so fast coming up steps that she often trips on the way up. 

Tae does not do well in the car and requires crating.  Even if tethered in the back seat, she would be all over the place.  She frequently whined during her transport.  She is not great on the leash and requires much work on that especially since she tends to pull and her unexpected rocket propulsion may catch one off guard/balance.  Foster mom has only walked her on leash in the yard and at the vet’s office.  Her previous owners report anxiety over leash-walking and let her burn off energy by running in the yard. Foster mom continues that practice which fortunately usually results in some much-needed rest for resident dogs when she naps afterwards – they also enjoy bedtime when she is crated.  

Note that MAESSR will require the adoptive family to take their new family member through a series of obedience classes within 90 days of adoption.  MAESSR only places puppies – even older ones – in homes that are committed to training and bonding with the pup in obedience classes. Puppies require a lot of care, attention, and patience.  MAESSR believes the decision to get a puppy and raise it to be a healthy, happy, and well-adjusted dog is a serious commitment.

Tae came to MAESSR after being an only dog.  She needs to learn to share attention with other dogs and sometimes is sent in her crate so foster mom can administer eye/ear drops to resident dogs.  Otherwise, she is there in the thick of things, trying to horn in for the lion’s share of attention. The resident female tends to be non-aggressively protective of her tennis balls, and Tae will defer to her to chase the tennis ball.  She did allow Tae to remove the ball from her mouth on one occasion! 

Overall, Tae is in excellent health but foster mom suspects a UTI due to frequency of urination and needing potty breaks during the night for a few nights.  Despite her efforts, foster mom was unable to obtain a specimen, but vet indicated that antibiotic she is on for being Lyme positive works for UTI’s.  During her trip to the vet’s, Tae was a wild child, pulling foster mom through the parking lot and in the office at breakneck speed and feverishly jumping up on the counters.  As the visit progressed, she was able to be managed with prompts and treats to sit. The vet suggested an increase in supplement to calm her.   

Before MAESSR, Tae was living with two older adults with exposure to extended family.  She has been around children as young as 8, but foster mom feels this adolescent would be more appropriate with teens as she can be a handful with a tendency to jump rather enthusiastically.  A multiple person household might be best as she wants frequent attention and working with her one-on-one for activities such as brushing is difficult to do single-handedly and would require training to gain her cooperation.  Foster mom has attempted to brush Tae and after much effort, did manage to untangle her ears. One can only imagine what it would take to trim her nails which fortunately could be kept short with frequent trips to run in the yard.  Trying to adjust her collar, apply flea preventative, or just brushing her often results in Tae rolling over on her back, her whole body wiggling around while foster mom fails to complete the task.  Fortunately, due to her fieldie coat, Tae does not require grooming, was bathed and brushed at her former home.  Her former owner feels she might make a good hunting dog; foster mom feels she would possibly do well in dock-diving considering the way she flies off the upper bank in the yard.  She probably wouldn’t have the attention span to do agility but has the physical skills.  Having a canine companion who enjoys engaging in horseplay but would not be intimidated by Tae’s rambunctious behavior would be a plus. Foster mom highly recommends that Tae’s new family goes to general training classes with her. 

Need more excitement and enthusiasm in life?  This diamond in the rough could make that happen for you!