Zoe 6

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Update 07/30/10:

Zoe continues to make great strides in her foster home. Recently, her foster family started feeding her around the other dogs, rather than in a separate room, and she’s doing very well with this. This bright little girl knows “sit,” “stay,” and, as soon as she sees the treat jar, she heads straight for her kennel. She doesn’t even need to be told to “kennel up” anymore!

A few weeks ago, Zoe’s foster grandfather moved in with the family. She has adjusted very well to the new addition and is very gentle while around him. She sits by his side and waits patiently for him to pet her. What a good girl!

Although she does sometimes bark when someone comes into the house, Zoe quickly settles down once she realizes who it is. She is such a smart dog and so eager to learn. Her forever family will need to be patient with her while she adjusts to her new surroundings, as she does take a while to get used to everything. Once she settles in with her new family, they can expect a lot of love and fun from this energetic little girl!

Update 06/25/10:

Zoe continues to make positive adjustments in her behaviors. This high energy gal still likes to take her humans for a walk, but about halfway through she settles down and lets them take over.

She’s doing very well with people coming in and going out of the house. While she still barks at them (It’s hard not to when the rest of the canine crew is barking!), she no longer growls with her hair standing up. She’s learning that people are ok and are not going to hurt her.

While eating, Zoe had been growling and shoving her head deeper into her food bowl every time someone approached. By working with her in this area, significant improvement has occurred. Although she occasionally still grumbles while eating, her foster family reports that she recently walked away from her food to receive some petting. What a huge accomplishment for a dog that has never before left food unguarded!

Zoe’s foster family recently trimmed her toe nails without incident, although it was a two person operation. It’s just so hard for a youngster to sit still for very long!

All signs point to this very sweet ball of energy being ready for a loving furever home in the near future!

Update 05/23/10:

Zoe is progressing nicely with her behaviors. She still needs some work but is definitely getting much, much better. She is doing outstanding with her foster dad and the two boys in her foster home, ages 8 and 4. She does not bark anymore when her foster dad enters the house. Zoe actually runs over to him to get some attention.

When meeting new people, she still can’t get low enough to the ground but, last week a friend of the family come over that Zoe had never met. She did not bark at him and walked over very slowly to allow him to pet her. She was still plastered to the ground but, after a couple of pets, she was sitting up and allowing him to continue. Very, very nice to see!

Another thing about Miss Zoe is that she is definitely a chewer if she gets bored. Recently the dogs were on the deck after playing in the yard. When her foster mom looked out, there was Zoe chewing a wooden bench! Guess she wasn’t tuckered out quite yet. She will chew the stuffing right out of every toy so, it is best to not give her soft ones. She also chewed up a blanket that was in her crate. This youngster gets bored in there at times too! Despite this, Zoe is definitely a dog that aims to please. She listens very well to commands. She wants to be a good girl and just needs a forever home that will continue to work with her and give her lots and lots of exercise. It’s so much easier for a tired dog to be a good dog!

Zoe loves her treats and expects one every time she comes in from being outside and also when she has to go to her crate. When you tell her “kennel up,” she can’t run fast enough up the stairs into her crate. Then she sits in there, patiently waiting for her treat. She still needs work on her leash manners as she does like to take her person for a walk. She will put her paws on the counter but has not taken anything; she’s just curious as to what’s up there. She also checks out the trash can but has not gotten into it. She sleeps in her crate at night and does excellent in there.

Zoe’s ideal forever home would be one with 1 or 2 other dogs that will put her in her place when she tries to be protective; she backs down very quickly to being scolded by other dogs. When first meeting new dogs, she’ often in a protective mode and will grumble and bark. But, she definitely loves to play with other dogs once she gets comfortable around them. She has gotten very much attached to the 2 year old female dog in her foster home and would benefit much from the guidance and companionship of mature, active dogs. This would help to wear her out too.

Like most springers her age, Zoe will need continuing work in her adoptive home to get her comfortable in her new surroundings, rather than to let her run the household. Her people should be very dog savvy. Her foster family also feels she would do just fine in a home with a single person.

Zoe is almost ready to take the doggie-life skills she has been learning into a home where they will continue to develop. She needs an active family to be busy with daily and that will offer trustworthy leadership in her life. With that in her future, the sky’s the limit for this youngster!!!

Update 04/20/10:

Miss Zoe has settled into a new foster home with a deck to hang out on and a resident ESS to run with in the yard. The two dogs have a blast together, so much so that Zoe still wants to play at times when her companion is worn out. This is when Zoe’s foster mom makes them both take a rest. There are other dogs in the home too and Zoe has quickly learned her place in the pack. She does well with being scolded by the other dogs and will definitely back down during a skirmish.

Between play times, her foster mom is working with Zoe on some training. When first arriving at the house, Zoe had some issues with people entering the house. She was also quickly protective when around her foster mom.

In a short time Zoe’s doing 100 times better with people coming in and out of the house. She does much better with women and kids entering than she does with men– still a ways to go with this training. She also wants to protect the person she is sitting with and is no longer allowed on the chair with her foster mom. Zoe is confined to lying on the floor. As long as she does not feel the need to protect, Zoe is a GREAT dog but, with both behaviors, she will do best with an experienced person to provide continuing guidance.

If you are looking for a good agility dog, Zoe is the one for you. She is the fastest dog her foster mom’s ever seen up close and personal. Zoe loves to play with a tennis ball and retrieves in mach 1 speed! She can be trusted off-leash and listens very well to commands. She does get very excited when she’s let out of her crate and continues to jump and jump and jump to let you know just how happy she is to see you. She could surely win the gold at high jumping competition! If you ignore her, she will eventually stop.

Zoe remains a very happy girl who wants to please. She is living with children as young as 8 and does great with them. She’s starting to trust people a little more but is still very shy when approaching strangers. She can’t get low enough to the ground when she meets a new person but will roll over for a belly rub once she knows they’re not going to hurt her. She’s still really unsure how to respond to such attention but will occasionally give kisses to let people know how much she likes her belly rubbed.

This very energetic young pup definitely needs a family that is going to offer her a lot of exercise as she can’t seem to run enough. Zoe’s making very good progress with someone to help reshape some of her behaviors. She will do best with dog-wise people who are willing to continue working with her. Zoe seems to want to learn. What she needs are loving leaders in her life to bring out her full potential! And what potential that could be! Give her a chance and she’ll give you her best!!

Update 03/02/10:

Zoe’s behavior with the resident dogs and cats in her foster home remains very good. She has learned rather quickly that she is not the “boss.” When the resident dogs bark at her, this means she is misbehaving, and, she quickly settles down as she does not like anyone to be upset with her.

Her manners with people are coming along too. She is walking very nicely on a leash and will sit and wait for it to be put on. As a young little girl, her housetraining habits have also improved. She now lets her foster mom know when she needs to go out, although sometimes it is just to play in the snow! Zoe is eager to learn and really likes her treats when she has been a good girl and remains a complete cuddler. She will be a loving addition in any Springer-loving home.

Original:

When Zoe’s Pennsylvania owner found her puppy stage too much to handle, he was going to take her to a shelter. Another family offered to take her in and find her a new home. After seven months of having no luck finding the “right” home, the family turned to MAESSR for help. The home that they lived in was not large enough for Zoe and the three resident dogs, especially with the energy level of this pup.

Zoe has been doing very well in foster care. She is housetrained for the most part, but will not always let her foster mom that she has to go out to defecate since she gets very busy exploring. When she just needs to urinate, she finds her people and dances around. Her foster mom is working with Zoe to teach her that she needs to signal for all of her elimination needs. After meals, Zoe is leashed to one of her person and she is taken out periodically.

Crate trained and generally well-behaved in the house, Zoe does not get onto the furniture, but surely would like to be invited up so that she may be on your lap! It’s a very good thing that she is a petite little girl and only weighs 28 pounds! While her foster mom is home, Zoe has run of the house with the resident dogs and cats; when her family is out, Zoe is crated for safety. She has showed no signs of chewing, though, and does not mind her crate. If given the chance to counter-surf, she definitely would! Zoe would also check out the trash if the opportunity was there, but she has not gotten into it. She is just curious about it.

Although she lived with a ten year old girl while in her previous home and was exposed to a three months old with no problem, it would be best if Zoe’s forever home had children on the older side of ten because Zoe needs to develop and go through her own “toddler” years. She is currently living with the three resident senior dogs and three cats, all of whom get along well. Zoe would like to play with the resident dogs and will initiate playtime; however, due to the dogs being seniors, they do not always want to play and they let her know this. When this happens, she just walks away and lies down. Zoe is more curious of the cats and one that is declawed will actually play with her. For the most part, she doesn’t really care about them. Zoe does not play very much with toys or even chew bones or raw hides as she seems to not know what to do with them. When not playing, Zoe is content to just lie down with her canine friends or be at her foster mother’s side.

Zoe definitely likes to be the boss! Sometimes when the other dogs are getting a belly rub or some attention that she wants, she will grumble at them, but once quickly reprimanded, she will stop. Zoe has an extremely high energy level that comes with being a puppy. She is learning to “sit” when told and does this very nicely when she is getting her leash on and at feeding time. She has learned very quickly that the first one to “sit” when the dogs come in from potty breaks is the first one to get a treat, so she usually gets hers before the resident dogs! Zoe definitely knows what the word “no” means. When she is doing something that she is not supposed to do and is told “No,” she immediately stops. Zoe will most definitely benefit from the obedience classes MAESSR requires for adopted Springers a year or younger. She is a very smart little girl and aims to please. When her foster mom first comes in the house and lets her out of her crate, she is an absolute nut! Her mom typically ignores her for a moment or two when this happens and Zoe settles down quickly. She wants a pat on the head and knows that when she is acting “crazy,” she does not get attention.

When it comes to walking on the leash, Zoe has a little bit of a problem since she does like to pull. Even at 28 pounds, she is a strong little girl. At first Zoe was very frightened of the leash, but now she sits nicely because she realizes it is a good thing, plus the fact that she gets a treat! At night time Zoe sleeps in the bedroom with her foster mom and the other resident dogs. She very much likes to cuddle up with her canine buddies and they permit her sleeping with them. Zoe loves to ride in the car and is very well behaved; she just sits and looks out the window.

Is there room on your lap for this total love bug?