Dot

My story

**IF THIS LISTING IS STILL POSTED THIS DOG IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION. NO NEED TO EMAIL ASKING IF THE DOG IS AVAILABLE. PLEASE READ THROUGH THIS BIO THOROUGHLY AS INFORMATION ON HOW TO APPLY IS CONTAINED IN THIS LISTING* For Adoption: Dot! Please read our dog bios carefully to be sure that the dog you are applying for suits your family and lifestyle. We at PDR believe in the benefits of post-adoption training for our dogs and their families. This allows for continued socialization, learning and helps to create a well-mannered and balanced dog. Post-adoption training is a requirement in our adoption process. To apply for adoption and for more information on our process and requirements, visit our website at https://pounddog.ca/adoption-info/. Hello everyone, please allow me the pleasure of introducing our little sweetie, Dot! Dot is a female Border Collie/Husky X that is approximately 1 year old and about 26lbs in weight. She is not a big girl, that is for sure. She has white fur with a few patches of dark brown in strategic spots. Her ears are a bit spotted and they usually are standing at attention but fold over at the top, they even bounce a bit when she walks. Her legs have some spots around as well. But the real unique spot is right over her left eye, a nice big brown patch that is just so adorable! She came to us from our friends at Save A Dog Network and was found starving and cold in Northern Manitoba. Her name that she came with was Dotty which we loved and just shortened to Dot. It suits her so perfectly and is a super cute and quick name to call her. Dot took a bit of time to get used to our home and people in general. She was very scared after a long night of travelling to reach Ontario and then our home. We gave her space and grace while she adjusted. She was very calm and reserved at first. Cuddling up a lot and just learning the ropes of home life. We had a couple accidents on the first day, but since then it's been smooth sailing and she has mastered house training quite well for being a dog that was used to living outside and fending for herself. Because she was starving and very malnourished when we got her, we had to really work on getting her into better shape. She got a good amount of quality food more frequently in the day to build up her strength. We had no problems with this as she LOVES food and eating. We ended up adding a slow feeder bowl to her routine to help her not gobble up the food so much. We have since been able to decrease frequency and amounts and she is at a much healthier point body size wise now. Dot had a whirlwind of a rough life in Manitoba and an old injury reared its ugly head with us. After some investigating and an x-ray it was discovered that she had some complex injuries. She had an old fracture of the neck of her left femur with the head of the femur in the joint still. It also showed spondylosis of the spine from L6-L7 caudal lumbar vertebra. And to top it off there is a buck-shot pellet in her lower abdominal area that wasn’t causing any issues and they would leave it in place. The spondylosis doesn’t affect her quality of life as she is still getting around just fine. The fracture though needed to be fixed. So she had a femoral head ostectomy performed on February 10th by a specialist. She was a great little patient but it seemed we had a few medication sensitivities that we had to work through. It didn’t keep her down long and she was just feeling much better and wanted to go and do things. Following the keeping her quiet post surgery rules was difficult for her and her age, but we got through it. She got the all clear from the surgeon at her follow up appointment with no restrictions going forward! YAY DOT! Along with that she has also been microchipped, spayed, routine shots given. She was Giardia positive but that isn’t overly unusual for her start in life. She has had several rounds of dewormer too, just as precaution. She is all healthy and fixed up now. Dot really was enjoying her walks before her big surgery and then she needed to rest more to recover. Once she was cleared for more walks we started her out small and went up from there. We do notice she has extra energy and would benefit from a lot of regular exercising. Her breed mix is of 2 high energy breeds and so she absolutely needs to be well exercised to be happy. She gets a short walk in the morning and then a longer walk around 30 minutes in the afternoon. On weekends she gets 2 walks around 30 minutes each and she does well, but I do think more walks or outdoor running time would help her out a lot. Dot is looking for her family to be active people who are very outdoorsy and will hike/run/bike with her and include her on all adventures. Dot is crate trained and she is really great in there. She did have to get used to it far more than expected during the healing of her surgery. She is calm and just sleeps in there mostly. She has a fluffy towel that she will form into whatever is most comfortable for her in the moment. She eats her meals in her crate also and that goes smoothly. She knows when it’s time to eat and is very excited about it. She goes into her crate and sits and waits for us to put the bowl down and isn’t aggressive about it. She sleeps in her crate at night as well and she knows our routine now and doesn’t complain even when my husband leaves for work early in the morning. Even with crazy weather that we have had recently she does great and doesn’t seem afraid of it. We use “in your house” as the cue to go in. Sometimes we do guide her in with her collar just a bit and that just gets her pointing in the right direction and she will go in without complaints. Water is out for her in the main space anytime she is out and about and can help herself. Dot is almost there with her housetraining but especially during transitional periods, like going to a new home, we always say that grace should be given in case of accidents. She does seem to pace a bit more when she has to go, or she will go to the back door. She has learned the routine pretty well and that helps a lot as well. We take her out several times a day just to give her the opportunity to go, and she always does. She has great bladder control and can hold it for several hours and overnight no problems. Dot loves to go for walks and play with our PDR alumni dog. She does enjoy being ‘first’ while going for a walk and pulls forward often. She does like birds but it’s not too bad when she sees some. Other dogs don’t bother her and she won’t bark at them either, although she is interested in them and will want to play with them. We don’t know how she will do with cats as she has had no exposure to them. Dot loves children! Seeing them out on the street during the walk she is not afraid or shy around them and just wants attention from them. We do notice apprehension towards some adults though. Family members took a visit or 2 before she felt comfortable with them. Treats and cuddles help but she sometimes won’t go close enough at first. Our kiddos are almost 13 and 10 and she enjoys hanging out and playing with them. A home with kids over 8yrs of age who can be gentle and quiet with her as she settles in would be fine for Dot. She loves toys of any kind so far. But need to encourage toys vs chewing on the leash or our other dog. Once she is tired of playing she loves to curl up on a dog bed, or a couch alone or with a human. She loves to cuddle up in the most awkward spots sometimes but it melts my heart. Or if she needs her space she will curl up on a couch alone also. Dot is decent in the car and has been on many since she has been to the vet so often. Having her confined in the car is better and safer for her. She does seem to enjoy the rides and doesn’t get car sick or have accidents. Another quirk that we have noticed with her is that she is quite vocal when the doorbell goes or a knock at the door. Especially when she is in her crate at the time she will bark to alert of an intruder. Sometimes even when it’s one of us going in and out she will let us know. When the kids’ friends come in she is vocal about their arrival as well. We understand that can be normal dog behaviour but we want to try to improve it with some training exercises that we were given. We feel as though Dot would benefit from a detached home with a bigger yard for her to have space to run and play. She has a lot of energy and this would be a great outlet for her. She does need a family that has time for her and will keep her socialized, trained, and engaged. We are looking for a family that will be eager about dog school with her as she is so smart and so eager to learn. She will thrive in advanced courses that test her brain. Dot would be a perfect family dog for a family with or without older children, in a detached home with a fenced in yard. She will need an active couple/family/individual to keep her trained and engaged with activity and help her thrive. Another dog is not necessary, but she may benefit from having another young playful dog to keep her entertained and be a companion. A senior dog or very relaxed dog is not the right fit for her as she doesn’t really understand the concept of not playing with another dog. She is a lovely sweet dog and we hope you consider adding this adorably cute girl to your home and family! Name: Dot ID # PDR1341 Age: 1yr Gender: female Spayed: yes UTD vaccines: yes Breed: HuskyX Border Collie Colours: white and black Coat length: med House trained: yes Special needs: no OK with kids: older OK with cats: unknown Ok with dogs: yes Status: adoptable Microchip: yes Size: medium Location: New Hamburg Adoption fee: $800

If you have any questions or would like to adopt Dot, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.