Surrender form

Here are some of the questions on the Surrender form:

Housetrained? Yes, they both will let me know when they have to go out. Moped hasn't had an accident in the house in weeks.

Crate trained? Yes, they both sleep in their kennels at night and only whine when they want out to go to the bathroom.

Dogs reaction to other dogs? Moped goes to doggy day care and is around lots of dogs of all breeds and sizes. Moped also plays well with the dogs at All Breed in training. He gets along with them all. Skooter gets along okay with the dogs at training but they don't really socialize so I don't know how he would do with that. I haven't tried to take him to doggy day care. I should bring him over just to be evaluated. When we lived with the kids and grandkids for a year, they had two dogs and Skooter got along great with them. They were buddies. He missed them when they moved back to Wisconsin. That's why we got Moped - to keep Skooter company. Moped was also around my friends dog when they were a bit younger and he did just fine.

Dogs reaction to children? Skooter did really well when we lived with our kids and grandkids for a year. The grandkids were 6 and 7. Skooter never growled at them or bit them. Moped hasn't really been around kids, but I'm sure he'd do well because he's always happy.

Dogs reaction to strangers? Skooter will growl or bark depending on how near they are. If they are in the house, he might cower and shake, but he'll get friendly with them pretty quickly, especially if they give him treats. I don't think Moped knows what a stranger is. He gets along great with the people at All Breed (counselors, trainers, other owners) and at doggy day care.

Dogs reaction to cats? Skooter chases our cats but doesn't fight with them. He just enjoys they thrill of the chase. Paulie, our male cate, will chase after Skooter when the mood hits him. He's come out to the living room to chase Skooter down. Skooter backs off. Moped doesn't know wht to make of the cats. He seems to be interested in them but is a bit hesitant because they hiss at him.

Dogs reaction to being alone in a fenced yard? Skooter has taken to jumping the fence (it's about four feet tall) and running around the neighborhood. He doesn't get into any trouble and he always comes home within half an hour, usually within ten minutes. Moped stays in the yard despite the fact that he could easily jump the fence. Skooter will one day be a great 'agility' dog.

Dogs reaction to being alone in the house? They both are fine being left alone in their kennels. I've left them for hours at a time and they are fine when I get home. They are usually very happy to see me and want to go outside, but they seem happy. Skooter can sometimes be left out of his kennel when I'm gone, but not for too long. He'll get bored and decide to chew on something he shouldn't. Moped cannot be in the house alone. He's tear the place up.

Dogs reaction to being alone in a car? Skooter does fine in the car alone. He waits patiently at the window. Moped can't be left in the car alone.

What does your dog like best? Skooter loves to take a nap on the couch with me. He loves laying on a blanket. He loves playing with Moped. He loves Raw Meaty Bones to munch on. He loves to run and explore. He loves to chase rabbits. Moped loves to run and play. He's not much into cuddling or napping yet.

What does your dog dislike? Skooter doesn't like strangers or new situations; doesn't like being in his kennel for too long and doesn't like it when he's not the center of attention. Moped doesn't like being in his kennel for too long. I think he loves everything else in the world. :-)

What does your dog fear? Skooter fears strangers and new situations. Sometimes it even makes him shake. But he gets over it fairly quickly. Moped only seems to be afraid when Skooter is warning of 'impending doom'. :-)

How does your dog react when fearful or unhappy? Skooter will cower and shake or bark. Sometimes he whines. Moped is rarely fearful or unhappy. When he is he'll whine, vocalize (we call him 'the Wookie') or bark some.

How does your dog spend it's day? If you read the Dog Blog you'll know how they spend their days. But to make a long story short: Up in the morning and out of the kennels, out to go to the bathroom. Breakfast. Inside to play for an hour or so. Back in the kennels for a nap. Up again to go out. Inside for training and then play time. Back in the kennels for another nap. Up again for another play time then back in the kennels for dinner. Out for training and then play time. They go to bed around 9pm-10pm each night. Occaisionally they wake me up in the middle of the night to go out to the bathroom, but will go out, come right back in and get in their kennels to go back to sleep. That's a typical day.

Where does your dog sleep? They both sleep in separate kennels.

Has your dog ever bitten a person or another dog? Nope, only play fighting.

Has your dog had any training? Skooter had training when he was younger at PetsMart. It was just basic training. He did okay. Skooter and Moped are currently in Obedience training at All Breed Rescue and Training. They are learning basic commands. They are also doing a door program at home to teach them to wait when someone rings the bell/comes in the house. That is going slowly. They also both had three training sessions with Bark Busters. That was the most horrible experience for Skooter. I think some of the fear he has now is because of the Bark Buster's 'training' (I use the word very loosely, it was more like torture - I feel guilty that I ever did that to them).

What behaviors can they perform? sit, flat (down), wait, kennel, and bedtime; they do NOT do these commands consistently; Moped is better at obedience training than Skooter is, but I think that's because Moped is younger.

What are your dog's bad habits? Skooters is definitely his affinity for whining. Chewing on inappropriate things (even when tons of chew toys are around) comes in a close second. Moped's bad habit is jumping on the furniture. Chewing on inappropriate things is a tie with jumping on the furniture.

Why are you giving up your dog? We should have gone for counseling before we got a dog so we would choose the right breed for our lifestyle. But we didn't. David has always wanted a bird dog and so we got a bird dog. We had no idea that they would be so high energy, high activity and high maintenance. We have a low energy, activity, maintenance lifestyle. Now we know better. But the dogs are suffering for our ignorance.

Describe the ideal home for your dog: Skooter would be best in a home without cats and where he could get lots of attention and activity. He likes being the top dog. Moped would be best in a home that is high energy, has tons of activity and doesn't mind a high maintenance dog (as far as attention goes). They both need a place that has a big yard that they can run around in and expend some of the energy they have bottled up.

Nicknames: Skooter - Skoots, Skooter Pie and Mr. Wiggles; Moped - Mopes and Puddin' Pop

Anything else you need to know? They both need to be loved unconditionally.