Tulip

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.

Have you ever met a dog that never seems to have a bad day? Even if things happen that aren’t great, they somehow seem to rebound with joy and enthusiasm and you think to yourself, “I wish I could be more like this dog?” Well, let me introduce you to a dog just like that. Meet Tulip, a gorgeous, butterscotch coloured female Cocker Spaniel. Tulip is just over 5 years old, weighs about 35lbs and could stand to lose a few, but she’s working on it and she is loving herself just the way she is, thank you very much. 

Tulip came to us from a puppy mill where she spent her life making babies and lots of money for people. When she was no longer of use, she was ready to be ‘disposed’ of and thankfully, she found her way to us. Although she knows nothing of the world outside of a barn and she really has no reason to trust people at all, she is embracing this new life and all she wants is a person or family of her own, to love them and be loved by them, and to be included in their life as much as possible. There is a lot she is experiencing for the first time, and she is very much like a puppy in an adult dog’s body. She gets along well with other dogs, but her priority is being with and making her person or family happy. She needs your patience as she learns new things, but with you by her side she finds courage she never knew she had. And the world, it’s sooo exciting with all the new sights and sounds! Sometimes things are a little much and she needs a moment to pause and take them in, but she is ready to meet all the challenges she comes across with a bum that never stops wiggling…in fact, her whole body wiggles, she just cannot contain it!

Living in a house is SO new to Tulip, but she is really enjoying the comforts of a home. She is fully crate trained and often chooses to put herself into it for a breather or a nap. It’s going to be important that her new family continues to allow her to have that safe den that is all hers to go to whenever she feels she needs it. It’s a place she can go to, to collect her thoughts and process the things she experiences throughout the day. She sleeps in it at night and during the day when her foster family leaves the house, and she is usually pretty quiet about it. Sometimes though, she experiences FOMO (fear of missing out) and she might do a little howl, but it has nothing to do with the crate ands everything to do with not being with you. Tulip really wants her family to be around more than not, although she can go a workday if she has to. Now that she knows what being loved by people is like, she wants all the love she can get. Her family will have to make sure they work on building independence with her so she does not develop full blown separation anxiety.

Outside of the home Tulip is doing well on her walks. She is happy to meet everyone, is not reactive at all to any dogs or people. She greets people submissively, staying close to the ground, but still wanting to be seen and touched by them. She met a few toddlers and was fantastic, being very respectful and gentle. That being said, living with young kids might be a bit much. If the children are at an age, say 8+, where they are calm, can learn about how things make dogs nervous, how to respect that and adjust their behaviour, and understand that Tulip is just learning about this world, she would be fine and would appreciate the extra love and attention she will get. Tulip lives with other dogs but quite honestly, she could take them or leave them. What she wants is her people and if she can have all their attention to herself, that would be bliss. She is happy to have doggy friends, to have walks and adventures with them, but in her home, she’s all about her family.

Tulip travels ok in the car, and she is getting better each car ride. She does better if she can travel in a crate but has adjusted to being buckled into the seat with a harness. If you don’t harness her, she thinks your lap is a perfectly acceptable place to sit while driving, whether you are behind the wheel or not. 

When it comes to exploring new spaces and places, she is game! As long as you guide her through the new things she has never seen before, give her a moment to gather her thoughts if something seems overwhelming, she will continue to move forward in leaps and bounds. She is so ridiculously smart, she grasps new concepts and experiences so well it’s both admirable and mind boggling.

As for health, Tulip is in very good shape. She has a few pounds to lose, but has already shrunk that waistline quite a bit. As her breed is prone to obesity, her new family will have to commit to watching that waistline. She has mild tartar on her teeth and may need a dental cleaning in a few years, but she is learning to enjoy chewing on things and that will help her keep that at bay. Tulip does have a very mild heart murmur, a grade 1 or 2, but it is so mild there were no concerns with her going under anesthesia for her spay. It is something to keep an eye on for the future, but it may not ever evolve beyond its current status. In true Cocker Spaniel form, her ears can build up yeast and her new family will want to practice a weekly ear cleaning regimen to keep them in check. No worries though, Tulip doesn’t mind the cleaning one bit.

This girl is an absolute gem of a dog to live with. She is so joyful, curious, and fun to be around. She loves you with everything she has, and she wants nothing more than to be your constant companion. Want to go on a 5 km hike? Sign her up! You want to watch Netflix on the couch? Sure…just get her walk in first and she will snore alongside you gladly. Whatever you do, don’t adopt this dog thinking she is a couch potato who never needs to leave her yard. She wants to join you a coffee on a patio in the warm weather, she wants a walk in a new greenspace she hasn’t seen before, she wants sunsets on a deck at a cottage with you…she wants to see this world and she wants to experience it with you…and what more could you ask for?