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Entered: 02/24/2013
Status: Adopted
Age: 1
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 39 lbs.
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Bethlehem, PA
Health: UTD, HW-, overall good health
Temperament: Good with adults and teens, lived with children as young as four, good with dogs, cats unknown
Update 03/30/13: “Tuck is a diamond in the rough and will sparkle with time, training, and love.”
Tucker’s foster mom is happy to report that training is going very well for this handsome young boy. Tucker visited a trainer and has been working very hard on a relaxation protocol, some hand-targeting, some mental stimulation games and some desensitization to scary things. His foster mom is amazed at how well this little guy works when rewarded with tasty treats. He can work ten minutes at a time on “sits” and “stays” of up to 20 seconds with various distractions. Tucker is learning to listen to his foster mom and she can see him thinking about what she asks him to do.
When Tucker gets a bit nutty in the house, his foster mom breaks out the really good treats and puts his brain to work. The trainer also recommended that Tucker would benefit from using interactive dog toys for his meals. So, Tuck’s kibble is now placed in one of several different toys and he has to work to get it out.
Exercise remains vital to happiness for this youngster. He is still getting the opportunity to run at least an hour in the yard every day. Tuck will now go out for bathroom breaks by himself, but he does require his foster mom to be out with him to watch him run and to throw the tennis ball. She carries treats which he gets when he brings the ball back. He really loves to run for the ball and will often bring a ball to someone, asking for some fun. His foster family has been hitting the balls with the tennis racquet so they go really far!
Tuck has gotten a lot better with giving up things he might “find”. If his foster mom says “treat,” he immediately goes into a “sit.” During this learning phase, he is rewarded just about every time he gives up something. His family tries to be careful about leaving things about but aren’t perfect.
Recently Tucker went to a pet event where MAESSR had a table. He was very uneasy about entering the pet store. His foster mom coaxed him in and allowed him to relax himself in an out-of-the-way spot. After he realized it really wasn’t that scary, his foster mom used some finger targeting to get him to walk around the store a little bit. There were a lot of people and dogs, probably more than Tucker is ready to see at one time. Once Tucker calmed down, though, he was very interested in looking at all the things going on around him.
Tucker will need continued exposure to new things so he can learn. He is going to doggie day care a day or two every week. He is no longer scared to be there but isn’t yet playing a lot with the other dogs. He gets submissive when the other dogs come over to greet him. At home where he feels more secure, he is a wild man with the resident dogs. He loves to play chase and rough house.
Tucker is really a very sweet, Velcro boy. He will need a lot of training to help him reach his potential but he has a good beginning. In his adopting home he would do best with a large fenced yard so he can run. A fence is important for him right now since his instinct is to run away from something scary. Tuck would love another young dog but a family willing to play ball or Frisbee with him would be super too. He loves getting attention from the teens in his foster family but does jump up, so any children he lives with and plays with should be big enough so they don’t get knocked down.
Tuck is a diamond in the rough and will sparkle with time, training, and love. If he sounds interesting to you, contact your adoption coordinator today.
Original: “To assist with his socialization opportunities, Tucker has begun doggie daycare.”
MAESSR stepped in to help Tucker when his family’s elderly relative needed to move into their New Jersey home. His family feared that this young boy might be too active and inadvertently cause harm to the individual who navigates with a cane. Tucker moved into one foster home for a week, but proved to be too active for the very laid-back resident dog. He now resides in a foster home with three dogs, ages three, six and nine, as well as two young teenagers. Tucker started out unsure of the resident dogs and his new environment, but has started playing with them and now is enjoying life in his new home.
New situations make Tucker a bit skittish, leading his foster mom to believe that he has had limited exposure to new and different things. When he doesn’t want to do something or is too afraid to try, he’ll toss himself down belly up. He also hasn’t learned to listen and stop doing things his foster mom doesn’t want him to do. Somewhere during his short life, he figured out that it is great fun to grab things, take off, and then refuse to give them up! Running off with a blanket or article of clothing and ripping it up is great fun, but life has changed for Mr. Tucker! He is now kept close by his foster mom for many hours every day and is rewarded with very high value treats when he pays attention to her gentle guidance. He is learning that her “ACK” means he needs to stop his offending behavior and sit for a treat. Tucker is smart, so this process won’t take him too long. He’s also getting three or four 15-minute play sessions every day out in the yard so he can run……and Tucker loves to run! He likes to get one of the other dogs engaged in a game of chase and, if they won’t run, he’ll race figure 8’s around them.
Tucker is housetrained and will go to the door when he wants to go out. At this point, he does not want to go out alone and requires his foster mom to walk out with him. At times, he’ll run out into the fenced yard with the resident dogs but often turns back to wait for her. Crate trained, Tucker is crated only when his family goes out and sometimes when he rides in the van. He is comfortable and quiet in the crate. At night, Tucker sleeps on the sofa in his foster parent’s bedroom. He does eye the resident dogs sleeping in the bed, but isn’t brave enough to come up.
Known to counter-surf anything he can reach, Tucker will grab it and run. In order to end this behavior, everything enticing has been removed. Closet doors are closed and baskets are covered or put out of reach. There is absolutely nothing within reach of Tucker with the exception of dog toys and bones!
Excited by visitors, Tucker jumps on anyone who comes into the house, which is being discouraged. He barks an alert-type of bark when someone arrives; previously, when a noise caught his attention, he gave a little muffled bark. This has ceased as he has grown more comfortable. His foster home is in an extremely quiet spot at the end of a road where few cars or people pass; he might bark more if he saw activity outdoors.
Though without formal training, Tucker does know “sit”, “paw” and “come.” Upon adoption, he will need to attend obedience school as MAESSR only places puppies in homes that are committed to training and bonding with the pup in obedience classes. Puppies require a lot of care, attention, and patience, and they do chew on things! The decision to get a puppy and raise it to be a healthy, happy, and well-adjusted dog is a serious commitment. To reinforce this commitment, MAESSR requires all adopters of dogs one-year old and younger to enroll their puppy in an obedience class within 60 days of adoption. Tucker will be an excellent student since he is very treat-oriented and very smart.
On walks, Tucker does pull on leash. Obedience school will help with this behavior, as well. Until Tucker learns to walk well, a fenced yard will be important so he can get his exercise. Additionally, he will need exposure to many different people, places and things so he can learn that walks are fun! At this point, if he gets frightened, he will plop down or try to go back to the car. Although he rides very well in the car, he sometimes is a bit anxious getting in. His foster mom is taking him for three or four rides every day so he can learn that hopping in needn’t be scary.
For fun, Tucker plays with balls, chews bones and enjoys a Kong. He will chase the ball when thrown and might come back, but doesn’t release the ball. In order to make the game more fun, his foster mom has three balls. She throws one and then walks over to where he retrieved it and tosses another. He will learn with practice to relinquish the ball. Tucker also likes to play with the resident dogs. His style is very vocal and growly at times. He can be pushy when he wants one of the dogs to chase him, but if they give him the really big “back off,” he moves on. He will live best with another dog that likes to run, play a bit rough and is willing to tell him to ease up when necessary. To assist with his socialization opportunities, Tucker has begun doggie daycare. A little overwhelmed on his first try, he’ll get the hang of it the more he goes.
Although he’ll resource guard prized items from people, he does not do so with the other dogs and not with food. His foster mom holds his food bowl while he eats and puts her hands in and takes the bowl away and gives it back. He also takes treats nicely. When Tucker gets something he shouldn’t, he is offered a treat for the contraband. No one chases him. No one allows him to make grabbing items into a great game. His foster mom feels getting the items is more of a game, rather than Tucker trying to claim the items as “mine.” This boy just wants to have fun!
It was reported that Tucker did well at the groomer. He did very well at the vet. Although he was a bit afraid, he was an excellent boy while his blood was drawn for his heartworm test and micro-chipping.
Mr. Tucker is a sweet, high energy fieldie whose exercise needs must be met. Ideally his new home should have a fenced yard, and he would really benefit from the companionship of another active dog. A quieter setting, with a family that gives him the love, guidance and training he needs, will shape Tucker into the fantastic Springer he aspires to become. As Tucker’s confidence builds and he gets more and more positive experiences under his belt, he’s going to be a fabulous pet. Don’t let this little gem get away! Inquire about him today.