ADOPTED
Please read our dog bios carefully to be sure that the dog you are applying for suits your family and lifestyle. At Pound Dog Rescue, we believe in the benefits of post-adoption training for our dogs and their families. This allows for continued socialization, and learning and helps to create a well-mannered and balanced dog. Post-adoption training is a requirement in our adoption process.
We are delighted to introduce you to the littlest dynamo we have ever fostered, Nelson the Chihuahua, weighing in at a whopping 8 pounds! Nelson is a sweet and spunky boy who was picked up as a stray earlier this year. We believe he is about 2 years old. Nelson is absolutely adorable, with white fur on his paws that look like boots and 
some very expressive ears that point straight up or straight back depending on his mood. Nelson has a lot of personality for such a little dog, whether it is his scuttling around the house, his LEAPS up onto the couch to cuddle, his enthusiasm for fetching any toy, his running back and forth to get pets, or his keen observation of whatever it is you are doing. We know he will be a fantastic companion animal for the right family. We have been able to do a lot of different things with Nelson, from visiting mini farmers markets, going for trail walks, going to the cottage, playing with other dogs, and staying in. Nelson has managed to take all of these experiences in stride and win over our friends and family. If you’re looking for a loyal, playful, and cute as heck companion, Nelson may be the right dog for you!
We picked Nelson up from a rural pound. Pound Dog Rescue was asked to help with Nelson’s care because the rural pound staff noticed that his front-right leg was rotating in a funny way, causing him to have a bit of a strange walk. PDR’s vet examined Nelson’s front legs and found that there was no obvious pain or abnormalities felt on his shoulders and front limbs, he may be “double jointed” in the shoulders, but this is likely a development/congenital issue. Nelson’s forever family will need to monitor his front limbs as he ages as he will likely be at higher risk for arthritis or degenerative joint disease. In the meantime however, Nelson has a clean bill of health, with no other issues found during his vet appointment and can move around just as well as any other little dog. The vet also noted that Nelson’s front end muscles were very well developed, and his back-end muscles are quite small. Nelson’s forever family can help him ‘build up’ his back end by ensuring he goes for walks regularly, especially walking uphill.
We typically walk Nelson each morning for about 30 minutes, which keeps him more or less calm during the day while his foster mom works from home. During the day, he snoozes on his dog bed in the office, ready to be picked up and shown off on video calls, much to the delight of all involved. At lunchtime we take Nelson out for a short restroom break and either some fetch in the yard, or a nap in the sun. During the afternoon, Nelson will either keep snoozing, play with a toy we give him in his dog bed, or do some quiet exploration around the house. One cute behaviour Nelson has learned is standing on his back legs and putting his front paws on the side of his foster mom’s chair to request pets while she is working. After work, Nelson will enthusiastically greet his foster dad with barks and zoomies, then go for another walk and get his supper in his crate. In the evenings, we will play fetch with Nelson, let him play with one of his many favourite toys, or just sit on the couch cuddling before heading to bed. Other than a few instances of whining his first week here, Nelson has had no issues sleeping through the night in his crate from 9:30 pm until 7:00 the next morning before he asks to be let out to use the restroom. Nelson does not like being left alone, so would likely prefer to sleep in the same room as at least one of his humans.
Nelson has a loud “alert bark” and will let you know if anyone is approaching or has entered the house. This could be guests, or even his foster dad coming home from
work. Nelson is quick to calm down once he sees that the guests are welcome and making themselves at home. We are working on limiting “alert barking” by having Nelson do an obedience command (i.e. “touch” or “sit”) as the guests are coming in, and rewarding him with a treat for calm behaviour. Nelson is also still getting used to being home alone. When we leave the house, we put Nelson in his crate for safety reasons. He will go into his crate willingly, but once his foster parents leave the room, he will fuss and cry quite loudly for up to an hour after he goes into his crate. Because of Nelson’s fussing when left alone, we recommend a detached home for Nelson. We also recommend a home where someone is around more often than not, although Nelson’s forever family should continue crating him every day to let him get used to being alone. We also recommend a quieter home with adults only or older kids (teens), given Nelson’s small size and tendency to alert bark when there is activity.
Nelson is housebroken, having only one instance of “marking” in our house just after he arrived, and no issues since. He also came to us knowing some basic commands, including ‘sit’ ‘down’ and ‘touch’ that he is getting pretty good at, especially when there are treats involved! Nelson will need to be enrolled in basic obedience training so he can learn to do all the commands readily, but given his love of food we think he will be a quick study (and be a fan favourite in his training class, being such a cute little guy!) Nelson does not have any issues going up and down stairs in our two story home, and will regularly sprint up the stairs, or ‘hop’ down the stairs to follow his humans around.
Nelson loves spending time around his people. He will be his forever family’s little shadow, always sprinting around the house to find his humans and cocking his head to keenly observe what they are up to. Nelson is a playful little guy with a lot of energy who will get bouts of “zoomies” and run back and forth across the room, looking for pets and back scritches (a personal favourite of his). He also loves to leap up on the couch to take a nap next to his humans, and will burrow into your side or even sit up on your belly for a snuggle if you are lying down on the couch. He is a pretty great cuddler!
Nelson is fostered with one other dog. He and his foster sister get along pretty well and are usually happy to each do their own thing. When we first brought Nelson home there were a few instances of growling at each other, but now that Nelson and his sister have learned each others’ boundaries and habits, they get along with minimal 
issues. We have also learned to minimize conflict by feeding the dogs in their crates (which avoids most arguments over food) and allowing the dogs to play with toys under supervision (which avoids most arguments over toys). We believe Nelson would have a preference for being the only dog in a home, although a multiple-dog family who are comfortable de-escalating the occasional ‘guarding’ behaviour would also be an option for him. Nelson will calmly greet other dogs out on walks, and plays very nicely and confidently with other friendly dogs, even those who are much bigger than him. We think this is because Nelson is a giant in his own mind!
Nelson loves spending time outdoors in the yard with his humans. Because our yard is mostly fenced, but with a few chihuahua sized holes in it, we always kept Nelson on a leash when we brought him outside his first few days with us. Now we don’t feel the need to leash Nelson, as he likes to stick close to us and has no interest in trying to escape from our yard. We do not feel that a fully fenced yard is needed for Nelson, as he is quite content to stay close to his humans when he is outdoors. Nelson has also become quite adept at playing fetch with his favourite ball when we toss it across the yard (which is a great way to tire him out, and just adorable to watch!) Nelson also did great at the cottage in an unfenced yard, quite content to snooze on a lounge chair while his foster mom read all afternoon.
Nelson walks well on a leash. He does have some rare instances of pulling, but for the most part, Nelson is able to ‘pack walk’ on a loose leash with his foster sister, or stay next to us in the ‘heel’ position when we walk. We have gotten several comments on how well Nelson is doing with his leash walking when we’re out and about, including one neighbour who commented on “what a confident walker” Nelson is! Nelson is happy to walk in the neighbourhood or in a park/nature path calmly taking in all his surroundings. Even most traffic noise doesn’t phase him! Nelson is treat motivated on walks. Once he knows you have treats, Nelson is happy to stay in the heel position with his attention on you! Walks and exercise will be important for Nelson in his forever home, and will help him strengthen up his little legs. Although he is small, he is really a very active guy. We walk Nelson for at least 20 minutes each morning and at least 20-30 minutes after work, as we find this helps to tire Nelson out, and when Nelson is tired he engages in less of the ‘alert barking’ behaviour that small dogs are often known for.
Nelson is also able to relax in the car. Because of his size, we usually transport Nelson in his crate in the car. He is quite happy to sit in his crate in the back seat, lie down,
and patiently wait until we have reached our destination. He has gotten carsick on a few longer journeys, so we recommend holding off on a full meal right before a longer car journey, and having the supplies on-hand to swap out his crate bedding in case he gets sick. With the right supplies, we have learned that carsickness isn’t too much to handle at all, and Nelson is quite cooperative when it comes to having his crate bedding changed.
Nelson has been a wonderful temporary addition to our house. We never dreamed that we’d have a Chihuahua in our care, but Nelson has really shown us what sweet, loyal, playful and clever dogs they can be. Our family and friends who have met him have also been charmed by this adorable and spunky little guy, even those who didn’t think they particularly cared for small dogs or chihuahuas before meeting Nelson. We know that once he finds his forever family, he will never fail to brighten their days too.