We are reintroducing Toby (Protege #0167)! Toby is a very handsome and sweet 6 year old neutered blue merle male mini Aussie (about 30 pounds) with adorable and unique prick ears. He was turned into the rescue last summer by his owner who was moving and unable to take him.

We have been so surprised that no one is expressing any interest in Toby, because his personality is about perfect. Check out that smile! Whether you are looking for your first dog, or just for a companion to keep you company and to keep you entertained, Toby would fit the bill perfectly! He is funny and playful, loves toys and can entertain himself carrying a stuffed toy around and tossing it in the air. He has not been destructive at all with his toys. He LOVES to play fetch, so is lots of fun for the kiddies (not to mention for the adults). He always brings the ball right back for another toss. He will also catch a ball or a toy when it's tossed to him.

Toby knows various commands like sit, stay, come, wait, and roll over, as well as paw and other paw (shake). Toby walks well on leash and really enjoys going on walks, whether you want a nice brisk walk on a cold winter day, or have time for a leisurely walk so he can enjoy the smells of the world.

Toby enjoys being outside, and has a good thick coat for these chilly winter days. He wanders and explores in the fenced backyard at his foster home. He is not a nuisance barker; in fact, he is rarely heard. He is graceful and agile -- he jumps up into the bay window at his foster home without a second thought so he can sit and watch the world pass by outside. (And, unlike his foster brother and sister, he doesn't bark at the world as it passes by.)

Toby has been crated when left alone, but is dependable in the house and this would not be necessary. He has been with cats and they are of no consequence to him. (Yet another plus for this awesome little guy!)

While Toby gets along perfectly fine with other dogs, we really prefer that he be adopted as an only dog, because he is 100% a people dog. If there is another dog in the home, he will be happier not to have to interact with it, and he is not the right choice for you if you need a playmate for a current dog. He is submissive and lets other dogs take his beloved toys; he even has a bit of a hard time eating with other dogs around because he is worried they will take his food. Consequently, other dogs tend to pick on him.

He is wonderful with all people, though, and we are confident that his personality will really blossom in a home where he can get all the love and attention. Toby is a love bug and so enjoys being petted and rubbed. He takes treats very gently, another plus if you have little ones in your home.

Here are a couple of videos of Toby showing how much he likes his stuffed football (sorry the light on the inside one is so poor, but trust us, he's adorable!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1xLqwZL-_E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxkkaw4EjwI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWMtut3TfbQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKAG0RfQNyg

Toby is up to date on his vaccinations and is currently on heartworm and flea/tick preventatives. He is being fostered in Marion, Iowa. If you might be interested in learning more about Toby, please email Jayne at mcjayne@yahoo.com. While we welcome your questions about this dog, all adopters are required to complete a Protege Adoption Application before being considered to adopt a Protege dog; our adoption fee is $200.

Jo
Iowa

We are pleased to introduce our Miss Lucky (Protege #0173)! Lucky is a sweet senior girl looking for someplace where she can spend her remaining years loving her humans, going for walks, and getting petted. Lucky has been turned into rescue through no fault of hers: her owner (ever since she was a puppy!) has had some serious medical problems and is no longer able to keep his dogs.

You would never guess Lucky is 13 years old! She is quite spry and doesn't look her age; she gets around very well and does not show symptoms of arthritis or even much graying in her face. She has been vetted and does have some cataracts in her eyes, but her vision doesn't seem seriously affected. So far as we can tell, she hears fine. Her teeth have just been cleaned and with a good diet, shouldn't give her any trouble. (She had one removed.)

Lucky walks well on leash and really enjoys going for nice long walks. She is crate trained, though is completely reliable uncrated, and after spending a lot of time in crates throughout her life, we know she'd prefer to be loose. She is really enjoying having the run of her foster home and has been fine left alone while her foster mom is at work. She loves the nice thick dog bed -- a new experience for her!

Lucky doesn't have any particular bad habits; she is sweet, mostly quiet, and becomes attached quickly. She is just looking for someone to be her friend and companion; you'll find her to be a velcro pal with very good manners who picks up on the house rules fast. She gets along well with other dogs, and loves to have her belly rubbed. Lucky is always happy and cheerful, and her tail is always wagging. Please consider giving this wonderful girl a happy home for her last few years. She is an absolute pleasure.

Lucky is current on all her vet work, is on heartworm preventative, and is ready for her new home today! If you might be interested in learning more about Lucky, please email Jayne at mcjayne@yahoo.com. While we welcome your questions about this dog, all adopters are required to complete a Protege Adoption Application before being considered to adopt a Protege dog; our adoption fee is $200. Lucky is being fostered in Iowa City, Iowa. (listed 11/24/10)

Jo
Iowa

Meet Jazz (Protege #0169). She is a 6-7 month old black-tri Rat Terrier mix. Jazz is updated on all current shots and will be spayed before going to her forever home. She is on heartworm and flea and tick preventatives.

Jazz is a very social little girl. She hasn't meant a dog that she can't get a long with;.she loves to play with other dogs. Jazz also plays well with her foster mom's cat: they chase each other around in the house like two dogs playing. Jazz is very gentle when she plays with other animals. Sometimes when meeting new dogs she needs a little encouragement to be social, but once she is comfortable she does great playing with them.

Jazz's foster mom is working on kennel training her. Jazz will go in her kennel with a treat being tossed in the back of the kennel. Once Jazz is in her kennel for maybe five minutes, she relaxes, and she does well sleeping through the night. Jazz is also learning basic obedience. Jazz knows how to sit, lay down, spin, and is working on restrained recalls.

Jazz is an active puppy. Her foster mom has been teaching her how to fetch a ball. She is also learning how to swim and get a water toy out of the water. Jazz would make a very nice little sports dog. She has been working on getting a ball and coming back for a tug, she does very well but prefers the tug over her ball.

Here is a video of Jazz playing tug:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGdtLmYeiBE

Jazz is being fostered in Coralville, Iowa. If you might be interested in learning more about Jazz, please email Jayne at mcjayne@yahoo.com. While we welcome your questions about this dog, all adopters are required to complete a Protege Adoption Application (http://protegerescue.org/application.php) before being considered to adopt a Protege dog; our adoption fee is $200.

Jo
Iowa

Introducing Gambit (Protege #0166)! Gambit is a 15 month old blue merle male mini Aussie. You may notice in his pictures that Gambit looks a little fuzzier around the head than on his body. At some point during the spring or early summer, someone decided that Gambit needed a summer haircut, so right now he is pretty smooth coated, but his regular coat should grow back in this winter thankfully!

We suspect that in his past, Gambit has been treated and trained roughly. As a result he submissively urinates when he feels scared or intimidated. At his foster home this was only occurring when we were leaning down to put his leash on him. To help Gambit become more comfortable, we allowed him to spend the first week in our home dragging his leash so that when he indicated at the door he needed to go out and potty, we could just scoop up his leash and go right out the door without having to reach for his collar. This worked well for Gambit, and we have taken the leash off this week. Now we are talking to Gambit in a high happy voice while we feed him a treat and leash him at the door to go out. He seldom dribbles now when I take him out, and only sometimes has a few dribbles when my fiance leashes him up.

Gambit is a bit fearful of men, and takes more time to get to trust a man than a woman. We believe this also to be a result of being treated roughly. Gambit is nervous meeting new people, especially one-on-one, and is wary, taking his time sniffing and checking the new person out before he is comfortable being handled by them. He is not aggressive, just suspicious, until he has fully checked you out. Treats usually shorten this process! It doesn't usually take long before he is happily laying with his head on your chest for some love.

Gambit has had quite a bit of obedience training in his past. He demonstrates sit, down, and stay without fail. I am re-working all these behaviors with a clicker in order to build the confidence that Gambit is lacking at this time. He knows the behaviors, but I believe he associates them with being treated harshly, and so I hope that by clicker training the behaviors over again he will learn to enjoy training and learning tricks. And let me tell, you this little guy is smart as a whip and learns new behaviors very quickly, and happily with a clicker!

Gambit seems to enjoy children, and though he has not been around them a lot in his foster home at this time, we will give him some opportunities to be around some children to see how he does with various age groups.

Gambit LOVES to go to doggie daycare with me. He plays and plays and plays with the other dogs. Everyone is a friend to Gambit in the play areas. He has very nice play manners with the other dogs and socializes well. We also noticed that Gambit did not hesitate to greet staff in the play areas even though he had not previously met them, he happily greets all of the camp counselors including the guys even though he usually is nervous around them. We think this is becuase Gambit is taking cues from the other dogs in the play area who are so happy to greet the staff, and also because he can approach the staff on his own in a way that feels less threatening to him than meeting a new person one-on-one while he is on a leash. I feel this also illustrates that he will overcome his fearfulness as he gains confidence!

Gambit is currently being fostered in Cedar Rapids in a home with 4 other dogs and two cats, and gets along well with everyone. He enjoys going on car rides.

Gambit is a handsome, housetrained, crate trained, well-mannered and well-trained dog who simply needs someone with the patience to understand that his life has been rough, that if he is given the time to build his confidence, his submissive urination will subside, and that he will blossom into a wonderful companion for the person who treats him right and gives him the love he seeks. He has a great balance of energy and cuddliness, as he can entertain himself and play with others, but knows how to settle in when play time is over...and his favorite place to settle is with his cute little face resting on your leg while you sit on the couch.

Here are a couple of videos of Gambit at day care:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqND6obt7Gc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rldIQQ9NkUc

This dog is a little jewel; won't you please consider adopting him, because I am falling in love with him and there is no room at the inn...and if I kept him, I wouldn't be able to foster the next lost soul needing to be rescued!

Gambit is current on all shots and is neutered and one flea & tick and heartworm preventatives. If you might be interested in learning more about Gambit, please email Jayne at mcjayne@yahoo.com. While we welcome your questions about this dog, all adopters are required to complete a Protege Adoption Application before being considered to adopt a Protege dog; our adoption fee is $200.

Update 09/30/10:

Gambit is making fantastic progress in socializing with men! On Sunday he went to both Petco and Petsmart where he approached several men on his own, and did very well, no submissive urination, no fear barking at all. He was very excited to be out and about meeting people.

At home it took about 2 and a half weeks to get comfortable with my fiance putting his leash on, and now he very rarely has any submissive urination when Rick reaches for his collar. Otherwise he has no fear of Rick, in fact he loves to lay on the couch with him and cuddle.

Gambit went to flyball practice with me Monday night, and went right up to two different men he had not met before for treats. No submissive urination, no fear barking at all, and he seemed to enjoy the attention after the initial nervous moment. He enjoyed meeting everyone else as well. As I suspected, with love and trust Gambit is becoming a much more confident dog, and we are seeing the fear lessening day by day. He now seems to understand that he is safe here and that he does not need to fear when someone is reaching for his collar. I am now confident that with gentle hands and time to trust he can adjust to a home with men in it.

Jo
Iowa

Stitch (#0155) is a fun-loving 6 month old Rat Terrier. He is happy, entertaining and easy to train. Stitch is a smart dog who loves working with people and who learns quickly. He is mostly crate trained and jumps up to his crate, on top of his foster sister's crate with the command "go to your crate".

Stitch knows "sit", "down" and is learning "shake" and "boing" now. He loves to play fetch, but has trouble doing so with other dogs around. If Stitch is alone he will fetch a ball, frisbee or stick all day long and bring it right back to his foster mom. If other dogs get involved in the fetch game Stitch often lets them take the ball and just runs with them. Stitch gets along well with all other dogs and has yet to meet a dog that didn't like him - though I'm sure with his bouncy pestering personality he'll find one someday!

Stitch loves people and dogs and wants someone to play with him ALL the time. He is great in his foster mom's fenced yard; so far he does not bark at people walking by or try to escape. Inside Stitch is also a little peach. Though he is a high energy dog, Stitch is able to settle down and take a nap or two throughout the day.

Stitch sleeps in his crate at night and always sleeps through the night without a problem. The one time Stitch woke his foster mom up barking it was because he had to pee and was letting her know. Stitch is not completely housebroken, but is getting there. He has pooped in the house twice and peed in the house on occasion. Though we don't know Stitch's past because he was a stray, his foster mom wonders if at one point he was trained on potty pads because every accident he's had inside has been on a dog bed.

Stitch needs to go to an active, dog-savvy home. He would absolutely love a home that could take him on bike rides and walks regularly. Stitch goes on bike rides often with his foster mom and is a wonderful bike riding partner. He would also be a great sports dogs for things like agility, frisbee or flyball. Stitch has already been working on flyball training and currently does runbacks and is training on the box. He is a quick little guy and would be a great height dog addition to any flyball team.

Stitch is not a dominant terrier. He is currently living with three other dogs; one female and two males, all of whom he gets along with perfectly. His foster sister is very dominant and Stitch understands this and is incredibly submissive to her. His big lab foster brother picks on him from time to time and Stitch always runs away with his tail between his legs. He is definitely a lover, not a fighter. Stitch loves to snuggle and is a great lap dog. He would be happy to sleep with his foster mom if she would let him.

Here is a little video of Stitch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDY_O-NS0Ys

Stitch is full of curiosity and can sometimes be a mischief maker. He'd do best in an alert home where his family is aware of Stitch's whereabouts and could work on training. Stitch likes to open drawers and dig through human things. He can also easily get on tables and counters, though he's easily kept out of rooms by closing doors or using baby gates. Though Stitch loves to stir things up, he's never ruined anything he's taken out of a drawer. He will find food if it is not put away and can open most containers with ease. His foster mom likes Stitch's "go get 'em" attitude, because it means she has to keep her house clean! His foster mom would love to keep Stitch herself, but she can't at this time.

If you're interested in Stitch please contact Jayne at mcjayne@yahoo.com. While we welcome your questions about this dog, all adopters are required to complete a Protege Adoption Application before being considered to adopt a Protege dog; our adoption fee is $200.

Jo
Iowa

Meet Rugby (#0159), a whole lot of Aussie love in a tiny little package! Rugby is an adorable 8 pound red mini Aussie. He is a one and a half year old neutered male.

Beware...once you see him and cuddle with him (he will tuck his little nose right along side your neck if you let him)...he is irresistable! Rugby didn't have the best start to his life, so he has a few things he is working on (hey, nobody's perfect, right?). Rugby is not currently comfortable pottying on leash, but he is slowly making progress on this and has now gone a few times on leash. He much prefers to potty off leash in a secure area. He has not had any accidents in his crate since coming to our house, nor has he had any accidents on the floor. Rugby is fearful of small children to the point of hiding from them. We are currently still testing to see if this is an issue that can be lessened over a long period of time with careful exposure, but we can for certain say that we feel it would be best if he went to a home without young children.

Rugby currently is fostered in a home with four other dogs and two cats, and he goes daily with his foster mom to doggie daycare where he interacts with 14 other dogs at a time that are sized from 5 pounds up to 35 pounds. He will stand up for himself if another dog gets pushy, but he has been getting along well with all of the other dogs, and with the cats as well. He and his foster brother, a 12 pound sheltie, have begun to enjoy chasing each other around the house.

Rugby is up to date on all vaccinations, and is currently on heartworm and flea/tick preventatives. He is being fostered in Cedar Rapids. Contact Jayne at mcjayne@yahoo.com with questions and for more information. While we welcome your questions about this dog, all adopters are required to complete a Protege Adoption Application before being considered to adopt a Protege dog; our adoption fee is $200.

Jo
Iowa