Toby 5

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Updated 8/12/07: Toby was neutered but his foster mom would never have known it had she not taken him to the vet herself. He continued to be his happy, playful self and had to be crated to keep him from running around the yard after he got home!

He continues to make progress on obedience and has learned to “sit” very well. He is a “speed sitter” and loves the “off” command as well. His family is teaching him to “stay” in conjunction with mealtimes. They are still working very hard to stop his jumping up. That is a behavior that has evidently been rewarded in the past and he is reluctant to give it up, though he is getting better. If he were introduced to a bell on the door, he would ring it to go out, as he absolutely LOVES learning new skills. You can easily see how happy he is to try to please his person. His foster mom thinks he would do very well at agility as he never touches any of the three steps coming into their porch and he loves to do it over and over again. He is happy to exercise himself while out in the yard with his family, or, he will happily run round and round the 9-year-old resident golden with glee! Toby remains good in his crate and is spending most of his nights there, but his family is also beginning to test him out of it for part of the night and he has had no accidents. His marking behavior has stopped altogether.

When Toby gets going full speed, he could take a small child off its feet totally by accident so little people probably should not be part of his adopting family. He does like older children and the chance to snuggle on the couch with a son in his foster home who has mental and physical disabilities. Toby likes to wake him up in the morning by jumping up on his bed and then off and on again. Toby must know the boy thinks this is a hoot as he only does it to him and will get off immediately when asked.

A true Velcro pup, Toby moves every time his foster mom moves. He is not demanding of attention but just a bit clingy, in lover boy fashion. If he is out in the yard for business, he wants his foster mom to be in the yard, too, not just on the porch but in the yard, rain or shine. One other accommodation she allows him is to keep a towel under his water bowl to catch those dribbles after drinking.

Toby is of good bone and flesh and with his previous show experience, he would make a great project dog for the ambitious 4-Her. He is a lover boy and looking for a family to live closely with, maybe to try the sport of dog agility with, and if allowed, to wake in the mornings with a playful doggie greeting!!

Original: Toby began his life as a show dog, but when his owners decided to adopt a special needs child, they had too many dogs, so Toby was relinquished to MAESSR.

Toby is a sweet boy, a typical high energy Springer. He is submissive and very good with the resident dogs, accepting the little male silky terrier’s alpha position with no challenges. He loves to initiate play with both resident dogs and especially likes to run circles around the female golden retriever to her amazement! With all of this puppy exuberance, Toby does “body slam” at times, and just because of his energy, would likely knock a small child over. His foster mom thinks he has had limited exposure to children, as he barked at her six-year-old niece initially though he seemed better after she fed him a treat. His foster family is teaching him to sit nicely to be petted and not to jump up on people for attention.

Although Toby is basically house trained, he has marked in the house. So, his foster mom is watching him closely and not allowing him out of her sight within the house. This marking is probably behavioral, possibly due to the resident male dog. Toby is good in the crate and stays in it at night and about four hours during the day while the foster family is out of the house. This former show dog stands well for grooming, clipping, toenail cutting, and ear cleaning. Toby also rides well crated in the car with no motion sickness or whining.

Toby appears to have limited exposure to normal, daily activities and he has been very shy when experiencing new things such as the floor register blowing his ears when the AC comes on! He is curious about what is up on the counter, but responds well to “off.”  Despite these counter surfing tendencies, he does not pick or drag things off the counter or from the trash. He is learning that he cannot jump up on the bed or furniture, too. His foster family is beginning clicker training with him and he is learning to “sit.” He listens well and is smart and attentive. Toby loves to please, so he would be an excellent candidate for obedience classes with his forever family.

Toby is a real lover boy who is looking forward to a long, happy life with an active family who will give him the love and training he needs to be a great family dog.