Size
(when grown) Large 61-100 lbs (28-45 kg)
Details
-
Story
Notes from the foster: `Ivy is a sweet pup who could be a wonderful pet for an adopter with an appropriate physical space and a commitment to providing the training that she clearly didn’t receive before being abandoned. There were specific reasons why her foster placement with me wasn’t workable, but these wouldn’t apply to all settings. I’ll “start with the bad news” and explain the issues: She clearly had been an outdoor-only, backyard dog before… and I don’t have a back yard. She was afraid of my front door, deck, front steps, and patio, so I couldn’t take her out there for toileting as I had planned. The only way out of my house was in the back, through the garage, and then walking around the block to the public park. She had clearly never been walked on a leash before. Initially, it was a chaotic mess of slaloming in front of me and/or crashing into me. Even more problematic was the fact that she wouldn’t relieve herself, on the leash. I spent hours out in the park with her, having her sniff all of the popular peeing spots, which she clearly found entertaining; but she was not inspired to join in. The only place I could have let her have outdoor off-leash time was on my patio, which (as per above) she was inexplicably afraid of and wouldn’t go near. Thus, I spent four days desperately trying to get her to pee and poop outside, to no avail. Her other slightly problematic behavior was chewing. She’s young, and it’s normal and understandable, but it started somewhat suddenly on Day 2, and I had to scramble to get bully sticks and rawhides because she was shredding cardboard, paper towels, and one unfortunate shoe. My fault for not getting out ahead of that problem, though. She did much better once she had appropriate things to chew on. Lastly, as you might expect after being abandoned, she had some separation anxiety. I spent a lot of time hanging out with her. Any attempt on my part to stand up was countered by her crawling into my lap to keep me from moving. Once I was on my feet, she would not just follow me around, but actively block my path and get underfoot. At first she would whine when I left the room, until she learned how to follow me up the stairs. So, she was pretty needy at first, and a bit large to be climbing all over me the way she wanted to. On the other hand, the good news: apart from the toileting problems that I couldn’t solve, most of her issues improved as she settled in… and she also
