About Tesla

Adopt Tesla! I have a GIANT HEART that needs someone to love me! Tesla is a 3 year old Dalmatian in search of the perfect forever family! She is currently in Oklahoma but we adopt and transport NATIONWIDE! We rescued Tess from a home where she was not getting what she needed to succeed, she was neglected, abused with a shock collar, she was grossly overweight with hot spots all over at 87 pounds and banished to the back yard in a pen where she stayed for over a year. She's been on structured diet and has gotten down to 65 pounds, but still needs lose 10 - goal is 55 pounds. She spent a few 2 weeks in training with our Behaviorist so we could appropriately test her skills, limits and socialization with other dogs. She definitely needs a secure fence or must be leash walked. She truly has a lot of trauma in her that will honestly just take time to overcome. She will NOT do well in any home with a small dog, we truly believe that whatever trauma occurred has stuck with her and she just will not likely ever be able to be with small dogs. She is not reactive to them on leash as long as they do not approach her. She does great with a dog of like size or larger as long as toys are not involved, she can be very possessive until she bonds with another dog and learns to trust them. We believe with a very slow transition and proper management that she can live with another dog of larger size. Otherwise if a strict transition cannot be done, she will need an only dog home. Her skills are improving, leash training is a big work in progress but if you go slow with her, she will perform. She cannot tolerate any aversive tools at all. She needs all positive reinforcement training only. Her eye contact during training is very poor as well - which tells us that she had a brute person in her past. If you try to force her to sit or do a down, she will literally fight you and say NO! We listen to our dogs!! So we have used the slip leash and we guide her gently, allowing and urging her to make the choice herself to do the commands we ask of her. This method is very successful. Tess needs a gentle handler with a lot of patience that she can build trust, confidence and have fun with training. She definitely has the smarts and ability, but this girl needs 100% force free training. The great things are she is a ton of fun, she is a high energy breed that would likely be amazing to do agility with, allowing her to build confidence and burn energy using her athletic abilities and intelligence of the Dalmatian. She has been reported to not like children but we have not tested her and truly think she needs a home with children 13 or older. Most dogs can be desensitized to be around children in public, but we have not had this opportunity yet. Tess is a very sweet, loving, the absolute softest coated and loyal girl to whoever her person(s) is. When Tess arrived in very poor condition, from living outdoor and being fed food she was allergic too - she had very bad hotspots all over her. Once in our care we put her on Wellness Complete Whitefish and her hot spots cleared right up. She loves laying on her bed, snuggling on the couch, or even thinking she was a lap dog trying to cuddle up. She is crate trained, and spent the last several months sleeping in her crate at night and crated sometimes during the day while away. She will wait for you in the morning to let her out. She loves early morning cuddles, playing fetch with squeaky toys, eating carrots as treats and watching for squirrels out the window. She loves going for walks and does well on harness, she leaves other dogs and humans alone on walks. Whenever she is on a leash, she is very well behaved, won't even bark at other dogs or humans - she might just pause to look at them for a second, but will follow your lead when you are ready to move on. She also gets lots of compliments by passersby about how cute she is She does, as most dogs, want to smell just about everything in sight! She can be timid with new people, but once you let them in the house and allow her to sniff around, she'll gladly play fetch and receive pets from anyone new. It might take a few times for her to get comfortable with someone, so don't be surprised if she tucks her tail the first few minutes of a new interaction. Tess comes from a hard life, which means she does have some special needs for her living situation. This girl has been waiting a long time for her forever family! Please open your heart and home to this wonderful girl! If interested please email for application or visit asarescue.org for details.

Oklahoma County
Tuttle, Oklahoma 73089