Entered: 08/04/2019
Status: Adopted
Age: 2
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 37 lbs.
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Landenberg, PA
Health: UTD, HW-, treatment for worms complete, dental complete for cracked canine and very worn lower incisors, overall good health
Temperament: Good with adults and older children, uncertain with toddlers and younger, good with other dogs, backed away from a hissing cat at pet store, also good with horses, donkeys, and goats but not recommended with chickens
Update 09/20/2019: “Vinnie has made good progress in his transition from kennel life to cozy home living and he loves it!”
Vinnie has completed the necessary vetting with his dental surgery this week. A cracked canine was removed. The vet also discovered his front lower incisors were worn down to the gum line, and they were removed as well before they started to give him any trouble. The vet loves Vinnie and asked if he didn’t get the memo about being a Springer Spaniel because he’s so mellow. Vinnie now has a clear bill of health.
Vinnie has made good progress in his transition from kennel life to cozy home living and he loves it! He has learned that outside is where you potty and there have not been any accidents in several weeks. While he doesn’t have a signal to go out, his foster mom is learning his “schedule” and takes him out several times a day; but it’s much less frequently than when he was being housetrained.
Although he is sometimes reluctant to go outside to play or for a break, Vinnie enjoys romping around the yard and rolling in the grass when outside. He has learned the routine and knows that as soon as he wakes in the morning, it’s outside for a quick potty then breakfast. Vinnie tried to trick his foster mom by simply running around the yard and back to the door to get breakfast quicker. Not so fast Vinnie – didn’t you forget something?
Vinnie still loves his crates. The doors are left open and he visits throughout the day when he wants, but his foster mom noticed he’s spending less time in the crate and more time in the room with her and his foster sister. He is turning into a cuddle-bug and is more than happy to follow his foster mom around to see if she might want to pet him or rub his belly. Vinnie is still crated when his foster mom needs to leave him home, but he’s ready to graduate to short unsupervised freedom.
He and his foster sister are fed in the same room, but Vinnie’s crate door was shut to ensure he wasn’t disturbed while eating. His foster mom started leaving the door open and all went well. A few days later, she noticed the resident dog approach to sniff Vinnie’s bowl, which still had food. Before she could intervene, Vinnie sat down with the expression, “How come she’s in my bowl?” His sister was quickly shooed away, and Vinnie continued eating. Good news that Vinnie is feeling secure enough to not growl or over-react. Now his foster mom makes sure there are no further incursions so Vinnie can eat in peace.
Vinnie’s leash walking is improving. He is using a harness attached at the chest vs. the head halter to reduce pulling. He likes this much better and pulls much less. Occasionally on a long walk Vinnie will drop back to walk alongside his foster mom, or even behind her. He gets lots of praise and treats for reinforcement. Sometimes he still gets excited and wants to forge ahead to see what’s on the trail. While Vinnie enjoys his walks, he is a moderate-level energy Springer – he even stopped on a longer walk and sat down as if to say, “How much longer?” He was allowed a rest for a minute or two and when he was ready, he got up and continued the walk. He is happy to have a nice walk, visit the yard, and then enjoy the comfy dog bed in the house.
Vinnie attended a large family picnic with 20 people and 7 dogs! Vinnie made friends with everyone and all the dogs – even playing a lot with his favorite. Vinnie has been learning “how to play” as kennel living probably didn’t afford him the opportunity before. He also visited a local doggie day care and had a great time playing with the other pups and the staff. They loved Vinnie and urged his foster mom to adopt him so they could see him more often!
Vinnie is learning to enjoy the life of a house dog/family member and he likes it. Yummy food, dog beds, a big yard with lots of grass, playmates, and belly rubs. If you give a lot of belly rubs to this mellow guy, he wants to be your best buddy.
Original: “As Vinnie starts this new chapter in his life learning commands and his name, his foster mom has discovered the secret to training him—treats!”
Vinnie came to MAESSR through a circuitous path. Born in Ireland, he was intended for a role as a search and rescue dog, but evaluation determined he would be better suited as a family pet. The owner of the SAR training facility relinquished Vinnie to an American friend so that she could find him a good home in the States.
Vinnie only lived with this owner in West Virginia for about week and a half. In that time, she posted an ad on social media and found Vinnie a home. However, he was returned after only a few hours for reportedly snapping at the family’s two year old child. While in the training facility, Vinnie was not exposed to children and unfortunately the new family did not give him time to decompress. The owner then contacted MAESSR knowing that breed rescue was what Vinnie needed to find a suitable forever home.
Living inside of a home is a new experience for Vinnie and he is slowly adjusting. In his first week, Vinnie was very quiet at his new foster home which his foster mom attributes to the transition to a new environment. Now, she is starting to see his sweet personality come through. Vinnie is very submissive in his approach to his people or their approach to him as he immediately rolls over onto his back and shows his belly. While he loves belly rubs, his foster mom is working on having him sit nicely to receive affection and praise and to have his leash put on. Vinnie is beginning to follow his foster mom around the house in true Springer fashion!
Initially, being outside in the yard was totally foreign to him and he had to be lured out with treats. Gradually, he is becoming less resistant to going outside and doing a little more exploration. Because of growing up in a kennel, Vinnie didn’t understand at first that when he went into the yard he was supposed to eliminate there and not in the house. Progress is being made on this housetraining front. His foster mom takes him outside on a long leash every few hours and walks him around the yard until he eliminates. Then, he is praised lavishly.
During Vinnie’s many breaks in the yard, the resident female ESS has tried to engage him in play which he didn’t seem to understand at first, most likely due to his prior kennel life. He is starting to come out of his shell, though, and thinks that chasing and playing with another dog might be fun. After running around outside, he is happy to be in the same room with his people and lie on the floor, resting. Although a basket of toys is available to him, he has not engaged in toy play yet. He has taken a bone to chew, though.
Crate trained, Vinnie seems to enjoy the two available to him. A large wire crate with a dog bed in it is in the laundry room and it always has its door open. He often just goes there when he feels like having a beak. At night Vinnie sleeps in a similar crate in the bedroom _although the door is closed at night to prevent his wandering until he is more reliably housetrained.
Vinnie has not shown any destructive behavior in the house. He does not appear to be a counter-surfer. The only time he came close was when his foster mom was putting his food into his dish on the counter and he put his paws up to make sure she was giving him enough! He has not bothered items in the laundry room (towels and cleaning supplies on open shelves) or the trash. His only episode of chewing came when he found a paperback book on a low shelf and bit the cover.
As Vinnie starts this new chapter in his life learning commands and his name, his foster mom has discovered the secret to training him—treats! He is very treat motivated. He is already very good at a nice “sit” in front of his foster mom. Vinnie is also learning to take the treats more gently– he can’t help his excitement. He loves treats! He is working on name recognition as well. Once “sit” and his name have been learned, he can move onto “come,” “stay,” and other basic commands. MAESSR will require Vinnie’s new family to take him to two sets of obedience classes to continue to develop his skills as well as help with bonding.
Vinnie is not accustomed to walking on leash so he needs to learn better leash manners, too. With the use of a Gentle Lead (Vinnie gives it two paws down!), he is learning that it’s better to walk nicely and not pull ahead. He does love to walk and sniff — or should one say sniff and walk as it appears more sniffing than walking is happening?
As well as being very calm in the house, Vinnie was very good at his vet exam. The only issues the vet found were worms and a broken canine tooth. Medication is taking care of the worms and a visit to the canine dentist will take care of the bad tooth. Otherwise, Vinnie is a healthy young dog.
Currently, Vinnie is a diamond in the rough, but he is already working on becoming polished to enjoy life with a new family in a cozy house with treats, walks, and lots of belly rubs. Watch for more on Vinnie in the weeks ahead!