Jessie is a girl with a big heart. She is learning about the world around her and enjoying making new friends wherever she goes. She is still very much a puppy and loves to play but she is also very interested in being part of her pack and so listens and learns quickly. She is approximately 8 - 10 months old and weighs just under 40 lbs.
Here is what her foster mom had to say about Jessie:
Jessie is a very attractive, smart, athletic, curious and affectionate dog. She shows no obvious signs of abuse. Due to her age she is still very “puppy-ish” and benefits from a calm, structured and positive environment where she is promptly rewarded for good behaviour. She understands “no” when she does something inappropriate and learns from it.
She has a lovely soft coat and only sheds a little (white hair). She had her first bath when we brought her home. She was a bit puzzled by it and wanted to get out of the tub but she enjoyed the gentle scrubbing and attention.
She soon got her balance in the car and now loves to go on car rides to the leash free park where she plays beautifully with all breeds and sizes of dogs. She likes to chase and retrieve the ball for short periods. Jessie needs to run and run to burn off her excess energy. When off the leash in a leash free forest she stays with my other dogs and periodically when she strays too far she looks for us and comes running back. She has quickly become “Canadian” as she loves a trip through the Tim Horton’s Drive through and a small piece of bagel or breakfast sandwich as a treat.
Having been introduced to rawhides, she loves them and collects them on her blanket. Sometimes she gets so pleased with herself she rolls around on her back in delight.
Jessie is the ultimate sleeping companion. She is very good in her crate and after a short period of whining quietens down and rests. She loves to spend the night at the bottom of a human’s bed where she stays put and sleeps soundly. I would not leave her alone unless she was crated as she is still in the puppy stage and would no doubt exhibit destructive behaviour.
Jessie is very social. She greets everyone with equal enthusiasm. She has been exposed to adults, teenage girls, college students and men. We haven’t observed her with small children but judging from her temperament we expect she would be fine. Because she is so athletic and hasn’t learned yet to control her exuberance she might accidently knock down small children. She shows no aggression at all with people.
Jessie is a delight to take to the dog park. She interacts very well with all the other dogs in that setting. In close quarters at home she has had a few run-ins with our other dogs when she encroaches on their personal space or tries to play with them (they are small and don’t play) or take away their rawhides. She is learning to respect them and their signals. We have a cat which at first she tried to chase. At this point I would not trust her with cats as she is a very quick mover and I don’t’ believe she realizes that they are house pets.
Jessie has exhibited no fear at all. She is fine with large transport trucks, cars and trains. She was very perplexed with the wind on a very windy day and stood looking up at the sky in confusion. It didn’t seem to bother her. Jessie absolutely loves to be exercised! She needs a lot of exercise and she loves to race around outside, preferably in a leash free forest. Next to that she loves to sleep on the bed with you at night time. When she has been well exercised she will curl up on a chair to nap.
I think that as outgrows her puppy stage she will calm down considerably but she will always need at least 2 good walks a day. At this point, one of them needs to be a half hour free run with in a leash free park or in the fields.
Jessie did not know any commands. She comes when asked unless she is pre-occupied with something more interesting. She is starting to understand “lie down”. She is learning to “sit”. Jessie is on her way to being fully housetrained. She loves car rides and once she has tired of looking out of the window will lie down and curl up on the back seat. Jessie is not fully leash trained yet but she doesn’t pull too much and she is well on her way to being leash trained.
Jessie is learning about house manners. At first she tried to take things from the counter but stopped that within the first day. She will chew things she shouldn’t if she is not fully exercised or if she is bored and left alone to her own devices or is without a rawhide bone. She is comical when she walks around collecting things such as a boot, socks etc. She doesn’t always chew them, but she likes to collect them on her blanket.
Jessie sniffs around the perimeter but doesn’t try to jump up at the fence. It would not be a good idea to teach her to jump (Frisbee) as she is very athletic and could easily jump a fence. She does not bolt out the door, nor does she jump out of the car without being asked. She does like to race around the yard in circles at times and she can run extremely fast.
The ideal home for Jessie would be with a very athletic adult, couple or family who are committed to spending time consistently training her and who understands that it takes time to work through the puppy stage. Her new owners should not expect her to act like an adult dog as she hasn’t been exposed to any training. It would be ideal if one of them liked to jog/hike as Jessie needs a lot of exercise every day at this point in her life. She is very much the kind of dog who bonds easily and strongly with her humans. She would not be happy in an environment where the family is too busy to exercise her and interact with her. She would be fine with an active family if she could accompany them. She would be good with children as long as they were calm and gentle with her and didn’t wind her up in the house. I would not put her with children 6yr and under as she is exuberant and might accidently knock them over. Jessie must have a good run at least once a day plus an additional walk each day or I can see her becoming very unhappy and destructive. Jessie will be a very special loyal companion for the right family or couple. She needs a family that is not going to freak out over puppy misdeeds and a family who does not obsess about keeping a pristine house because she is very active and needs to fully be part of the family with access to most or all parts of the house.
I suggest she be in a family as the only dog or in a family that has a large laid back dog where she can be boss or with a family who has another very active dog with whom she can exercise. I have small un-playful dogs and she is too rough (not mean, just unaware of her physical size) with the submissive Dachshund. I would not place her in a house with small dogs as she is too exuberant and they would become too unhappy being rolled around so much when she wants to play. I think she tends to want to be the dominant dog which she can’t in my house as the “Jug is King” lives here.
If you think Jessie would be a good addition to your family, please visit our website at http://uglymutts.com and submit an application for consideration.
