Turi

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Update 09/22/2016:  “Teddy is taking two 1.5 mile walks daily and does very well in a harness.“

Sweet Turi, aka Teddy, has moved to a different foster home.  The first day was somewhat difficult for him after six hours in transport, but he is quickly adapting to the changes now that he has had a chance to settle in.  Teddy is living with a male and a female senior resident as well as a resident female SWD from the same kennel where he was bred. He is enamored with this slightly younger gal and loves playing with her.  Not much attention has been paid to the two seniors who tend to ignore him. Teddy is learning that he can scoot past the non-threatening Beardie mix who likes to stretch across the bottom of the steps to the second floor. Sometimes Teddy will start barking to let his foster mom know that he wants to join her upstairs and is given encouragement to slide past the old gal.  His new foster home is “manned” by a single woman so this is also a change for Teddy as he has been living with couples since leaving his kennel where he was only exposed to a single female.  He tends to be more comfortable with females but can adapt to males.  

Teddy has been well-behaved overall.  There have been no toileting accidents, and he lets his foster mom know he needs let out by sitting at the back door. He is a good sleeper and would prefer to sleep with his foster mom but is remanded to a dog pillow in her bedroom.  Sometimes he chooses to sleep on the bare wood floor and other times he will sleep in the donut dog bed, burrowing between the donut and inner pillow.  He is accepting “off the bed” after a battle of wills which he was not able to win; he has managed small victories of his own as his foster mom has awakened several times to find him in bed with her.  He gives her kisses and seeks her out to be petted.  Teddy tends to be low key in the house but will have some bursts of energy and playfulness with the younger SWD.  This good boy has not bothered the wastepaper cans or chewed any of his foster mom’s possessions.

Some naughtiness made an appearance around Teddy’s third day.  He attempts to counter-surf non-food items off the dishwasher and/or table as well as grab lap robes and throws on the couch.  He is firmly told “no!” but may take several prompts to listen.  At times Teddy can be somewhat demanding and will bark to get his own way.  He has playfully nipped at the couch cover and even his foster mom to make it clear that he is adamant in his wishes.  Sorry, boy, that isn’t going to work.  He calms down after a brief time-out in his crate if he persists in this behavior.  Sometimes Teddy will self-crate to take a relaxing nap, especially after a walk.

Teddy loves the kiddie pool, tennis balls, walks, flying around the yard and horseplay indoors with his SWD companion.  His foster mom was surprised when the resident SWD allowed Teddy to steal her precious tennis ball away from her.  Teddy is taking two 1.5 mile walks daily and does very well in a harness.  Sometimes there is some minor pulling, but he stops when he receives a gentle tug or his foster mom stops and waits.  Reactive dogs along your route?  Teddy does an excellent job of ignoring them!  Sometimes when he gets in one of his impish moods he will start to chew on his leash.  A couple firm prompts of “no” followed by some praise for compliance usually do the trick.  

Anxiety was observed on Teddy’s first day and again when his foster mom’s brother visited, but Teddy was able to calm himself down.  There has been some licking and chewing at himself, but Teddy could be distracted on those few occasions.  He has been taking medication for anxiety and will now take his pills when mixed in a spoonful of canned dog food.  Thanks for making this easy, Teddy!

For now Teddy is “on hold” while he acclimates to his new foster home.  In many ways the ESS and SWD breeds are similar in personality traits but, as with the ESS, the SWD has its unique points.  It is suggested potential adopters do some research into Spanish Water Dogs to see if these delightful but challenging dogs would be a good fit in your home.  If Teddy seems a good match for your family, please ask to meet him.

Update 08/08/2016:  “Although still slow to warm up to new people, it now takes Teddy just a few minutes to settle down and let them pet him. This is a major improvement for this cute boy.”  

Turi is now known as Teddy and the new name fits this boy’s new personality. Teddy has made great strides in many areas in the last two years. The very loving and dedicated family that adopted him worked continuously to help him improve. Unfortunately they felt that they had made as much progress with him as they were capable…so they reluctantly made the decision to return him to MAESSR to see if others could bring him further along.

Teddy does wonderfully with other dogs. He is totally housetrained and is trustworthy when left uncrated in the house. However, he will steal things off of the counter or table when no one is watching. At night Teddy enjoys sleeping in the bed with his foster family…curled up tight next to his foster mom.

His foster family is working on curbing a few undesirable behaviors that Teddy exhibits. He will bark when he wants something and needs human help to get it. He will do this at night if he wants to get in the big bed and another dog is in his way. Naturally the excessive barking can be annoying at bedtime and Teddy needs to learn to tone it down. Additionally, Teddy likes to herd people as Spanish Water Dogs are a herding breed. He has occasionally nipped someone for not going where he wants them to go. While he does not do it to his foster mom, he has done it to his foster dad when he is trying to wake up the foster mom in the morning to go to work. His family continues to work with Teddy to appropriately shape this behavior.

Although still slow to warm up to new people, it now takes Teddy just a few minutes to settle down and let them pet him. This is a major improvement for this cute boy.

Teddy’s anxiety has been greatly decreased by the medication he is taking. His foster mom feels that he will be on the medication for a long time if not for the rest of his life. In his previous adoptive home Teddy would have periods of continuously biting at himself which would cause massive hot spots. When he was put on the current medication, he stopped itching.

True to his breed, Teddy loves to play in the kiddie pool. What a great way to have fun on a hot summer day. Recently Teddy received a shave down haircut and was a very good boy for the procedure. He must know that a good shave helps keep him cool on these hot, humid days of summer.

This Teddy bear of a boy will be a wonderful addition to a family that understands his breed and his anxiety issues. 

Update 07/23/2014:  “Turi is a handsome pup and will be a wonderful addition to someone’s home.” 

For such a young dog, Turi has a long history.  This shy pup was just starting a new chapter when, during a walk on the second day with his adopting family, he slipped out of hands and was at large for over a week.                   

The entire MAESSR community rallied around with suggestions and physical support toward finding Turi.  The services of a dog tracker plotted a portion of his travels but ended at a roadside, opening the possibility that he had been picked up.  The search widened.  Days later, he was spotted several times in one area, so his family placed a trap there.  They baited it with food and caught him in the trap. After an intensely worrisome 10 days, Turi was safe again.  

The decision was made to return him to MAESSR’s care.  After his inadvertent mis-adventure, he was one scared little boy.  He’s very unsure right now and needs time to settle in.  He needs time to realize that he is loved and cared for by his human companions; he will learn through the training and support that will be offered to him. 

Turi is a handsome pup and will be a wonderful addition to someone’s home.  But, before then, his love needs to grow and he needs to learn to trust his human support group.

Update 06/23/2014: “His gentle eyes watch everything and his tail will wag a bit from time to time, mainly when the humans appear in the morning.”  

After three weeks in his foster home, Turi is becoming more confident. He has begun to actively ask for back scratches and will now frolic in the yard even when out by himself. He continues to crate quietly and do his business outside. What a good boy!

Turi plays with the resident female, hangs out with the resident male, and doesn’t take it personally when the big foster Springer male steals his toys. Inside the house, Turi just flops near the rest of the gang and only hides under his table if there’s too much going on with the larger Springer. His gentle eyes watch everything and his tail will wag a bit from time to time, mainly when the humans appear in the morning

Clearly living up to his “Spanish Water Dog” label, he recently decided to bounce around the yard and then pogo stick himself into the wading pool. He would then scrunch down and dig at the water and repeat the sequence a few more times just to make sure it was as much fun as it seemed to be the first time.

While Turi no longer resists the leash, forward motion on it is still a learning process for him. He’ll follow on the leash but doesn’t quite get it yet.

Turi is generally happy and alert. He’s making such progress in a real home and will continue to do so when he joins his forever family. He will benefit much from the obedience classes his family will be required to attend with him. Please note that 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 1 year old and under to enroll their puppy in obedience classes within 60 days of adoption. For Turi, a dog with little previous socialization, these classes will be so beneficial for his confidence building and creating a bond with his new family.

This sweet little guy is longing for a family to call his own where he could get more attention and learn to trust more physical contact. Are you ready to help Turi reach his full potential?

Original: “He has begun to come out of his shell and has become more curious about life around him.” 

Turi came from a kennel in Maryland that was closing.   MAESSR was able to help with the placement of the dogs so Turi, a Spanish Water Dog, has become a MAESSR boy.  As a member of his foster family, Turi is being exposed to many new experiences.   Shy towards humans, he is learning all about living with a family in a home environment.  He is a quiet guy who self-crates; he appears to be housetrained, having had no accidents since his arrival.
 
Initially Turi would hang out under a table, skittering away when approached and retreating to his crate as soon as it got dark.  He has begun to come out of his shell and has become more curious about life around him.  He has already learned “out” when it’s time to go do his business and “in” with the humans pointing to the open door; he patrols the fenced yard with his tail up and alert.  For the first few days, Turi needed a leash attached to his harness to help steer him through the routine.  He’d approach seated foster folks holding out tidbits of food as long as they didn’t stare at him.  After four days, he started playing with the resident female and began taking her toys under his table.  Next he decided that the kitchen, with its good smells, was an okay place to explore.
 
Having never had free roam of a house, Turi decided that counter-surfing was acceptable until he heard the “NO-NO” sound.  He doesn’t get up on furniture or chew anything inappropriate.  It appears that his knowledge of commands is limited to “out,” “in,” and “crate.”  His foster family suspects that Turi has never been on a leash before coming to MAESSR so he wears a harness to help get him used to moving with his humans.  He’s been good with the resident dogs, a terrier and an Afghan, although initially quizzical about them. He openly sniffed them early on and now is starting to engage them. 
 
In the car Turi hangs out in the back, somewhat frozen, but moves around at red lights to see what’s going on out the side windows.  He also freezes up when bathed, initially resisting, but then just waiting until the humans are done.  Reading up on Spanish Water Dogs, his foster mom found that they’re not brushed but allowed to cord with yearly shearing and occasional trimming.  Small herding dogs, most are supposed to enjoy swimming.  This little guy will stand in the wading pool but hasn’t been exposed to a body of water yet.
 
A really sweet dog with soulful brown eyes, Turi will need much in the way of slow attention to reach his potential.  He’s easy to have around since he’s quiet and tries to be invisible; but he needs someone to show him that humans can be trusted.  Since he’s food motivated, he has already gone outside of his comfort zone to get his foster folks to hand him bits of kibble.  Turi will accept attention but is still at the point where the humans have to be down at his level to do it.  His ideal home would be one where his trust in people could be built slowly.  He’d probably prefer a non-aggressive doggie companion with a positive attitude to give him a canine example to follow. 
 
Watch for updates as Turi continues his adjustment to life as a MAESSR boy.