Joey is a 10 year old breeder release. He is fostered in Plymouth, WI.

Where he has been: We do not know much about Joey’s past.  However, his foster mom can draw a pretty accurate picture.  He has been crated for most of this life. It is an absolute certainty that he has not had a kind hand touch him.  He hasn’t yet, in his 10 years of life, experienced what it is to be a dog.  He is unsure of everything, nothing seems safe to him.  He is scared of noises, the wind, humans, outside, all of it. So very afraid.  He has been around other dogs, and has learned to bark, a lot.  He has never been potty trained, so that is foreign to him. He probably just pottied in his crate.  He has not had access to fresh water (or any water), because he doesn’t know what to do with it, and does not seek it out. He has had to eat as fast and as much as he possibly could in the time allotted, or he has been so hungry that eating as fast as he could is the norm for a hungry dog.

Where he is now:  He is SLOWLY learning what it means to be a dog, he is enjoying freedom from the crate, but still looks for the darkest, farthest, coldest place away from anyone when frightened.

He will run around the yard as fast as he can, never stopping to do any sniff tests, will eventually do his business if he sees and smells other dogs doing the same. But again, being outside in the open, is so very scary.  Too much open space is overwhelming.   He then runs to the door, and scratches and barks to come in but then he is very reluctant to step into the house, can only do so with another dog, so far. Rather he will bark and scratch and when the door is  opened, he runs away, only to come back and do it again.  I feel like he is getting closer to coming in on his own, but so far, it is just too much of a risk for him to take.  He has had very few accidents in the house, can “ hold it” in the crate, never tried for more than 7 hours at night. The other dogs have helped him greatly in learning where to potty.

He appears to like women more than men in general, but if anyone walks out of the room where he is, he will bark like crazy when they return, like he forgot they were in the  next room.  The next room just doesn’t seem to exist for him. He likes kids, and did well with 2 respectful kids, aged 8 and 11.  In his 40+ days at his foster home, he has never stepped foot into the kitchen, and it is a great room setting, so there are no doors to go through, he just won’t go in there, too scary, too many unfamiliar smells and sounds.  He has warmed up to his foster mom, but will still cower when she reaches for him more than half the time.  If left alone, he will seek her out, but only if she is sitting down.  Foster mom bending down to reach for him, or pet him, is too scary.

He LOVES his canine foster brothers and sister.  He lays with them, you can see him visibly relax when he is with them, when everyone is calm.  He doesn’t want to go in the crate  during the day, but will run in there at night and is quiet.  He will scratch on the door (no barking) if he has to go out during the night, but generally sleeps through the night.  He has almost completely stopped running from foster mom when she goes to pick him up, but still will run at times, and needs to be left alone to decide, and she usually sits down and then he comes to her on his own.

He eats as fast and furiously as he can, MUST have wet food, but not dripping, as he doesn’t understand the liquid concept.  He is using a slow eat bowl and that has helped a lot.  Eating a senior diet of kibble that has been wetted, and soft senior food. He drinks no water, so food is well moistened.

Joey lost 16 teeth at his dental, but his breath smells so much better and he seems to feel better physically.

His tail has wagged only a few times, all when met with gentleness and kindness and at his own pace.

Joey is very afraid of the leash and walking on it.  As can be expected. He has not EVER had experience with that. If he got away from his person, though, he would be gone, has no concept of where he is, who to come back to, and doesn’t know anything about coming when called, especially if he got loose outside of a fence.  He would run and run until he couldn’t anymore.  A fenced in yard is a requirement for Joey.

Once everyone and everything is settled for the evening, he is very content and seems to thrive on sitting with his person and being petted and scratched and held.

He doesn’t use a belly band or a pee pad.

Where he is going: Joey will need a family that understands that he is learning for the 1st time what freedom, kindness, enough food, a routine, pottying outside, is like.  He will start from the ground up again with his new family and will need to re-learn to trust what he has learned to trust at his fosters.  He will never be a playful/carefree dog, but he can learn to be content and unafraid.

He is a barker, and I don’t know if that will subside, he barks a lot at any unfamiliar noise.. at anyone entering the room, even if they are gone 5 minutes. Joey cannot go to an apartment of home with shared walls.

He is most comfortable with other dogs, that is the one constant from his old life to new, he needs another dog, big or little, to pal around with, to gain confidence, to mimic.

MEDICAL:

Joey is neutered and is up-to-date on immunizations.  He recently had a dental and lost 16 teeth.