Babe
Name Babe
Gender Male
Age 3 years old
Breed Maltese
Weight 3lbs.
Dog Good with dogs
Cat N/A
Kids Yes (10 years and older)
Crate-trained Good in crate
Housebroken Yes
Leash Good on leash, must be walked with a harness
Behavioral Needs continued exposure to people, animals and sounds using Positive Reinforcement. He responds well to exposure with Positive Reinforcement only.
Location Fostered in Mountain House, CA
Meet Babe! Babe is an adorable 3 year old Maltese. It took Babe some time to get his confidence, but he has slowly been gaining confidence and opened up to his foster home. The best way for him to continue gaining confidence is to let him solve problems on his own. His new home should avoid carrying him EVERYWHERE ~ he needs to develop and build up his confidence so that he knows he has a choice.
Babe has a dilemma of climbing down stairs and going up stairs. His current foster avoided carrying him down the stairs and allowed him to “figure it out” and build the confidence to climb up and down the stairs. In the beginning, he was lured and it took hours. He had an easier time climbing up the stairs than going down. He would intermittently go down the stairs and patiently allowing him to build his confidence was key. Now he zooms up and down the stairs!!!
He also has learned to communicate when he is giving consent to be picked up. Because he’s very small, people take for granted that he may not always want to be picked up. His current foster’s communication at home is that he would go on top of the dog bed when he wants to be picked up. Otherwise, he will run around while you try and catch him and he’s fast!
Babe does go inside a crate when he needs to decompress. His command to go in the crate is “night night.” Doesn’t matter what time of day it is, “Night Night” means crate time. Because his crate is 5 foot above the floor where he sleeps at night, to let him know it’s time for bed, his foster will say “Night Night” and point to the dog bed.
When he goes on the dog bed, it’s his way of saying, “Okay, you can pick me up now and crate me.” Best not to try and catch him if he doesn’t give consent. Picture yourself being picked up by a Giant as tall and as big as a Redwood Tree. You’d be scared too.
It’s best to let him choose if he wants to go to you. If you build a relationship with him and give him a food reward, affection and verbal affirmation every time he does something you want him to, it will build his bond with his human/s.
Babe’s very affectionate. He loves laying on his foster’s chest when they’re on the couch. He’ll sometimes give your ankle or leg kisses when you are sitting down or standing up. It’s very endearing.
Babe has adjusted really well and doesn’t have the “small dog reputation” of being yappy. He’s built quite a bit of confidence and enjoys playing and cuddling with other small dogs. Because he’s so small, a companion dog no more than 12 lbs is strongly recommended. He has not been exposed to cats. Homes with young children younger than 10 is discouraged.
He handles grooming well. He also likes people and have a tendency to want to be social with people. This wasn’t the case before. Being allowed to be social will really help him.
Babe is currently on completely RAW Food and because he’s little, keeping him on raw food will help his teeth. His foster does not mince his food, allowing him to bite and chew from a bigger piece is both enriching and good for his teeth. He’s currently on raw food from Costco or grocery stores. Second choice is freeze dried raw.
We are looking for a home who understands the responsibilities of owning and raising a dog as a member of their family. Babe is patiently waiting!
