Greetings new family. My name is Peperomia from the Plants Litter, but my foster mom just calls me Pep, and says I definitely have a pep in my step! I originally came to Save-A-Bull with all my puppy brothers and sisters. I was adopted into a home with a mother and two very young girls. From what my foster mom told me, when I started getting bigger, the super tiny humans started to get scared and it overwhelmed mom. So, they made the decision to surrender me so I could be in my dream home. Now I am six months old and living my best adolescent life in my new foster home.
I am currently living in a foster home with an adult brother and sister doggies, and a fostered momma with a litter of five. I get along great with the adult dogs in the house, and would definitely prefer a home with another doggy. One is teaching me how to play and the other one sets the rules and lets me know when I do well – so of course, I try to pay attention as much as my puppy brain will allow and soak it all in. They have been very patient and understanding of me, and actually motivate and cheerlead me when I do awesome things. I also love cuddling with one of the resident dogs, he doesn’t seem to mind me sleeping on his back. I eat in the kitchen with everyone else, and have done a great job of never resource guarding my food – we actually all like to share, kind of like a big buffet! We all train together with treats and I know everyone gets one!
I have been working on training with my foster mom, it helps that she is a professional dog trainer! She always says how happy she is with my potty training progress because I have had very few accidents in the house and am learning to ring the bell if I need to go out. We are making a lot of progress with the “mouthy” behavior – because me being me, I was a little mouthy! I am getting really good at redirection and only mouthing with the other doggy's. I am also working on crate training. I sleep in my crate at night in my foster mom’s bedroom, and tend to sleep through the night. I haven’t had any potty accidents in my crate, because that is where I sleep! I do whine a bit when crated in the main living space, but that’s because I miss you! As far as other obedience training, I am getting really good at name recognition, recall, sitting, down, and recently have been doing well with “leave it” and stays. We are also working on boundary training and impulse control. I have also learned that a quick “uh uh” means I am doing something sneaky and should probably stop.
Toys are the greatest things ever! I am learning the difference between sanctioned toys (balls, ropes, squeakers) and non-sanctioned toys (shoes!!!!). I really like the squeaky toys and rope toys (it helps that mom soaks the rope toys in chicken broth!). But my all-time favorite has got to be munching on a deer antler – I can do that for hours! Because there are so many toys, I haven’t destroyed anything in the house (yet, fingers crossed!). My foster mom laughs at me because I play hard for about 15 minutes and then crash! I also have learned to play independently and can certainly amuse myself if others are busy. My older foster brother does like to play tug with me, and we wrestle bully style! I have also found out that I LOVE the water! Mom has a kiddie pool in the backyard and splashing around in it is the best on hot days. So, if you want a good cabin dog, it might be me!
I am working very hard on becoming a confident and curious girl, and am learning that asking permission by looking at mom is the way to live a good life. I might be a little shy at first, but I warm up quickly with some attention and human confidence! I really like being outside, and found that laying in the sun is a great activity. Mostly, I like to cuddle up with the other dogs or foster mom. Foster mom says that I am really smart, so I am looking forward to learning how to be a really good girl!
My ideal family would be one with an older dog I can follow around, play with and learn from, and older kids and parent(s) who won’t get spooked by me being a puppy still (I’m about 40 lbs. right now). Mostly, I realize that I am very much enjoying a calm and chill household here at my foster home, and that makes me nice and relaxed. I would love to meet you!
