I haven't had the chance to tell you about my foster dog Tucker because I've been so busy working with him.
Let me tell you his story.
Southern Cross Boston Terrier Rescue got a call about a small Boston Terrier in the Louisville, KY shelter. They had tried to adopt him out at the shelter, but while in his cage one day, a worker stuck their hand in and he nipped at them. Since it drew blood, they had to quarantine him. As soon as he was allowed out of quarantine, our rescue picked him up.
He was transported to me. At this time, his name was Theo. My first introduction to him was he jumped up from the floor and his tooth meet mine. Yep, first realization that I had a jumper. He was excellent on the car ride home.
Once at home, I started watching him very closely to see what all we needed to work on. A lot of big dogs terrified him, he's overly anxious when it comes to food, he has a very small attention span, he's more anxious and on guard around men, he's pushy with his foster sister.
After realizing these were the things that need to be worked on, the process started. First order of business...change his name. I had to disassociate him with his life at the shelter. Every time I looked at him, all I could think of was Tucker. So I called him Tucker to see what he would do. He instantly looked at me and started minding. So there it was. He was Tucker!
He's very food driven. I had to learn to get him to focus. I started using Cheerio's to teach him to sit. I think it was actually his foster sister, Daisy, that taught him to sit! After sit, he learned the wait command. He does very well with this command. It's actually impressive with his short attention span.
Because he's overly excited when it's dinner time, I worked extremely hard with him on learning to be calm, sit and wait for food. He's a different dog. It's amazing. Even after he's eaten, he's learned that he can't take Daisy's food. So he will sit next to her while she's eating and not try to go after her food. As soon as she's done and I've given him the okay, he will then, and only then, lick her bowl!
As far as big dogs and men. This was a bit of work. I had a guy and his dog come over and help me with this. I have to say, this was foreign territory to me. I had never had to work on this with another dog before. They slowly got closer to Tucker. Once we saw that the other dog was stressing him out too much, we put the dog in another room and focused on Tucker with men. Once he had warmed up and wasn't scared at all, we brought the dog back in. Tucker was also getting a "attitude adjustment". He needed to know who was in control. He was put on his side in a submissive position. The other dog started out way across the room and slowly moved toward Tucker over a period of time. Tucker did a lot better with him. It still took some time, but within minutes, the two dogs were laying next to each other!
I thought this was conquering his fear of big dogs. Guess I was wrong. I took him to the vet yesterday and he saw a big dog and freaked out. But then he saw another one and did nothing. So I guess it's just going to depend on the dog as to how he will react.
So the question I know you're still trying to figure out. He nipped at someone at the shelter...so what about now? Well, I wish I could say that it's 100% fixed and that he never nips, but I'd be lying. Tucker is only 1 1/2 years old, so he does still puppy nip to an extent. It's getting better and better every single day though.
What type of family and I looking to place Tucker with? A family with a strong hand. Someone that will show him who is boss. Tucker needs this more than anything. He's a fun loving little Boston that could be happy anywhere. But like anyone, he needs structure. He needs a routine. He needs someone to show him that they are in control and he's not. He needs lots of love.
I can't wait to see who will be interested in him! Time to let the fun begin of meeting new people and seeing where the best fit for Tucker will be.
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