Squirrely is having a blast in her foster home. She’s house-trained, loves her crate and has a real weakness for squeaky toys and crunchy treats. If you want to snuggle, she’s cool with that, too, once she gets to know you. (No love-bombing or begging. Just play it cool and take it slowly.)
Her foster says Squirrely is making big progress on her leash walking manners, putting the kibosh on the pulling habit from her old shelter days. And, it turns out, she’s a pretty awesome roommate.
We asked her foster to answer some quick questions for us on what Squirley is like, and here’s what they had to say:
o Toys? Anything that makes noise. She likes the kind that squeak and the kind that crunch.
o Car rides? Its funny-she always seems super enthusiastic to go for a car ride, but then when shes in the car, and buckled in, she will calmly sit there and stare at you, and pant heavily for the entire trip. I can't tell if she is stressed, or enjoying herself.
o Cuddling on the couch? It took a little while to get her to cuddle with me-and she still is not a full-on cuddler lije some dogs, but yes once she warms up to you, she'll give up some part of herself you can wrap your arms around.
Going on long walks/hikes? With her arthritis, i dont like to take her on walks longer than 1/4 of a mile, and that is round trip.
o Treats? Yes! Please! Not picky. If it looks like a dog treat and smells like a dog treat, and delivered with excitement, or "good girl", she is all about it.
• Crate trained? Yes. 100%. Her crate is her sanctuary. The door remains open 100% of the time, unless I am going to have guests over, or run the vacuum, etc. All you have to do is say "Squirley, go get in your bed", and she goes directly to the crate and lies down.
• Potty/house trained? Yes, 100%. She will go within the first 45 seconds of being outside. We can usually get pees and poops done in under 5 minutes. She will hold it for at least 10 hours. I'm sure she will hold it longer, but wouldn't expect her to.
• Interactions with other dogs? Good. Very curious. Gives them space, wants to sniff. Cats? Can't say. Kids? Can't say. Kids with balloons? She will go crazy and snap into attack mode. No idea why, but kids playing with balloons make her crazy.
• Behavioral challenges? Things they do well? Pulling while on the leash, but thats improving. She will sit, lay, stay, go lay down, on a single command. She will bark, some when someone comes to the door but all you have to do is say "Squirley-hush" and she'll stop. She is terrified of loud car engines. When we are walking and one of those cars drives by and rev their engines, she tries to take off running. I don't blame her-it is loud and scary, but she does try hard ro get away.
• Currently working on any training? Progress? Just the leash pulling.
We are still in practice, but i'm trying to get her training so that wherever we are, we throw a blanket on the ground, and she recognizes that as "her space" and will stay put. Shes doing great *as seen in the pictures*
• How do they walk on leash? I'd say 7 out of 10 with 10 being a leash rockstar.
Squirrely is having a blast in her foster home. She’s house-trained, loves her crate and has a real weakness for squeaky toys and crunchy treats. If you want to snuggle, she’s cool with that, too, once she gets to know you. (No love-bombing or begging. Just play it cool and take it slowly.)
Her foster says Squirrely is making big progress on her leash walking manners, putting the kibosh on the pulling habit from her old shelter days. And, it turns out, she’s a pretty awesome roommate.
We asked her foster to answer some quick questions for us on what Squirley is like, and here’s what they had to say:
o Toys? Anything that makes noise. She likes the kind that squeak and the kind that crunch.
o Car rides? Its funny-she always seems super enthusiastic to go for a car ride, but then when shes in the car, and buckled in, she will calmly sit there and stare at you, and pant heavily for the entire trip. I can't tell if she is stressed, or enjoying herself.
o Cuddling on the couch? It took a little while to get her to cuddle with me-and she still is not a full-on cuddler lije some dogs, but yes once she warms up to you, she'll give up some part of herself you can wrap your arms around.
Going on long walks/hikes? With her arthritis, i dont like to take her on walks longer than 1/4 of a mile, and that is round trip.
o Treats? Yes! Please! Not picky. If it looks like a dog treat and smells like a dog treat, and delivered with excitement, or "good girl", she is all about it.
• Crate trained? Yes. 100%. Her crate is her sanctuary. The door remains open 100% of the time, unless I am going to have guests over, or run the vacuum, etc. All you have to do is say "Squirley, go get in your bed", and she goes directly to the crate and lies down.
• Potty/house trained? Yes, 100%. She will go within the first 45 seconds of being outside. We can usually get pees and poops done in under 5 minutes. She will hold it for at least 10 hours. I'm sure she will hold it longer, but wouldn't expect her to.
• Interactions with other dogs? Good. Very curious. Gives them space, wants to sniff. Cats? Can't say. Kids? Can't say. Kids with balloons? She will go crazy and snap into attack mode. No idea why, but kids playing with balloons make her crazy.
• Behavioral challenges? Things they do well? Pulling while on the leash, but thats improving. She will sit, lay, stay, go lay down, on a single command. She will bark, some when someone comes to the door but all you have to do is say "Squirley-hush" and she'll stop. She is terrified of loud car engines. When we are walking and one of those cars drives by and rev their engines, she tries to take off running. I don't blame her-it is loud and scary, but she does try hard ro get away.
• Currently working on any training? Progress? Just the leash pulling.
We are still in practice, but i'm trying to get her training so that wherever we are, we throw a blanket on the ground, and she recognizes that as "her space" and will stay put. Shes doing great *as seen in the pictures*
• How do they walk on leash? I'd say 7 out of 10 with 10 being a leash rockstar.
