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uld probably chase cats. He was adopted and returned after nipping a child while upsupervised after only being in the home for two days. Dempsey is settling into his temporary foster home. He will do best in a home with older children.
FROM DEMPSEY'S TEMPORARY FOSTER MOM: Dempsey is a super cute dark brindle boxer boy who we estimate is around 2 years old. He was saved by Across America Boxer Rescue from a shelter working to maintain a no kill status in Lafayette, Indiana. He has spent way too much of his young life confined to a kennel and unsocialized. This cute little peanut needs some work with feeling safe in new situations, and understanding that there will always be enough: love, attention, food, water and time for him from now until forever.
He hasn’t figured out the ecstasy of floppy toys or the achievement felt when the last morsel is extracted from a kong! He needs a person who has the time and energy to walk the line between crazy, wild, mouthy, sassy puppy child and refined, sophisticated and mature boxer boy.
He is unsure about his place with other dogs, and his previous choices have been to try and dominate the relationship, his foster brothers are veterans with fosters and don’t mind too terribly being bossed around or neglected for a while as the new dog acclimates, a new brother or sister might become jealous and that could create a potential problem.
He has concerns about making sure his needs are met, indicating that the pattern has been that they have not been, but he has done well with firm boundaries and a lot of encouragement and reassurance. He bonds VERY quickly with his people and seems to have the view that if he controls the people he controls the resources; which to his credit, is not wrong. (and seriously with that face it works particularly well.) A concern that I have is that he will need slow and thorough introductions with his new house dogs. When he is afraid he gets snarly, which is an unacceptable behavior for any young dog, but he has settled in to our home so much faster than I ever expected!! And I am so proud of him!! He was tethered to me for the first 3 days, learning in my immediate proximity the house rules. We took several walks to help relieve the tension in the house, which worked remarkably well. My old boys got a chance to relax and he used up some of his excess energy and had a resetting sniff.
The third day we had some off leash time, but no play was allowed with the boys. He was allowed to play with me, and dare I say it’s been a long time since there has been a puppy in this house and I got boxed a couple of times, so keep your dukes up!! There were still a couple of snarly incidents over visitors and food control. He remains overly interested in the food bowls. He has mellowed about visitors after some practice and management.
He has slept in his kennel every night and settles down nicely; he particularly likes Arty Wu meditations while he is settling down for bed (yes, I tried others). The first couple of nights he had some loud and righteous indignation at being confined yet again, but dogs make bad choices and he does not respect the baby gate boundary as of 10/29/16.
He loves going for a walk and is the most superb leash walker I have ever had the privilege of fostering! I motion that this would be an EXCELLENT opportunity for crafting a bond in his forever home! He is a very smart boy! A small obedience course would be an amazing exercise for this boy; I suggest having one set up prior to placement and beginning immediately upon arrival. Not only would it provide a bonding experience, but controlled exposure to other dogs doing “their own thing”.
The sixth day he was allowed to play with Georgia, because he asked and she expressed interest. He is somewhat overzealous in his play; hard nibbling, lip “biting” (in play, but rough), boxing hard and pouncing. The play was acceptable, but was broken up while it was still a positive experience for both dogs. Dempsey was redirected to play with us and Georgia was sent to get a play facilitator (a toy! J )
There have been several “plays” in the subsequent days and he has been allowed to remain with the boys while I use the bathroom, or while they are sunning in the afternoon. He has maintained and improved his acceptance of them, and they of him.
This boy has a bright future ahead of him if his improvement continues on this level! I am incredibly and increasingly hopeful that he has the capacity to make good choices when his needs are consistently being met.
We continue to work on:
- Using toys to play and not mouthing on hands.
- Taking turns getting snacks and waiting in line for the water bowl.
- Maintaining patterned feeding schedule and feeding routine to establish feelings of food security
- Walking like an absolute boss on the leash
1/6/17 UPDATE: Dempsey will be starting obedience classes with his foster mom and dad.