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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.
Meet Sedgwick, the 5yr old Yorkshire terrier, Shih Tzu mix. She looks just like a Yorkie but is a stocky 18lbs. She has the typical grey and tan colouring you’d expect, standing at 12” tall at the shoulders with ears flop down unevenly giving her a unique and adorable face. We have always loved the name Sedgwick and we were saving it for a special critter, for some reason, her little face told me that she deserved it; Yorkshire in origin, strong, and a little bit mysterious.
Little Sedgwick came to us from a puppy mill where she was no longer profitable to those who used her, but to us, her role as a loving family member is far more valuable than any profit could be. It took her some time to get used to being in a home with people, and she’s still apprehensive of situations, but she’s learning to trust us.
She’s learned the most about life as a pet from our forever dogs and I can see the different personality traits in each of them coming out in her. From our little girl, she’s learned to quietly ask for affection by giving a little lick on the back of your hand and then offering her ears for a scratch. From our middle boy, she’s learned to run around the yard with abandonment in the fresh snow and sunshine. And how to follow her humans around the house all day. From our oldest dog, she’s learned to be quiet and find the best beds for napping. And most importantly, from all the pups, how to enjoy her meals and treats. All of these lessons has given her the confidence to let her own personality and preferences show though; her stubbornness for things she doesn’t like (she is a terrier after all), her inquisitive nature outside, her napping skills which usually involve taking up an impressive amount of space on the couch for a small body, and her toy preferences and how she likes to play.
Sedgwick has asked for a quiet, loving home where she can continue to build her confidence at her own pace. She would be okay with another dog in the house, and it might even do her some good to learn to play with a friend. She doesn’t seem to have the typical prey drive that I would expect of a Yorkie, being completely unphased by our chickens, squirrels, birds, etc so while she hasn’t lived with a cat, I suspect she’d be just fine with one. She only shows her “terrierness” when she decided that one of her toys needs to be destroyed. So we give her things that are hard to ruin but still fun to play with.
Sedgwick is crate trained but would prefer a home where she can be out with her people more often than not. At first, she would
bark in her crate for a while, but has learned to self-sooth and now only gives a few minutes of known displeasure before settling down. For that fact, it would be best if your home didn’t share walls with another family. She would love to sleep in bed every night and jumps up and hides in the pillows in the hopes of being forgotten about, but always goes into her crate beside us at night without protest and sleeps through the night. It gives her comfort to be near us in her crate just in case she gets nervous, she can see us and know she’s safe.
We don’t have a lot of children in our lives so she hasn’t spent much time with them, so older, quiet teens would be best for this shy girl, and an adult only home would be her best fit. A home with regular visiting younger kids wouldn’t be a good fit for her.
Her house training is coming along well, but if left alone during the day left to free roam in the house she might decide to relieve herself inside so she is always crated when no one is home to supervise her. She doesn’t mess in her crate so this is working well for her housetraining. She knows to do her business outside, but until she proves herself trustworthy, this is something that needs to be worked on and she must be crated. Her new family needs to fully understand that prior to a few weeks ago she was living in a kennel in a barn so keeping up with her crating routine is imperative to helping her adjust to a new home and schedule.
She had a good visit with our vet team and got her spay and, physical and vaccines. She has a low grade heart murmur that doesn’t show any clinical symptoms and doesn’t affect her day-to-day life in anyway. This is something that will need to be monitored by your vet throughout the years and can be helped with a healthy diet and keeping her weight balanced. She has lots of teeth left, but will need a good dental cleaning at some point, so that will need to be budgeted for in her future. She didn’t require a dental at this point, and now that she is on a quality diet and has access to chew toys it may be able to be put off longer, but anyone considering a mature small breed dog needs to know that dental care is always something that needs to be done at some point.
Sedgwick is good in the car and is happy to lie in a bed in the back seat or in her crate. However, after a longer car ride she will quietly throw up, so bring an extra towel for her. We’ve been out in public and she does well on walks and in stores. Staying alert and observant but confidently explores her environment. She walks exceptionally well on the leash, choosing to stay behind us and never pulls. She doesn’t mind wearing her coat and boots in the cold weather.
You’ll need to find some high value treats to help with training, scrambled eggs seem to do the trick right now. She can be stubborn and will it to be worth it for her. But the right trainer would do her a world of good to continue to boost her confidence.
While she may be a little shy at first, but with patience and kindness, she’s learning to trust and enjoy affection and it’s so rewarding to see her start to sleep with her head on your lap and fully relax with us. If you’re looking for a gentle, loyal companion who just needs a little time to blossom, Sedgwick might be the perfect bit of magic for your life!