Jimmy

Jimmy was surrendered to the public shelter in Miaoli on Sep 15 2020. The owner said he’s physically unwell and cannot care for Jimmy anymore. Knowing that the shelter environment is not friendly for the tiny Jimmy, the shelter volunteers messaged the rescuer right away and picked up. 

Jimmy is generally a sweet dog that loves the outdoors! Despite being 7 years old, he can handle a 2 hour long offleash hike. He has a few things to work on and hence the adopter has to be very patient, accepting, and assertive in correcting his behavioural challenges. 

Jimmy hates having his paws touched. He will growl first then nip if you grab his paws suddenly without warning. He nips to protect himself and would not pursue the attack. To mediate this, the fosters in Vancouver has been training to desensitize his paw touching using positive reinforcement techniques, distraction, and some mild correction. He can achieve no growling once he trusts the people and can anticipate the person’s actions. 

This is similar with putting on sweaters, jackets and harnesses. He’s currently working on getting used to these actions. The adopter will need to be patient and proactively modifying his behaviours. Jimmy is scared of having something covered over his head, like putting a towel over his head and drying him. He will snap out of fear. That being said, he is easy to groom at the professional groomer. The groomers could wash him, cut his hair and trim his nails. 

Jimmy will do well in a home that has a relatively simple social life, with low to medium energy lifestyle. The adopter needs to be very patient with these behaviours, be willing to put in the work, and not be afraid of being nipped in the beginning.