Baxter in Georgia— ADOPTED!!

Baxter is a very energetic and loving 2-year-old male Frenchie. He LOVES people, and he LOVES attention. He was very loved in his former home. His previous family kept Baxter well-groomed, and ALL his shot records were kept current. Baxter's original family members became caretakers of an elderly family member with special medical needs. The new care regime for the frail family member affected the family's ability to spend time with Baxter and to give him the attention he deserves.

Baxter wants to play all the time, and he loves to be petted and to get his belly rubbed. He is great with school-aged children, other dogs, and cats. He loves to go for walks and sniff all of nature. He is a very sweet, docile dog, and he needs a home where his owners can give him lots of attention and continue his obedience training. He enjoys playing with his foster sister dogs, but he does tend to want to play long after they have become disinterested in his energy. He tries to play with the cats in his foster home, but the cats want nothing to do with him. He is very friendly and wants to play with people the most. He wants to be able to sleep near his family, too. In his previous home, he slept on a pillow bed next to the owner's bed. In his foster home, he sleeps in a crate within visual distance of his foster parents' bed. Baxter wants to sleep where his family is located.

Baxter had surgery for stenotic nares (pinched or narrow nostrils) in April of 2018 (at the age of 1). Stenotic nares is part of the brachycephalic syndrome of short-nosed dogs, like French Bulldogs. The condition makes it more difficult to breathe and causes snorting and snoring. Stenotic nostrils are congenital and so Baxter was born with this condition. Despite his surgery to widen his nostrils, Baxter still has difficulty breathing in several situations. For example, Baxter cannot handle extremes in temperature. If he is going outside quickly to evacuate his bladder or bowels, that is not a concern. If he is going for a walk, however, the conditions outside need to be room temperature. In the hot summer months, it is best for him to go on a walk just before the sun goes down so that he can breathe a little easier. Baxter is a very energetic dog, and he gets excited very easily. When Baxter gets excited, he tends to pant heavily and make very loud snorting noises. Even in the BEST air-conditioned car, Baxter's excitement during a car ride will cause him to hyperventilate. Because of this, Baxter tends to throw up on car rides - not because he is sick but because his breathing is not normal. He must be cared for properly throughout his life to prevent any issues with his breathing.

Baxter wants to be by your side all the time and enjoys playing (he hasn't learned how to fetch yet but fetching would be an awesome activity for him!). Baxter LOVES to go outdoors, and he will jump up and down when he sees his harness/leash. He is willing to go on a walk at any time of day, but due to his narrow nasal passages, it is best to limit his walks to times of day when the air temperature is closer to 70*F. In the hot summer months, for example, he loves a walk around 8:30 PM at night so that the hot sun and humidity doesn't affect his ability to breathe freely. In the winter, mid-afternoon walks are preferred. He loves playing with the children in his foster home, but he does play very vigorously, and his energy may scare smaller children. He has a dominant personality and will show his foster dog sisters that he is boss by claiming a seat next to his foster mom or dad.

Baxter does not have any issues with food aggression. He also currently has no interest in toys or bones. His foster family has tried many different types of toys, balls, and chew items, but Baxter has not shown any interest in any of these. He has, on one occasion, chewed up a pair of earbuds, but that was when his foster parents were at work, and he was apparently bored. It is important to know that Baxter can jump onto a 30-inch countertop. He easily can jump onto the counters in his foster home's master bathroom which on his first occasion resulted in the loss of a prized coffee cup.

He does NOT like baths and has a great deal of anxiety in the bathtub. He pants heavily and will often try to jump out of the tub. Baxter also has travel anxiety and pants heavily for even the shortest ride. It is best, if he is going to be riding in a car for a long time, to withhold food and water for a time prior to the trip. He has been known to vomit and have diarrhea as a result of riding in a car. In his original home, his family reported that Baxter often had to take a 100 mg dose of Trazadone for anxiety when being groomed (bathed) and for car trips. It would be better for Baxter if he did not have to be boarded when his family goes on vacation; an in-home dog sitter would be preferable considering his anxiety.

Baxter is fully housebroken and has NEVER left a urine or fecal accident in his foster home, but he also does not ask to go outside. He is kept on a schedule…he goes out before his foster parents go to work, around 3:00 PM, and then again at dinner and then bedtime. He will run after birds if he is in a non-fenced yard. His future owner should either have a fenced yard, or Baxter must always be on a leash when outside in a non-fenced yard. He is crate trained and leash trained. He knows the commands, “sit,” “stay,” and “come.” Baxter does not require but would prefer someone home with him all day or someone who can provide him with a midday visit for an opportunity to potty and have cuddles.

Baxter would fit best with a loving family who can appreciate his extreme energy. He would probably like dog-savvy children to play with him and would be better suited for school-age children due to his current behavior of jumping up when he gets excited. Baxter can tolerate other dogs and cats, but he is truly an attention hog, and he might be happier with a plethora of human attention. Baxter needs a family who will research about his stenotic nares and understand the needs of his breed regarding difficulty breathing. Baxter also needs a family that will be willing to continue his obedience training - Baxter has made a lot of progress - he is quite smart!

Baxter ALWAYS makes his foster family smile! He is VERY snorty, so he sounds like he's always having trouble breathing, but in reality, that's just Baxter. He snores VERY loudly. He likes to rub his back on the stairs in his foster home and roll around on carpet or grass. He pants heavily when he gets excited or during exercise, and you can hear him from several rooms away. One time when his foster mom was out walking the dogs at night, she rang the front doorbell because she had accidentally locked the door behind her. When her husband came to answer the door, he said, "Well, I didn't even have to look through the window to see who it was...Darth Vader there can be heard through the door." When Baxter cannot see his family (if he is kept in a room by himself) he will make a low growling noise that sounds like something out of a horror movie, but he isn't vicious in the slightest, and will stop making the noise once he is back with his "pack".