MIA

update, February 3

Miss Mia is our official NON Eskie. She was reported to us by a local shelter as an American Eskimo Dog...but not so much. We peg Miss Mia as a glorious mix of Poodle and West Highland Terrier. Mia has the head of a Westie and the body of a Poodle. Six months old, she weighs only eight pounds, so she will be a tiny girl when full grown. Most likely she will reach an ideal weight of about ten pounds. Mia is a stunning, impossibly cute little girl, who is ripe for an adopter who can handle PUPPY duty!
Ah, Puppy duty...it takes a special mindset. And yet, if you can get through the puppy years, the rewards are thrilling. Adopters have the opportunity, in Mia, to bring along a young soul and fulfill her great potential. This spirited youngster has proven herself to be smart, friendly and at the threshold of magnificence!
Adopters should be prepared to fine tune the housetraining process, and to implement some consistency in maintaining potty habits. Mia is a smart cookie and has caught on to her basic puppy training beautifully. She is poised to go on to formal obedience work, which we wholeheartedly recommend.
We'd like to see some experience with puppy training in Mia's potential adopters, or at least the willingness to learn the ropes. Also, "puppyness" requires patience and the lifestyle that has flexibility to focus the necessary time to training a youngster. Usually families with infants or toddlers, are not best suited to focus on the needs of a young puppy. Mia is malleable enough to adapt to many types of homes, but key is the free time needed to focus on her care and development.
Mia is in excellent health and will be spayed before adoption. She is vaccinated for rabies, parvo, distemper, and bordatella. She has been tested negative for heartworm/lyme/earlichia/anaplasmosis.
If you are interested in Mia, please contact Denise@EskiesOnline.com for an adoption application or call Denise at 720-903-0636 for more information.

Update: February 3rd (please read before considering adoption)

Our darling Mia has generated so much interest that we are hard pressed to keep up with the phone calls and emails! We apologize for our sluggish correspondence on Mia. We have not yet come to a decision, and feel the need to provide a behavior update and a reassessment of what kind of adopter will suit Mia best before we can consider anyone for adoption.

As she has settled into her New Jersey foster home, we have observed that Mia's lack of training has done her a disservice. Mia came to us through a shelter where her owner had dumped her at about 4 months old. Our vet has now placed Mia at 6 months old based on birth records that accompanied her. She has grown to 13 pounds and will probably be at full size at about 20 pounds. Mia's owner had purchased her from -- most likely -- a pet shop, where she was told that Mia was an American Eskimo Dog.

Unfortunately, Mia fell into the "cute little dog" trap with an owner who put more emphasis on buying her things than providing appropriate leadership, and Mia has gotten away with murder. This cute little girl came with luggage....including a haute couture coat that is "dry clean only", among other unnecessities.
And so, Mia's former owner has raised a brat. She is unruly,somewhat difficult to discipline, and thinks that she rules the roost. She is behind the learning curve in basic socialization with people and other dogs. She has an Alpha wannabe personality that manifests itself every chance it gets! She growls at new dogs and new people, and approaches situations with a cocky "tiny terror" attitude. Also, her house manners are lacking, and she needs work on her housetraining.

In short, Mia is poised to become the next ingenue in Cesar Millan's reel of "worst puppies of 2012." Now, certainly, at 6 months old, she is also poised for greatness and is brimming with potential if she is in the right hands. We are seeking a specific type of situation for her so that she can continue the structure and discipline that has been started in foster care.

First of all, Mia's adopters need both willingness and experience in training a young puppy. Also, they need the type of lifestyle that allows for the time and energy to focus on her care and training. And, Mia needs folks who have some rescue dog experience, because this experience is invaluable in fostering the patience and perspective that will allow for her successful adoption.
Beyond that, we'd like to see Mia in a home without kids or cats, but with an older Alpha dog, who has been through the training ritual and is a strong enough personality to put Mia in her --- much needed -- place. This model is working well in foster care, as Mia's foster Mom, Diane has the type of strong Alpha personality that Mia needs to toe the line, as well as Miss Precious, who is our Alpha Diva American Eskimo Dog, who can enforce the discipline that Mia needs. Mia's adopters will need to take her training and discipline very seriously in order to reverse some of this bratty behavior.

Anyway, that's where we are -- basically at square one! This little cutie has a lot of love to give the right person, and the rewards reaped will be amazing once she gets with the program. If you are still interested in Mia based on this update, then, we'd love to send you an application.

If you feel that Mia might be more dog than your lifestyle will handle, then we'd love to have you check out our other dogs listed under Available Dogs at our website, www.EskiesOnline.com.

Denise
720-903-0636
Eskies Online is a private breed rescue group that has served unwanted American Eskimo Dogs for the past decade. Our group of private foster homes spans the North East, and our adoption territory extends from Maine to eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and parts of northern Maryland. PLEASE NOTE: We are on temporary hiatus in MASSACHUSETTS. Once an adopter is approved, we arrange transportation.. We do not adopt dogs beyond our territory. Please visit our website, www.eskiesonline.com for more information about our group and our adoption procedures.

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