Tess English Setter Hilliard, OH

Dog’s Name: Tessa
Age: 4 yrs
Gender: Female
Breed: English Setter
Color: Blue Belton
Weight: 42 lbs

Summary
Tessa is a beautiful, blue Belton, Field Type English Setter. She came into rescue from a less-than-ideal outdoor situation that resulted in a bad skin condition and minimal sunburned hair. She has taken to indoor life with lots of couch-napping and bed-hogging like the princess that she truly is. This lady is beautiful, inside and out. She has wonderful manners in the house and gets along great with other dogs, larger humans, and especially the younger ones. Almost no bad habits to mention, although we hear that she’s less than pleased with cats. She has an amazing hunting drive and a need to protect, so she will need a large yard to own and patrol, hopefully with plenty of pesky small animals to regulate – or a similar outlet. Given her ration of hunting time, she is a regular on the couch, preferably as close to her human as possible. She can easily sprawl across a king-sized bed and still manage to touch you at all times. She is well-behaved in a crate, but is completely trustworthy left to her own devices in the house. She is currently packing in the calories to fill out her girlish figure and regrow a stunning coat so that she can be mistaken for a long-haired Dalmatian. She is running with a pack of four in her foster home, and even 3 reptiles that she shows no interest in, and is going to leave her foster family in tears!

1. Please list some adjectives you would use to describe this dog.
Happy, active, energetic, playful, tolerant, devoted

2. Anything unique about the dog that would be of interest EX: markings, interests, quirks, etc? Have you discovered something that would be really good to explore with this dog like being around water, agility, therapy dog training, etc?

Tessa is or was a fantastic hunter. She is very well-trained and she patrols the yard as much as possible. If she had an outlet to continue her..work.. I believe that it would be very beneficial to her. She has a high drive for outdoor work and I believe it is what makes her so relaxed and laidback in the house. She also loves children, females in particular, and would be wonderful in any work involving kids.

3. What commands or skills seem to be mastered?
She can sit and I believe that she knows hunting commands, but I don’t, so there has been no way for me to test that.

4. What commands or skills do you need to address? Any bad habits like excessive jumping, countersurfing, pulling on leash?

She is nervous in the city, and doesn’t do well on the leash there. She pulls, but is in no way unmanageable. ..I have brought her to work downtown a few times and it has been challenging to spot where she would go to the bathroom with so many sounds to distract her...She is an escape artist at first in a new environment. When she first arrived, she escaped our 6’ privacy fence twice, and ran out the front door once. She came back the first time, while I was still looking, and was returned by a good Samaritan the other two. After realizing that this is...home” for now... she has relaxed and shows no inclination to leave the fence or the house. It will be something that a future family would need to watch, especially in the beginning...Her neck is also ..between sizes.. on a collar. The medium is too tight and rubs her skin off, but the large one allows her to wiggle her head out if she’s trying. Definitely something to watch right now... She can jump a baby gate with no effort at all, and does so at night if she has to go to the bathroom. I put a gate up at the door to keep my other dogs from roaming out of the bedroom with us. She loves to dig a hole in the yard, but always in pursuit of an animal in the yard.

5. How does this dog get along with new people, new sounds, and new activities? Any particular ways she seems to cope with stress or uncertainty?
She gets a little nervous in new settings, but only for a few minutes –as long as her person is nearby. When I’ve taken her to work, she was curious and stayed by my side, but within 30 minutes, was exploring and making friends with anyone who would pet her. She is extremely well-behaved at the vet and everyone remarked upon it.

6. How does the dog interact with other animals, children, and people at the door? What do your personal pets seem to think of her?
She allows my giant puppy to abuse her at will and tolerates it all. She is not the dominant dog and defers to the stronger personalities in my pack of dogs. I have to make sure that she gets to eat, since she will walk away from her food if the other dogs are watching her. She gets along with all of them, male and female, although she doesn’t have a particular interest in playing with them. She does take her laps and coordinates her stalking of the chipmunks in the yard with foster brother. She doesn’t run for anyone at the door, and she does not jump up. She adores children though, little girls especially, but doesn’t seek them out to play; she waits until they are seated and then makes a spot next to them and will stay there forever. She loves personal attention, and that is the only sticking point with my other dogs, who are also all about personal attention… I was told that she is not good with cats, but I haven’t tested that myself. Given how trainable she is, I find it hard to believe that this couldn’t be worked around.

7. Do you have any concerns about this dog that would limit the types of people who should adopt her?
On initial meeting, several people have commented that they ..wanted her..because she is very calm and settled and so sweet. All of that is true. However, I think that she is calm and settled because she gets at least an hour each morning hunting and guarding a very large yard and running a lot. She gets many opportunities to expend her energy each day. Without it, and without a hunting-type outlet, I think that she would be much more nervous and a different dog inside. I think that she not only needs a large yard, but one that will provide her with the mental stimulation that she needs.

8. Why do you think someone would enjoy this dog as an adopted pet?
She is just a joy and a beautiful soul, inside and out. If I didn’t have four of my own, there is no way that I would let her go. She is going to be physically beautiful as well. She loves to snuggle, get belly-rubs, and just be with you. She is not destructive at all and will make someone the perfect companion.

Additional comments…..
When Tessa arrived, she was very thin with almost no hair from her mid-ribcage back. What hair she did have was burned to a brown color and her skin was horribly inflamed and scabbed over. She was very sweet and eager to please but also very nervous and escaped several times. With a little space and letting her take things at her pace, she came around quickly and is a wonderful girl. She is a picky eater, but needs to be a free-eater to get her calories. She also gets satin balls each day to boost her intake for both her weight and her skin healing. She is crate-trained and house-trained, and is trustworthy alone without being in a crate. She is free to roam my house during the day when I’m at work and is not destructive and is generally doing her happy dance when we get home. That said, she loves to go with me to work and will try to get into the garage to get into the car if she can. She has no car manners though and would much prefer to ride in your lap, even with as large as she is. She is also a bed hog and will lie prone for hours if she thinks that she’s going to get a belly rub. She really is just a pretty perfect setter and an absolute sweetheart. It breaks my heart that she was ever kept in bad conditions and not treated like the princess that she is.

If you are interested in adopting her or another OESR dog, you must complete the application process at www.oesr.org. We will not be able to answer your questions about this dog until you have completed the adoption process.

All adoptive homes must have a fenced yard or other type of containment or boundaries for the dog. Vet and personal reference checks as well as a home visit will be conducted prior to final adoption approval for all OESR dogs.

Adoption fees range from 250.00 to 395.00