Please help Tate find his perfect home!

Meet “Tate”, aka Paint Me Tic Tac Toes, who needs a new home

Sometimes my heart kicks in before my brain. This is what happened when we brought Tate home only a few months after Hudson died last year. I firmly believe in purchasing pups from ethical show/performance breeders, or adopting from reputable rescues. But I saw this little  guy online who looked so much like Huddy, the heart dog I had lost, found out he was not in a good situation and within a week, he was with us.  My husband named him Tate. Tate did not have the benefit of early socialization. I have worked with many such dogs with good success when I was a dog trainer, but now, with my health issues, I am not the best home for a dog who is a "project". And no matter how much love you give a dog, if a pup did not have what he needed in his first few months of life, he is going to need much more than love to make him a confident, well-adjusted pet. From the first month of taking him, we talked of rehoming Tate, put out a few feelers, but never had an inquiry that was suitable. 

Tate is very bright, so house-training him was no problem. Tate LOVES people, and he loves playing with our big, playful, champion boy Brodie--as long as Brodie doesn’t get near things the things Tate dearly values, which are food, TREATS, his crate, and his Daddy! Brodie is ok staying away from things like the treat jar, but not from Mom and Dad! After all, Brodie was here first and he loves attention just as much as Tate does. Tate being overprotective of anything edible is almost normal, because he did not have enough food as a puppy, but acting the same way about us, is problematic.

When allowed to play with no food around, Brodie and Tate are best buddies. But Tate is, at heart, a resource guarder, because sadly he was a semi-rescue, as in one of those dogs that when you make the call, you know that these are leftover puppies needing to get out of a bad situation. But on the other hand, no one wants to enable an unethical breeder. This one was an older lady who professed to be getting out of dogs due to a health issue. By the time I heard about him, Tate was being kept in an outdoor dog lot with several other "leftover puppies" who had yet been sold. Tate happened to be the smallest, even though he was the only boy. Basically, the pups were given food, not in individual bowls, each morning some kibble was tossed into the pen, but they were not fed at any other time, and he was only 12 weeks old. The same was happening when my friend got his littermate out at 14 weeks. Tate was thin when we got him, but passed his vet check-up with flying colors and since he LOVES to eat, it was no trouble putting weight on him. 

Tate is very bright and he bonds quickly, is very loving. Loves retrieving balls and toys but is not a pest about retrieving like some poodles can be. He is submissive to Brodie, the high energy Standard Poodle who was here before him, and they play well outside where there are no treats to guard! But bottom line is, Tate is a people-dog and he needs a home without other dogs or even children (just to be safe) because he acts up over valued resources, which in his mind, are his crate, anything edible, and his people. Not possessive of toys.  I was a professional dog trainer for decades, so I have tried all the normal "fixes" for this and have consulted with others. Yesterday I went to see Dr. Christine Hunt, a veterinarian with experience in behavioral issues, and her very first piece of advice was that Tate needs to be rehomed as an only dog.  When a puppy did not have access to enough food during his early weeks of life, he is likely to feel insecure and not understand that it is no longer necessary to protect what is important to him.

Tate’s breeder doesn’t guarantee her dogs and is supposedly getting out of dogs, and that was reiterated when I let her know that he was not a good fit for us. So he will not be placed with any sort of "guarantee", but if for any reason he should ever need to be rehomed, he can come back to us--in fact he will be adopted with a contract saying he would HAVE to come back to us. But of course we are looking for a FOREVER HOME for this sweet boy! Dogs can sense commitment, and love, just like people. Once Tate is in the right place, Dr. Hunt feels that he can blossom into a confident, well-behaved boy and that is my hope as well. He is looking for someone to make him feel safe, and he will feel safer when he is not in a home with older people who are playing musical dogs where he has to be crated to keep from getting into tiffs with other dogs.

Tate is AKC registered and the DNA testing to check for inherited poodle diseases, showed him as clear. His bloodwork looked good when he was neutered earlier this year and Dr. Hunt did a full exam on him yesterday, so as far as health, all good. Tate is neither little or big, just medium-size for a male Standard poodle, at 55 pounds (see photo below for a candid of Tate standing beside our bigger boy.

When no other dogs are around, Tate is incredibly calm, just preferring to be with his people, playing with toys from the toy box. Athough he loves balls, he is not demanding like a retriever--he would be great for someone who works from home as he is very content just to be with you, and after some initial attention, tends to just fall asleep with a toy in his mouth (photo is not the best, but this is Tate last week, just chilling with Dad in his home office. He had played with toys for maybe ten minutes, then, feeling safe with his favorite person and no other dogs around, he napped for over an hour). Even though he is not a hyper, high energy dog, he definitely will benefit from daily walks or an owner who will go out into the fenced yard and play ball with him to keep him healthy and happy.  He knows simple commands such as sit, "go get your toy" and "kennel" (for a treat!), he does pull on leash so will need a bit more training before going on leash walks. We can recommend a couple of great trainers in the area--in fact, we would even be willing to apply his adoption fee to pay for a new owner to work with a trainer of our recommendation (or, if you are a client of Dr. Christine Hunt, we would be fine with you working with a trainer she recommends). The goal is totally to do what is best for Tate.

Tate needs to feel secure, so a home where he will not be left alone for long periods of time would be ideal, perhaps someone who works from home? He has never been around cats, and the goal is for him to be an only child. Although he plays well in the backyard with Brodie, he is not a candidate for doggy daycare because of the resource guarding issues. He also would not be the ideal candidate for someone who travels often with their dog, because he fights carsickness. 

If you have serious interest in a Meet and Greet, or have questions about whether Tate might be the dog for you-- just email me at knowingdogs@gmail.com and put “Tate” in the subject line. We are located in Oak Ridge, North Carolina.  There will be a modest adoption fee, and all applicants must have a fenced yard, and have excellent references.  Our goal is a home that will be perfect match--so Tate can blossom into the extra special, loved family member he was created to be!