Screech

Hello everyone, please allow me the pleasure of introducing to you our little fluff, Screech!

Screech is a male Mini Doodle who is approximately 6 months old and about 17lbs in weight. A Mini Doodle is a dog made up of many different breeds, one of which being a Poodle but the others are a hodge podge of mixtures, often with mixed breed parents to breed a smaller doodle type dog, common in the puppy mills.   He’s a perfect size to carry around and have on your lap. He has handsome golden tan fur that is super soft to the touch and very curly. He has a few spots of white fur too, right under his chinny chin chin and on his chest. Because of the poodle mixed in with his breed he doesn’t shed much, but he needs to be groomed regularly in order to prevent mats and tangles in his fur.  He cannot be considered a hypo allergenic dog though due to the mix of breeds and anyone with severe allergies may react to his fur. 

His name took us a bit of back and forth to figure out. Leaning towards his colourings, but nothing seemed unique enough. As we got to know him we started thinking outside the box a bit. My kids have been into Saved By The Bell lately, and I thought of Screech. I think it suited his puppy personality and hair/fur well.  Screech was rescued from a local puppy mill in Ontario and is in search of his forever family, thanks to Pound Dog Rescue.

Since Screech is quite young and didn’t learn a lot of normal household routines, he took a bit of time to get adjusted to life in a home. He seemed to not know how to eat food from a bowl and would spill it for the first couple of days. So this took a few days and he seemed to understand you can eat out of the bowl itself. Night time took a bit of adjusting because he was new to being crated and in a home. In the 3 short weeks he has been here we have seen a big growth in him during night time. 

We have seen big improvements in meal times as well. He will now go right into his crate and waits for his food. He is very food motivated and this is a good thing and will help him get adjusted well and follow the proper rules with a good treat or food as motivation.

We have been pleasantly surprised  that he is house trained very well. Never a pee accident in the house. During his adjusting period for the first few days we did have some poops in the crate as we both learned each other’s routines with food and bathroom breaks. This is expected and very normal. He can hold it all night from about 10pm to 8am which is delightful for his age.

Screech has been neutered fully vetted. On examination the vet says there is a mild variation of normal on the hind legs, mild valgus deformity. This does not hinder him at all. You will just notice when he stands that his back paws turn outwards a bit.  There was nothing that needed to be done for this. 

Screech gets regular crate time during the day even if we are home, just to reinforce the fact that it’s a safe space for him and a place to relax in peace and quiet. He is getting much better at going into the crate already, especially if you have food! Every time he goes in or if we have to place him in front of the door we say “in your crate (or house)” and he will go in. When you leave he will bark and make a fuss, but settles down shortly after you leave. 

He will eat his meals inside his crate, usually when we eat as well. He gets super excited for meals and dances around when he can see/hear his food being prepared. Screech is free to drink from a water dish anytime he’s roaming the house. He sleeps in his crate at night time as well, but we don’t include blankets as boredom can kick in with him and they may get ruined. As he ages this may change.

As we mentioned above, Screech is fully house trained. But grace should be given for transition periods just in case of accidents. He doesn’t seem to have bathroom cues that we picked up on yet, but we just let him out after meals and every few hours when we are home and around.

Screech loves to run around in our backyard and play in the snow. He keeps up on our long walks with our larger dog. He does require some training and patience in walking on a leash as he has never experienced that before coming to our home. He gets very excited for the sights and smells of the area around him. He is often at the end of his leash just so excited to keep going. Formal dog training classes will go a long way in teaching him proper walking skills.

Screech is a super playful dog and loves to play with toys or our kiddos (12 and 9 years old). He would be fine in a home with children over the age of 8yrs.   He will contently play with his toys alone or with others as well. He loves all types of toys, but can be a bit destructive so just keep an eye on him while he’s playing and make sure it’s a toy he has and not something he shouldn’t have. He is a bit sneaky with gloves, socks, shoes, etc. He’s a puppy and this is very normal. He will very calmly give up what he shouldn’t be playing with if you go up to him, so no resource guarding has been noticed. He will curl up with you or spread out and sleep anywhere it seems. Mostly on something soft though. He loves to curl up on the big dog bed with his foster dog sister, or near us when we watch TV.

Screech hasn’t been in the car very often yet, but so far the trips have been smooth and he enjoys the car rides. He will just curl up on the passenger seat where he is secured and relaxes. Screech hasn’t had experiences with cats so we are unsure how he would react to them. He does bark at other dogs on the street, but is fine with our dog within our household.

We think that Screech would be best in a detached home with a fenced in backyard. He loves to run and play, and a safe space for that would be great for him. He does bark in the house, so to not disturb neighbours a detached house would be best for him. We have noticed he likes to be the centre of attention and can get a bit jealous of the other dog in our home. But they get along great and I don’t think that would be a deal breaker. He will just need redirection and proper training to share his people.

Screech will make a great family dog as older children seem to love his playful side. He will require some proper training to get to his full potential. And grace should be given for his puppy side, but he’s a lot of fun and makes us giggle a lot. We hope you will consider adding this fluffy adorable guy to your home and family!