● Energy level: Moderate

● Potty training: work in progress

● Yard: preferred

● Shared walls ok: yes

● People: older kids+

● Dogs: yes

● Other: medicated baths for skin

Overview

Looking for a lap-loving sidekick who doubles as your personal fetch champion? Pepper just might be your perfect match! Pepper is a sweet 5-year-old dachshund who weighs in at 15 pounds and is ready to find a family who appreciates cuddles, chicken treats, and a solid game of fetch. He’s blossomed so much in foster care and is eager to keep building trust, routines, and companionship in his forever home.

Environment

Pepper is the ultimate lap dog with a playful streak. While he loves to snooze cuddled up with his favorite human, he’s also a big fan of fetch, and could keep the game going for hours if you let him! He’s currently learning leash manners and is doing well with short to moderate walks. That said, he’s also very happy being chauffeured around in a dog bag or stroller.

Potty training is a work in progress for Pepper. He tends to go 2–3 times a day (typically morning, mid-afternoon, and evening), but he doesn’t yet signal when he needs to go out. He’s been accident-free in his belly band with only one exception during longer car rides, and he currently prefers to potty in private, often choosing a patio corner over grass or walks. Because of this, a fenced yard would be ideal to help him build confidence and consistency.

Pepper is fairly quiet for a dachshund. He may bark briefly when someone enters the room or howl along with passing sirens, and he’ll sometimes whine when first crated. But overall, he’s a great candidate for homes with shared walls.

Pets & People

Pepper is great with most adults but needs a home where his boundaries are respected. When he first arrived at his foster home, he was frightened and defensive and would growl and retreate to his crate when approached. With time, patience, and gentle handling, he’s since become a total lap-lover who will snuggle in within minutes of meeting someone new. Still, Pepper doesn’t like to be picked up quickly or pulled out of his crate, and he may growl when startled. For this reason, a home without young children is strongly preferred. Older children who understand and respect dog body language may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

With other dogs, Pepper is polite and easygoing. He doesn’t play much with his foster sibling but enjoys following her around and learning by example. He’s not territorial and shows no signs of food aggression, though he will happily eat any leftovers if other pets are grazers, so separate feeding is recommended. While Pepper has shown little interest in cats he’s seen at the vet, he has tried to nip at other similarly sized animals, so cat compatibility is uncertain.

Health

Pepper has no major long-term health concerns. He came into rescue with some scabbing and hair loss on his back, which is healing beautifully with twice weekly medicated baths and vet care.

He has shown sensitivity to nail trimas, and both a vet and groomer have been unable to complete the full trim in one session. His future family should be patient and work with a trusted groomer or vet to make this process more comfortable for him.

Pepper has also displayed some signs of separation anxiety. He’s been known to chew up pee pads or bedding when left alone, so his foster family has removed soft items from his pen and is working on desensitizing him to the crate using enrichment toys, chew-safe beds, and positive reinforcement.

Location

Pepper is available for adoption from Nutley, NJ. Please email jemmaallenny@gmail.com with any questions or complete an adoption application at the button above.

The adoption fee for Pepper is $375

Good with Dogs, Not Good with Cats, Good with Older/Considerate Kids Only, Good with Adults, Somewhat vocal, Does Good in the Car, Requires a yard, Likes to be in your lap, Playful, Timid, Affectionate