Mae

Allow me to introduce the marvelous Miss Mae! This sweet girl has a whole lot of personality wrapped up in a small package! Mae is a 4yr old Yorkshire Terrier and Shihtzu mix who weighs 17lbs.  Mae was an unclaimed stray picked up on the streets, but we believe she has lived a life as someone’s companion. She is affectionate and friendly with everyone she meets. To date she has not exhibited any signs of nervousness or insecurity. Quite the opposite – she confidently approaches all kinds of new situations with gusto!

Despite being a terrier breed Mae does not do a lot of barking, but she does love to talk! She will chat at you with her grunts and grumbles to let her intentions be known. 

Mae is house broken, crate trained and knows her important commands (sit, laydown, stay) and has been working on her recall. She does well in the house but is sometimes distracted in the yard and does not always respond when called. We have also been working on her manners around jumping up when she is excited. She is a quick learner and is eager to please, and has responded well to positive reinforcement and praise while working on training exercises. Her excitement can make her a bit bossy and will need to be with a family who is consistent with her training and boundaries, and not let her run the show. She will not be a suitable dog for a first time dog owner.

This little girl is jam packed with energy. When she came into foster she was a touch overweight and out of shape, but she has quickly slimmed down and is ready to go go go. She loves to play with toys, run around the yard with her foster sister and wrestle with her foster family. But what she really loves is walks! Mae will do best with a family who loves the outdoors, and wants to bring her on all sorts of adventures. While in foster care she has been enthusiastic about neighborhood walks, car rides, hikes, and has even tried a bit of swimming. She has also visited several dog friendly businesses and restaurants and has been very well behaved and polite. 

She has done very well with crate training when she is not able to come on adventures with her foster family. Mae curls up comfortably in her crate at night, and uses it as a space to relax when she needs a time out. While she has not exhibited signs of separation anxiety, she was reactive to being crated within eyesight of the door and watching us leave. She has done much better with the crate in a quiet area of the house away from the front door, where she can’t watch us leave. 

Mae has been incredibly polite and well-mannered with her foster sister who is a bit shy and nervous. She can get a bit excited when seeing other dogs on walks but has responded well to corrections. Based on what we have seen she would do well with having another dog in the house or being a solo dog as long as she has the opportunity to have other doggy friends. 

She has not been tested around cats/small animals, but so far has not shown any interest or prey drive towards squirrels, birds etc.  She has not been introduced to any children while in foster care. Because she can be a bit mouthy when she is playing and also tends to jump up out of excitement older children (8+) would be recommended. 

She has been spayed, vaccinated, and microchipped. She has some beginning signs of plaque build up/ dental disease and will most likely need a dental cleaning in the future but this can be delayed with some good chew toys, and teeth brushing.  Her new family will need to be aware that a dentistry will be in her future, but this is the case with most all aging small dogs, so nothing out of the ordinary, but needs to be taken into account and financially prepared for.   She also has a slight deformity in her front right elbow (fairly common in squat breeds especially ShihTzus). This could lead to arthritic changes down the road, and her forever family should be mindful of her jumping down from high places. 

Mae would love a home with a yard of her own however because she is not one for barking she would most likely do well in an apartment or condo setting. However her forever family would need to be sure she had access to an easy safe area to do her business and would need to insure she was given multiple opportunities for walks/ outdoor enrichment. This is a high energy diva who loves her walks and time to explore! 

Mae has been an absolute sweetheart to foster. Her silly personality and endless energy is certainly contagious. She will make an excellent addition to an active family looking for a companion to both take on adventures and snuggle up with at the end of a long day.