FOSTER FEATURE: Pretty Maddie came to MCAS with some bad skin issues, but thanks to a loving foster is now back to her gorgeous self and ready to find her home. Foster mom Danielle says, Maddie is a great all around dog. She is fully grown now and weighs about 45 pounds. Her coat is a beautiful dark brown with brindle accents. She truly is an American Shelter Dog; even experienced vets and trainers look at her and shrug when asked to take a guess at her breed. As her fosters, we have seen some hints of a working dog like a border collie; her energy level isn’t as high as a full border collie, but she is extremely athletic, very smart, and eager to figure out puzzles. Maddie is a loving, playful, willing, and ALWAYS hungry companion. She does well playing outside, chasing squirrels and frogs and hunting for turtles, but she also enjoys keeping a spot on the couch warm. She loves going on rides in the car and visiting pet-friendly stores. She knows how and when to turn on the charm in public, and she has always been on her absolute best behavior out in public. One of the most touching things about Maddie is her understanding of children. From the day that she met the children in her foster home (one girl, age 8, and a boy, age 2), she intuitively gathered that kids are fun, kids will play with her, and kids will drop lots of food for her to “clean up”, but also that kids need a lot more leniency as far as invading her boundaries, and kids need her to be gentle, and that kids are to be cherished. Whenever we have visitors with children, Maddie is eager to check them out, but she is still respectful of their space. A recent infant visitor was instantly enamored with Maddie, and could not resist reaching out to pull on her jowls, despite her (the baby’s) mother’s best efforts to pull her away. Part of the reason that it was so difficult for this mother to keep her baby from investigating Maddie’s face was that Maddie was doing her absolute best to make it readily available for the baby to play with. For the entire visit, Maddie doted on the baby and let her poke at her silly looking ears, whiskers, nose, and teeth. In addition, on more than one occasion, Maddie’s foster mom has walked in to a room to find her two-year-old son has set up a railroad scene or construction site, and he and Maddie appear to be investigating it together to check for flaws or needed additions. In this way, Maddie, truly is a family dog and loyal companion! Maddie is already spayed, completely house broken, crate trained, and great on the leash- even with younger bosses at the other end. Her current foster family has someone at home most of the day, so when she needs to be left alone for a couple of hours, Maddie just waits outside or roams free in the house and does fine. One rule at her foster home that makes a difference is that the only toys left on the floor in the room Maddie has access to are dog toys, so that it is clear to her that she is allowed to play with them. So long as there are things for her to play with that are hers, she does a good job of resisting the urge to search for other toys that are not hers. Being food and treat motivated makes Maddie a breeze to train, which is why teaching her Sit, Down, and Shake has all been done in record time. One of the problems that comes with her being so food motivated is that she worries that any other dog around might steal her food. This behavior is an issue anyone working with Maddie needs to be aware of, but it is easy to work around once you know it is there. When any sort of food item is on Maddie’s radar, she goes in to a mode of “MINE!!”. In her foster home, with at least 4 other dogs around at all times, Maddie spends meal times in the safety of her own private kennel, where she knows her food is all hers, safe from greedy foster siblings. To be clear, this behavior has NEVER been directed towards people. If you would like to meet sweet Maddie, please EMAIL mcas_online_team@hotmail with ID A228269.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 22:00:01 +0000