Ruff Ruff! My name is Molly

Foster Care: Video Available! Molly is an affectionate, gentle, sweet dog (part Chocolate Lab and Hound) who needs a special home. She is housetrained, knows many commands (verbal and hand signals), is eager to please and easy to train. She is wonderful with children and has been extremely patient and gentle with her person's nephews (ages 5 years and 10 months). However, she has two issues that will require time, dedication, and ongoing training. In the home with her people, she is calm and easy-going, but she becomes very anxious in the absence of her caretaker, and in the presence of other dogs. She's been going to group obedience classes to socialize her and working with her ignoring other dogs, and she has shown improvement. Positive reinforcement and redirection of her attention while gradually increasing her exposure to other dogs has helped. Her new owner needs to be strong enough to handle her if she begins to bark, lunge, and struggling to break away from her leash. When left alone, Molly will whine and bark until her person returns. At first she would whine when her primary caregiver was not visible, but she is slowly improving. In her foster home she is left alone only for very brief periods and now she no longer feels compelled to follow her person from room to room if gone for a minute. However, she does get anxious when her person leaves the house. Hence, we’re looking for person who is very patient and disciplined to help Molly understand that she is not being abandoned every time she is left alone. This may require an extended period in which her person leaves for only thebriefest of errands. So someone who is home majority of the time would be best. Molly is nine years old, which is middle-aged for a dog of her size. She's a mature dog who is very low-maintenance in terms of the amount of exercise, attention, and stimulation she requires. She's happy to spend the large majority of her day lounging on a dog bed; a couple of brisk walks a day are all she requires. At the same time, she loves to run in her fenced yard and to go for walks, and shows no sign of any type of age-related disability. She seems very healthy and vigorous without being at all hyperactive. Molly doesn't destroy items and ingenious when trying to remove a treat wedged inside a Kong toy. She will counter-surf when nobody is watching, so food should not be left out. Molly is very affectionate, and mellow so long as she can just lie near your feet! With the right person-- one dedicated to her ongoing training-- I would expect Molly to thrive and be a delightful member of the family for years! I recently was spotted on the blog Cute Overload, check me out: http://cuteoverload.com/2012/11/28/el-mystico-the-psychic-pup/

Since I am currently in a foster home, I am not at PHS/SPCA. But you can make arrangements to see me and learn more! If interested, please contact Terri atTWong@phs-spca.org (or call ext 317), and ask for Molly!