Tatum 14-113 [1]

Tatum – the name means to be cheerful or full of spirit, so this is a very apropos name for this little girl (33 lbs). Tatum came to RAGOM after being in a shelter in Georgia, so we don’t know much about her early life.

Here is what we have learned so far:

• She is adorable – that is not just our opinion; strangers will stop us to tell us how cute she is.
• Her personality is equally adorable – friendly and loving, eager to please, consistently happy, ready to explore the world, and seemingly unafraid of the world (no storm anxiety, not afraid of people, rides well in the car, etc).
• She is great with kids (calm and sweet when kids interact with her - loving belly rubs) and other dogs (bringing out youthful energy in our resident dog).
• She is still very much a puppy in spirit and in manners. She has had two obedience classes and is learning very quickly – name, sit, down, and shake are still being reinforced, but she “gets it.” She can get rambunctious and jumps up on people, especially if they have treats – with redirection and positive reinforcement of proper manners, she will learn what is expected.
• She kennels well through the night (we have the kennel in our bedroom) and when we are gone during the day. She barks/whines at first, but quickly settles.
• She has had two accidents inside, so we are working to positively reinforce when she goes outside. We think this is an adjustment and training issue, not a health issue since she does not have accidents in her kennel.
• She will need a family that is willing to spend time with her working on her training and exercising her. She will also need a family that is willing to adore her and provide her with the attention she loves.
• We don’t have a fenced-in yard, so we brought her to an area with a fence and she ran, explored, and entertained herself well – stopping by the say “hello” to her foster humans from time to time.
• She is a mix of breeds, but we think she is about a year old so she probably won’t get too much bigger than her current 33 pounds.
• She went to the vet yesterday – clean bill of health, microchipped, she was spayed in the past, and her weight is appropriate.
• She has double dew claws; they aren’t a problem as much as they are a unique trait.

Tatum will be at the Leash On Life event this weekend (Saturday, June 14th from 11:00 - 3:00 in Iowa City) if you want to meet this cute girl.