Entered: 02/11/2018
Status: Adopted
Age: 7 months; born 06/10/2017
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 35 lbs.
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Goochland, VA
Health: UTD, HW-, receiving medication for anxiety
Temperament: Good with adults but takes a while to warm up to some people, would be best with children over 10 years old, good with other dogs but should be separated when feeding, lived with cats as a pup but may chase to play
Update 04/30/2018: “This cute boy needs a family that will commit to help him through the “teenage years.”
Winston’s foster family thought that crating him was causing him further anxiety. For this reason they stopped crating him and he has proven trustworthy in the house. After moving to a new foster home, Winston has not had any incidents around food since being there. Good boy, Winston!
His new forever family will be required to complete two series of obedience classes with Winston. This will help him to settle in and become a great family member. Additionally, his family will be required to continue his anxiety medications for six months after adoption.
This cute boy needs a family that will commit to help him through the “teenage years.” By providing Winston with love and guidance, he will learn how to be a vital member of the family.
Update 03/20/2018: “He’s a terrific snuggler and wants to be close to his people and part of the family.”
Winston’s foster family continues to work on this young boy’s outlook on life. It seems that he can be good with other dogs, but he needs to be fed separately from them as he will inform that he wants his food all to himself. This behavior is showing improvement with the guidance of his foster family, yet it is felt best that Winston live with adults or older children who understand his need to eat worry free.
When meeting new people, Winston warms up to them a little quicker now. He is more cautious around men wearing glasses and takes a little longer feeling comfortable around them. He’s very comfortable with his foster family and has shown some distress with being left alone. His foster family is working to help him feel more at ease when home without them for short periods of time. Additionally, his foster family has used an over the counter supplement to help with his anxiety. This appeared to help for a little while, but a determination will be made to see if Winston will benefit from an inexpensive prescription medication to help him feel more at ease.
His foster mom knows that Winston wants terribly to be “a good boy” for his people. He’s a terrific snuggler and wants to be close to his people and part of the family.Keep posted for Winston’s continuing progress as his foster family works towards bringing out the terrific Springer boy in him. With love, training, and confidence building, Winston should transform into a wonderful family member.
Original: “Winston is an absolutely adorable happy go lucky Springer pup who loves people and other dogs.”
Winston was bought for a Delaware family’s two young sons and was expected to be with the boys whether they were at mom’s house or dad’s house. In reality, when the boys were at mom’s, Winston was left alone in the garage at dad’s, receiving, for those days, little attention or training. MAESSSR was asked to help with this love.
Winston is an absolutely adorable, happy go lucky Springer pup who loves people and other dogs. He is cautious when meeting new people and with new experiences but warms up quickly. Once he is comfortable, all need to watch out because his fun loving, playful, love bug, wiggle butt Springer personality shines through.
This youngster is housetrained and crate trained. When he was first introduced to a crate in his foster home, he tried to chew through the bars, but after a few days of seeing the others in their crates, he learned that his was an o.k. place to be and will now “kennel up” just like the rest of the pack. Of course the treat bin is a big help too since he loves his treats.
Winston knows “sit” and “stay” and his foster family is working on “paw,” “off” (to keep him from jumping up) and “down” (for lie down). He loves to snuggle with his eleven year old human foster brother, but will visit whomever’s lap is open. He doesn’t stay very long because he wants to keep up with Ruby, the resident Spaniel, and her tennis ball fetching. When he steals the ball from her, she will sit and stare at him until he gives it up–and he always does. The two are hysterical together.
The new member of the pack walks well on leash after some initial pulling and has good recall off leash. He also loves to run and play with the other dogs, but his most favorite thing to do is to be close to his humans. In typical Springer fashion, he will not be far away from his people, and he absolutely loves hugs and kisses and gives a lot of kisses right back. He truly is a typical Springer who wants nothing more than to please his humans in return for love, hugs, kisses and treats.
Vet visits, grooming, and car rides with his foster family are experiences that still await this young man—stay tuned for “chapter two” in his new life.
An ideal family for Winston would have another playful dog as he truly loves having a companion not only to play with but also to help him understand that the world is not as scary as it may seem. While he is wonderful with kids, he does jump so a family with a child older than five would be best for him. Winston is a puppy, puppy, puppy, and 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 obedience classes within 60 days of adoption.
Are you ready for this ball of energy to enter your home? What a love and happy dog this fellow is. Spring is coming and the great outdoors will be such fun for him and his new family