In July 2011, Patty will attend our Saturday adoption events: 7/09 and 7/23 from 12:30p to 2:30p. Saturday events are located at Urbanimal 2106 Lyndale Av S., Minneapolis, opposite The Wedge Co-op. (www.urbanimal.com)
All of our foster dogs can be seen by appointment. Email Us
Patty is 6 years of age & was rescued from a puppy mill. She is great with other dogs & just adorable.
Here is a letter from her foster family:
Temperament: Patty needs time to learn to trust new humans. She has been with us for a month, and has learned to relax and enjoy our family, but it took her some time. She is a sweet, loving dog and very much wants to be part of the family, but she is still very nervous, and tends to skitter away from the activity. She rarely barks and is normally very quiet. Most of the time she is free to roam on the main level of the house, and her favorite spot is in the corner of the big sectional couch. She feels “safe” tucked in the corner, but is able to be close to the family and get lots of petting. She is not a hyper dog. Other than her nervousness, she is very mellow. The only thing we’ve found that consistently gets her really upset is if you rush at her to quickly pick her up. She is also very hesitant to walk up the front step and into the house. At first she had to be carried inside. Now she will come in on her own with gentle coaxing. She is allowed to roam free during the day, even when we leave, and she is always very well behaved.
Housetraining: We keep Patty on a strict eating schedule, and she is now housetrained. She goes for a potty walk, along with our other dog, every morning at about 6:30 a.m. and every evening at about 6:00 p.m. We have not figured out a “cue” she uses to communicate that she needs to go out, but we take her out at her scheduled times, and she doesn’t have accidents in between. We use the word “potty” to encourage her to go, and “good potty” to praise her when she goes. She does not like to be petted after she potties, and is not interested in a treat at that time.
Food: Patty is very nervous about eating around people. She has her own food dishes, separate from our other dog, and they both eat in different areas of the kitchen. Once the food goes down, she circles around and around nervously before she finally starts to eat. Then she will grab a few pieces and run away. We feed her about a half cup of dry food (NutriSource Adult Chicken and Rice formula) twice a day. We feed her at 7:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. after coming in from the potty walk. p>
Treats: She will only occasionally take a treat from our hand, but she will eat them if you set them down for her. .
Sleeping/crating: Patty curls up at the bottom of the bed and sleeps quietly all night. She also sleeps quietly in the pet carrier as long as she is in our room. .
Other dogs/kids: We have another small poodle who is also 5 years old. She is not bothered by him in the least. They don’t interact much or play. We have two boys, ages 15 and 11. She is very good with them. I think if she were around small children, she would be extremely skittish and nervous because she struggles with lots of noise, fast movement and unexpected touching.
Leash: She has come a long way with walking on the leash. When she first came to live with us, she would freak out on the leash. Now she loves to go for her walks twice a day, and she walks perfectly on the leash, staying right at your heel.
Shedding/grooming/bathing: She is a very low shedding dog. We find a few hairs a day. She will need to have her hair cut at the groomer periodically. She tolerates being bathed in the tub very well.
To fill out an online adoption application please visit our Website.
PLEASE NOTE: Underdog Rescue will only return phone calls from the following area codes: 952 - 612 - 763 - 651. If you are calling from another area code and live within 60 miles of Minneapolis, please leave a local telephone number or we will be unable to return your call. We only adopt within 60 miles of Minneapolis, MN.
Underdog Rescue animals are fostered in individual homes. While they are in our care, they are part of our families. We work on training, crate-training and socialization prior to adoption. Each animal's behavior is evaluated and we have a sense of their temperament and personality. All of our foster animals are fed a premium diet such as Solid Gold, Canidae, or Orijen pet food. Each is given lots of love. We look for adopters who will give each animal the wonderful life and permanent home that he or she deserves.
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