| WICKET |
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| 01/08/12 - Sorry it's been so long since Wicket's last update....... He continues to be his energetic, constantly changing self. He loves going for walks, but it can be a challenge when we meet other people walking their own dogs. As good as he is with my dogs, he needs work with socialization with other dogs he is not familiar with, and he does have a tendency to be overly assertive in his quest to show them that he's the "tough boy" on the block, so we actually have a rather strange routine of every few steps change direction, then change back again, (sit stay doesn't work well), but the constant forward motion and changing direction, such as figure 8's, cris cross, zigzag zag, and all with an active forward motion does keep him more focused on me and what I'm going to do next, rather than trying to intimidate the other dog. He is a dog that needs this active brisk walk at the very least once a day, and the longer the walk the better.
He does however love meeting new people, and loves people of all ages and sizes. He is convinced that everyone comes to my house just to see him, and he still needs to tone down his exuberance when he greets people, but that too will come with time and consistency and age. 12/01/11 - Wicket has been returned to rescue. Wicket's adoptive family made a very, very difficult decision to return Wicket because he just couldn't adjust to the other dog in the home. He was totally great with the family, including and especially the children, but he just couldn't bond with the female boxer girl. Despite every ones best intentions, Wicket just couldn't be trusted when the other boxer was involved. It's just not possible to make him love his fur sister who is the same age he is, and from all I've learned about her she is a good dog. Wicket is a sweet loving dog who would love an active family with lots of kids and a safe fenced yard since he is deaf, and an active lifestyle he can participate in. 09/04/11 -Hello All, WIcket is doing great! Wicket and Bella (our other dog) are getting along wonderfully. There are still some "sharing" issues, but hopefully all of that will be resolved once they start/finish obedience school. Due to my husbands delay in getting back from Europe because of Hurricane Irene, we had to push out training until the 12th of September. Wicket and Bella will be training at K9 Academy New ENgland Dog Training with trainor Joe Ferraro in Medford Ma. The whole family will be participating in the training course so we all know how to deal with both dogs. Wicket had an unexpected visit to the vets office due to his need to jump over doggie gates. He cracked a finger nail up to the root of the paw. If there is anything I have learned about Wicket, is he HATES anyone touching his nails and ears. I tried to get a muzzle on him in the vets office, but he tried and tried to bite me. The vet was able to outsmart him and get him muzzled but he was so nervous and we had to sedate him. I told them that while they were fixing the broken nail to go ahead and cut all the other ones will he was out. He tolerated sedation well and was non the wiser. WIcket is a great big teddy bear and a lounge hound. I have learned that he is anxious about being left outside even for a minute, so someone is always with him and Bella. Wicket is a great addition to our family and the girls love him to pieces!!! He and Bella love walking and playing together and love to nap/sleep on each other too!!! 08/11/11 - Wicket has been a member of our family for one week now. He is still getting use to his new home. Bella, our other 1 yo boxer and Wicket are still trying to figure out how to get along in certain circumstances. Wicket was missing his foster mom Nancy for a few days and would not eat, after hand feeding him a few times Wicket realized eating out of the bowl was easier. Wicket and Bella did a 1.5 hr training class the day after he got here to try and ease the tension. That really helped a lot!! Wicket is having fun walking and running with our 4 daughters and is great with them on walks. Our 4 yo can even walk Wicket and he does not pull or drag her. :) We are finding that certain toys are not such a great idea to have out while both dogs are in the same room amd treats are for alone time now!! Having a deaf dog is proving to be a challenge at times, but we are all adjusting well. Wicket is a lovable dog that just needs to settle in to his new surrounds/forever home and realize there is more than enough love to go around. We will be taking both dogs on a camping trip at the end of August. 08/04/11 - Wicket has been adopted. 06/22/11 - I thought I would write an update on Wicket from someone who loves him from afar. I can not believe this guy has not found his forever home! I had the good fortune to meet this young man when his FM kindly gave me some training on deaf dogs. First off, Wicket is so beautiful with pure white fur and a tan patch on his eye. He also has some beauty spots on his ear! He has bright pink coloring on his snout, and his pictures do not do him justice, he is so darn cute with a puckered up face. He is a smaller guy than the average male boxer, which makes him a bit more manageable. One thing that struck me is he just believes in full-tilt living. Although he is deaf, he takes in all life presents him with all his other senses in high gear. He does not know he is deaf, and it is only a concern in that he needs a fenced yard as this makes him a bit more vulnerable than a hearing dog. This is a dog who would love an active lifestyle. Do we have any hikers looking for a companion who can hike all day? A runner who would like a buddy? Wicket is your man - put his leash on him and go. Whatever you are doing, he is game. Wicket would absolutely love agility. I saw him scale a kiddie gate with barely an effort. Wicket is the most easily athletic dog I have ever encountered, and he does it with joy. His exuberance at facing each day is contagious. If you have a tendency towards depression, Wicket will cure that as his zeal for living is endlessly sweet and heartwarming. One has no choice but to smile and laugh at his antics. You can not have a melancholy outlook around him. Consider the recent posting where he brought his FM gifts of stones, a toad, and a snake. He seems to have a little feline in his DNA. These are examples of him not missing a detail. I believe he notices almost everything, and he thinks about them. You may not always know what he is thinking, but he will bring it to your attention. These stories are also a testament to how personable he can be. He craves attachment to his people. He will seek you out with eye contact, and has the most innocent gaze I have witnessed. When tired he laid at my feet, and rested while staying connected to what I might do next. He is a multi-tasker. He also has a puppy streak of naughtiness that I found so endearing. I have laughed at many boxer antics over the years, but he is endlessly entertaining. If you watch him carefully, you will see his thoughts in his body language, and you see the silliness of the way he interprets life. He is a perfect dog for someone who loves boxer spiritedness above all else. He will need obedience training, and while it will challenge him intellectually, it will also challenge you. He will keep you interested. He needs a canine companion to be his ears, and to play with in his boxer way. If I did not live where there is a "One Dog Only" policy, I would adopt him in a second and look forward to whatever antics Wicket cooks up on a daily basis. 06/10/11 - Wicket has taken to suddenly bringing me gifts when I least expect it. He just loves the freedom of coming and going in and out the swinging screen door to outside, then back in again. Last week, he came prancing into the living room and deposited a stone in my lap. Surprised me too because he never plays with stones, toys and the dogs yes, stones no.....Sunday night he brought me a toad, yes, you read it correctly, he brought me a toad, alive and jumping, and he actually had the bad manners to spit it out at me. Then he decided he wanted it back, and so did Reese and Molly, it became a down right free for all. Luckily, I won. The toad was saved and deposited outside on the "other side of the dog yard fence). Today however, he brought me a present that just about sent me up the nearest tree without a rope. Today he was racing around the yard with what looked like a rope hanging out of his mouth, with of course Reese and Molly in hot persuit.....he came racing up on the deck with it and tried to drop it in my lap. Guess what, it wasn't a rope at all. It was a snake. I'm terrified of snakes, over the top terrified of them. Imagine me sreaming, trying to get to the sliding glass doors to close them so he can't deposit it in the house, and trying to keep him from getting anywhere near me at the same time, and Reese and Molly wanting his prize......We had another long chat about "Wicket, your not allowed any pets". I hope it works. 04/24/11 - Hi everyone, it's me, Wicket.....I snuck onto the computer when Foster Mom wasn't looking (which is really hard to do, she's everywhere).....So, I tried to catch that wiley Easter Bunny cause I wanted to give him a list of Easter Wishes I had, maybe he could drop some hints along with those tasty eggs he was passing around. But he's a tough one to catch. I did however wrestle a couple of those colorful eggs he had. Yummmmmmm. Anyway, I wanted people to know what a happy boy I am, and how much I like to play, play, play with other dogs. Yeah, I can get rough, but you know, it's just play.....get it., key word is play. I've also gotten better at going for walks on a leash, I am just so excited to start that I want to pull Foster Mom to get going faster. But boy, is she strict, so after a little while I just settle down and trot along side of her. That's what the other dogs do, so I guess I have to do the same. But I'm the only dog here that gets to go on the treadmill, yahooooo, now that is fun, sometimes I get to go fast and really trot along and when I start to get tired, we slow down and walk at a better pace......this thing is so cool, I love it. I'm going to send pictures so you can see how much I love this treadmill. 03/26/11 - Wicket is just loving this spring like weather and has been getting outside for hours at a time to run with his friend Duke IV. To watch these two play you would never know that one is deaf and the other one going blind. They chase each other all around the fenced yard taking turns as to who is chasing and who is being chased. When Wicket has had enough of that game he moves on to something else, like sitting in the rocking chair on the deck. This pastime only lasts for a few moments, then he's off and running again. He definitely has a higher than normal energy level and channeled properly it can also entertain you. He's a special boy looking for his special home. 03/01/11 - I have to tell you all how much this little Wicket Man loves the treadmill.....it just amazes me. When I go into the sun room, set the ramp down, turn it on to 3.0, he's watching me the whole time. The other day I opened the gate and went to put on the leash, Wicket shot past me and jumped up on the treadmill and started his walk without his leash. I was laughing to hard to get his leash on right away, so he was happily starting without me, however he does want me standing next to it shortly after so he's not alone. Today he realized that the sun is coming into the windows from a slightly different direction (spring sunlight) and he discovered "dust motes". Oh boy, this is now a whole new toy for him, and he can find them from more than one window during the day.....just think how much entertainment he'll provide in your home. 01/10/11 - We have been having a lot of fun here with little Wicket, who really is small for a boxer boy, but ohhhhhh the energy this boy has. He can go, and go and go some more. He loves the dogs and will play for hours, and when they have finally exhausted themselves with play time, Wicket will entertain himself with balls, rubber balls, tennis balls and stuffed toys as well as rubber pull toys. He seems to have an energy level that just keeps going until we finally have to crate him when I leave for work. He is learning to focus a little more every day and does sit when waiting for his breakfast and dinner and will also eat every last morsel of food. He's not on benedryl any longer as what ever hives he had on arrival has gone away. Not sure if it was chemic le related due to harsh chemicals used to clean shelter kennels or from shots, but whatever caused them, seems to no longer be present. Potty training is going well, he still has some accidents in the house, but I do believe he is getting this whole potty outside idea, even with the snow. The hardest part seems to be to get him to potty outside before his concentration centers on racing around to play with the other dogs here. This boy can't wait to meet his forever family. 01/02/2011 - What a playful little boy this Wicket is, and he has done very well with all my own dogs, he is learning that he can run and play with Duke IV my other foster, just not get really rough. Being a youngster this has been the hardest thing for him to learn. Wicket was also a stray to the shelter and as a result we don't have any background on him. Being as he isn't house trained, I really wonder if he had any training prior to coming to the shelter. He has no fear of water and will jump right into the bath tub for his much need bath, and stood still the whole time I washed him. Once out of the tub he does think that tug O war with the bath towel was just what he needed to expel some more energy. We are working on his house training, and we have made progress, but again, it is something that will need continued work. His leash manners also need work typical of any young boxer boy, but he loves going for a walk and he also wants to play tug O war with the leash at times. This will all improve with work and training. He's a very smart boy who just needs direction and love, and 1,2 or 3 other dogs to play with. 12/27/10 - As you all know we have had some major snow the last few days, and although Wicket doesn't want to go out to do his business, he is really doing well on his house training. Once outside he is learning that running thru the snow with the other 5 dogs here can really be a lot of fun providing I'm outside with them. He's convinced that I'm going to leave him outside alone, so right now I do need to accompany him outside if I want him to potty. He is a very busy boy as he likes to continue with his playtime in the house, so we are also currently working on making him realize that inside is quiet time and requires just walking thru the rooms, and not racing, as well as playing hard is what we do outside and not inside the house. Being the youngster he is, this will also require patience and diligence. He's a good boy that needs some training and structure, but he is also a typical youngster that has boundless energy and he will entertain you with your own dog or dogs. Right now his favorite playmate is Duke IV who is losing his eye site. These 2 boys will race all over the yard bouncing off each other as well as play tug o war with anything they can find, wholly roller balls, ropes as well as a big stuffed red dog. It's really a lot of fun to watch these two boys. 12/19/10 - Let me introduce little Wicket. He is just the cutest, happiest little deaf boy. He loves to play, and although a little unsure of his reception with other dogs, within minutes he is playing and wiggling and bouncing all over the yard hoping to get one of my dogs to give play chase. He was taught a few signs from a very caring shelter employee who took a real liking to this boy, and as a result, he does know NO, Sit and GOOD BOY. Although at the moment he is not house trained, we are working on it, and I think he will learn quickly. Did I mention how cute he is......he really is absolutely adorable. His pictures don't really do him justice, but I can tell you that he has the cutest face I have seen in a long time. More as we get to know this little man. 12/18/10 - Well Mr. Wicket has arrived in CT, thank you Heather and daughter, you had your hands full.....but Wicket stayed put thanks to the seat belts, and has arrived full of energy.....yup, met all my own 3 dogs and was wonderful ball of energy which he did run full bore all around the yard with my 3, perhaps we will wait a few days with Duke......he has some manners to learn, but is a sweet boy, and very LITTLE, couldn't be more than 38 lbs. He has a neuter appointment monday morning. |
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| OTHER DOGS: best with submissive dogs CATS: yes SEPARATION ANXIETY: some LEASH TRAINED: yes (tredmill trained) CRATE TRAINED: yes HOUSE TRAINED: yes OBEDIENCE TRAINED: no MICROCHIPPED: no ADOPTION FEE: $300.00 |
| STATE: Connecticut AGE: 2 years DOB: unknown WEIGHT: 46 lbs SEX: male COAT COLOR: white NEUT/UTD: yes/yes DOCKED TAIL: yes CROPPED EARS: no CHILDREN OVER 4: yes CHILDREN UNDER 4: too rough |
| I'M DEAF |
| "WHAT A PLAYFUL BOY THIS LITTLE WICKET IS..." |
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| *Because I am deaf I need a fenced yard and someone home more often. |
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| Wicket |
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