10-07-2015:  Poor Freckles was owner surrendered back to Pet Rescue by Judy.  The reason he was returned after being in a home for over a year is because he growled at the pet pig.  He likes other dogs and cats, is housetrained, likes people.  He loves to cuddle and is a people pleaser.  He did live with 2 other dogs...He is also availble to foster/adopt.  From what his previous said "there is absolutely nothing wrong with him".

Energy Level - playful, enjoys walks, chasing a ball and laying near someone

• Food - eats 1 cup of Taste of the Wild dog food twice a day and several treats.  He takes treats gently and can catch them.

• Adaptability - seems fairly confident and quickly adjusted to our home and other dogs

• Behaviors – very friendly, no aggression towards our dogs or to food.  He is very playful – loves digging thru the toy box for something to play with and chasing a ball or stick.

• Human Social Skills – very social - loves people and was comfortable with our family the first day.  He greets visitors playfully at the door.  He was well behaved when he met the neighbor’s children.  He enjoyed them petting him and giving him treats. He did not jump on them.  He enjoys being a lap dog when we let him and likes laying near us in the evening.  He is very gentle and seems to expect to be treated well.  We have seen no signs of neglect or abuse. He wants attention and to be loved.  He gets excited when he sees me in the morning.

• Animal Social Skills – enjoys playing chase with our dogs and puppy wrestles with our 2 year old dog.  He plays well with other dogs at the dog park and enjoyed meeting the neighbor’s Chihuahua on one of our walks.  He seems very happy and comfortable when he meets new dogs.  I don’t think he’s ever had a bad experience with another dog.

• Obedience – knows “Sit”, “Come”, “Wait” (at the door) and catches treats.   He walks fairly well on a leash.  He starts off excited but settles down after a block or two.  We walk him 1 mile during the week and 2 on the weekends or take him to a dog park.  He enjoys running by a bike.  We use a Springer bike attachment to keep him from running in front of the bike (www.springeramerica.com).  He does not jump on people to be petted.

• Training - house broken and crate trained.  We rarely crate him because he sleeps well through the night, gets along well with our dogs and does not destroy things in our home.    

• Personality Quirks – He has a hound dog bark.  He barks outside sometimes when he hears the neighbor’s dog.  He rarely barks inside. 

• Ideal Home - Freckles would enjoy a home with lots of friendly people or with a person that wants a loving companion.  He would enjoy having a home with another playful dog but wouldn’t mind being an only dog if he gets attention from his person or family.  He would enjoy a fenced yard to play in and someone who would throw him a ball or toy to chase.  He sometimes brings them back and seems like he could easily be trained to be a good retriever.  Our dogs distract him. He enjoys walks and daily walks will help him bond quickly.  I think Freckles will make a fantastic family dog because he loves people and dogs.