My name is Joey!

This adorable little love bug is Joey. He is a sweet 4-5 year old Shih Tzu who loves nothing more than hanging out with his people and giving and receiving affection. He is a small dog and weighs 15 lbs. He has big, adoring eyes that peak out from his kind little face. He is a very nice looking dog and people often comment on his lovely coat of soft white and tan hair.

Joey is a little shy at first, but quickly warms up to people (especially if there are treats involved). If you bend down to pet him he will either flop onto his back for a belly rub or weave in and out of your legs while rubbing up against you. He just loves affection and makes happy little grunting noises when he is getting snuggles and cuddles. It’s so cute!

Joey is so well behaved. He is a happy little guy who just wants to enjoy life with his companion human(s). He has been an absolute dream to have as my guest while we look for his forever home. He is so polite and just wants to please his human. He will sit in the kitchen while I prepare his food - he doesn’t beg - he just makes those cute little grunting noises which tempts me to give him an extra scoop of food (but I don’t)!

He is perfectly house trained and hasn’t had a single accident, however, I am around most of the time so I do let him out very regularly throughout the day. He sleeps comfortably and quietly in his crate at night (beside my bed) and has a soft, thick blanket inside the crate so he can snuggle up. He’s trying very hard to tolerate his crate when I leave the house, but since he was abandoned in his crate, it’s easy to understand why he is apprehensive of being left alone in it. When I return, he is quite anxious to get out – he whines and barks a little and scratches at the door of the crate. His new forever family will need to continue training him to exit the crate calmly – this won’t happen quickly, it will require a lot of patience and repetition. Joey was abandoned in his crate in a dog park so it will take some time for him to realize that he won’t ever be abandoned again. He has to be crated when left alone though as he can get up to mischief if not crated as many dogs do.

Joey is normally quite quiet. He barks when someone comes to the house and he quiets down quickly. He will bark if there is a strange noise on the other side of the backyard fence, but he is learning to quiet down when I ask him to. Joey was great on leash from the start. He doesn’t pull while walking – he has great respect for the leash. I’ve walked him on both a harness and a flat collar and he is happy to walk beside or just behind me. And on his first day with me I included him on a walk with my other two dogs - he fit right in as though he had walked with us a hundred times. It is obvious, due to the low muscle mass on his hind end, that Joey didn’t get enough exercise in his past. Even though he is a small dog with fairly low-to-medium energy it’s still important that he get daily exercise through walking. His new forever family will need to dedicate time to walking him daily to maintain his health and to build his muscles and keep his bones strong. This boy deserves a long, healthy life.

Joey will suit a lot of different living arrangements including apartments. Wherever he lives he will only want to be with his human companions so it doesn’t really matter to him. He’s enjoying my fenced-in backyard, but I suspect he wouldn’t miss it much as long as his human companion is nearby.

I gave Joey a bath on the first day (phew, he needed it!) and he was such a good little boy and made his happy little grunting noises as if to say he enjoyed the massage and the warm water. So it surprised me to discover he doesn’t like the rain – at all! It seems Joey has some princess qualities and doesn’t like to get his little feet wet. The morning of our first rainy day together he put on the brakes at the back door and refused to go outside. I had to put a leash on him and encourage him to go outside. This is an example of his Shih Tzu stubbornness coming out a tiny bit, but with consistency and strong leadership he will work with you and do as you ask. He doesn’t like it when you try to inspect his feet. Nail trimming will definitely be a two person job or that can be left to the groomer to do. Joey is a smart little guy. He’s not toy motivated, but he is highly motivated by treats! He would be a really fun guy with whom to practice trick training. He quickly caught on to the rules of the house and our daily routine. And he is catching on quickly to basic training. He’s such a wonderful dog and so easy to have around. He will be a star at dog school and obedience classes also help a new forever family to form a strong bond with their new dog. As I mentioned, Shih Tzu’s can be a wee bit stubborn, so establishing the leadership role with Joey is very important. Obedience classes can be a great help to get off on the right foot (or paw).

Joey is being fostered with my two other dogs. At first when he sees another dog he will bark, but he will quiet once he gets a chance to properly meet the other dog and to sniff them. His new family will need to learn and apply proper greetings when he meets other dogs. After the first greeting he rarely pays much attention to the other dogs. It would be good for his new foster family to continue to socialize Joey with other well-behaved dogs. He gets along well with his foster siblings, but doesn’t interact very much with them. I can tell he’s curious about the playing that goes on between his foster siblings, but he doesn’t get involved. Although he would also do well with other small and well-behaved dogs, I suspect Joey would do better as an only dog as he really just loves being with his humans. In fact he enjoys human companionship so much that I probably should have named him Buddy. I actually call him Buddy as much as I call him Joey – it just comes out so naturally because he’s really a great little companion.

Joey has some food allergies that his new forever family will need to manage for him. We suspect this is the reason he was abandoned because it certainly isn’t because of his sweet temperament and totally adorable face! Due to the allergies Joey has some skin issues which resulted in some hair missing from his throat area (which will grow back). The itchy red areas on his feet and legs have disappeared since we put him on hypo-allergenic food (and he has stopped munching on himself). He has improved greatly and we are confident that a diet of hypo-allergenic dry food and healthy treats will prevent his skin issues from returning. Joey will always need to be on a hypo-allergenic food for the rest of his life. And any treats that Joey receives must be very high quality and with only a few ingredients and absolutely no chemical preservatives.

Joey is really quite delightful to have around. He is so adorable. He’s like an animated teddy bear and I have to stop myself from wanting to pick him up and hug him ALL THE TIME! But that’s not what Joey needs. Like all dogs, no matter the size, Joey needs a healthy balance between affection and calm leadership.

Joey is not being fostered with children. But we are confident that because of his gentle nature he will do well in a family with children over 10yrs of age who can understand and respect the needs of a dog. Joey is not being fostered with cats and has had no interaction with cats so we cannot comment on how he would react around cats or other small animals.

Joey is a charming dog and will make a wonderful companion for someone – will that someone be you?

All Pound Dog Rescue dogs are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, heartworm tested, de-wormed (if required), and micro-chipped prior to adoption. The adoption donation of $400 is applied to assist in the costs of veterinary care and the overall care of the dog. For more information and adoption applications please consult our website at www.pounddog.ca.