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Story: Anya was found as a stray by a good Samaritan. "The evening all the freezing rain/ice started a friend and I were walking my 2 dogs near our neighborhood school. The road dead ends into an area bordering the cliffs and separated by a fence, this is where we saw "dog" lying next to the fence. She barked but ran up to my friend who was walking my pittie-mix. She had a too-big choke collar on with a leash attached. She gladly ran home with my friend while I walked my 2 back. She was hungry and thirsty. We walk by that location every day so am pretty sure she hadn't been there more than 12-24 hours."
How Can YOU Resist That Sweet Face?
Foster Situation: I have 2 dogs, one is an easy going 6 year old male pit bull-basset mix (Tater-man) the other a 14 yr old (serious/grumpy or as my nephews call him, a grandpa dog) male Aussie (Jessie). Both are rescues. Tater and Anya "love" each other. They like to Sumo wrestle & exchange lots of kisses. At times Jesse can make Anya a bit nervous and she will bark in a high voice at him. They have had small "exchanges" (usually over bones and being crowded in my tight kitchen when there is people food around) but she acts more like her feelings are hurt rather than being "mad" at him (as in wanting to do harm). I keep them separated when I am gone. Most of the time he ignores her and even likes her. My first Aussie was female so Jesse likes "older women".
I have a male friend who helps me walk them all most evenings and will dog sit when I am gone. I am Alpha, he is their "boy toy". Anya likes both women and men, but I think she had a male owner previously.
I have a large fenced yard especially by inner city standards. I still walk them every evening. Anya has recently been wearing a halti/gentle leader on her walks since she is sooooo strong, curious, loves to follow scent trails. Although she looks and acts more like a worm, trying to wriggle it off, she is doing great and doesn't pull with it on.
She is learning to like to go on outings in the truck/car. When I first brought her back from being spayed, she was afraid to get out of the truck-my guess is the last few times riding in a vehicle did not end well for her. (I think she was let out of car/truck when dumped.) I am trying to reverse that by taking her on short errands and then come "home" to her fun yard.
Until recently I have not had good luck having her sleep w/ the group due to her whining. I let her crawl up next to the pillows on the bed and that seemed to make her "happy" with no whining for no reason in the middle of the night. She prefers the pillow end of the bed & pouts otherwise. She prefers people furniture to dog beds when given a choice. Before she had been on a dog bed on the floor or at the end of the bed. (Tater sleeps on the bed and Jesse starts there but will move to his bed w/ his "fan".) At night in the past, I have kept her downstairs in a room where she stays when I am gone during the day. She also loves to snuggle (with people or Tater-man) and I will find her on my bed during the day when I am home and she wants to nap. Pitties do love their comforts!
She would do well with someone who loves to snuggle with their dog, although she is not a full body contact sleeper like Tater-man. She would be good w/ another dog in the house, preferably one she could play rough w/. She is very friendly to other dogs and loves to meet and greet.
Listening
Training: She does well in the house, has great manners and is easy to handle. I am trying to work on her sit, down, wait commands. She seems to learn quickly and wants to learn/is responsive. She is getting better about letting me wipe her feet when she comes in. She is independent but needs structure. She likes to play with the plush toys, except she is hard on them and takes pleasure in de-stuffing them!
She is responsive to redirecting to get her "off focus" (like barking at something in and out of the house). She relaxes and quits the undesired behavior.
I will be working with her on crate training. She is conditioned to go out on a leash. I have had to encourage her to get her to go outside and then she goes VERY willingly, otherwise she's less than excited to go out especially if it is cold.
She can go 6-8 hours during the day without having an accident, but then when I am around she seems to need/wants to go out on pretty frequent intervals. I have had her at the vet to make sure she does not have a urinary tract infection. She has messed a number of times in the house and once at my office so we're working on solid housetraining. I am guessing that her previous owner took her out VERY frequently but kept irregular hours. (I feel that she was "loved" on & is overall a "happy girl".) We're getting the housing training thing under control, but she can't hold it like my 2 boys. I just have to make sure she goes out 1st thing and late at night, and anytime in between. She scratches to be let out or in ... all my other dogs have been talkers, so this is a bit hard to accept/figure out how to change, although she is a "talker" when she is bored or has something to say about a situation.
She definitely needs lots of exercise ... a tired pittie is a happy pittie ... because when she is not tired she can be very demanding. I think she would like a male owner, although she likes everyone so far. She loves to wrestle so another dog (who likes to play and is easy going) in the household would be VERY GOOD!
Sweetheart
Personality: Anya is a friendly girl, outgoing and playful. She craves and "demands" attention, so not the best choice if you are looking for an independent pet. Anya does not like to be ignored. She can oscillate between being an elegant lady to a rambunctious cyclone. She is very smart and an athlete, so will need lots of exercise to keep her out of trouble in her forever home. She can be very submissive, as in go limp, but I think as she gets comfortable she could be demanding if human-Alpha order is not gently reinforced. Don't know about kids, but she is OK/gentle with small dogs. My guess cats are something to chase for her ... we saw one cross the street tonight on our walk and she whined to go after it. She does not like to be ignored, she is a meet-er and greet-er. She does not like someone standing on the other side of a fence/she barks ... she wants everyone on the same side!
Best Attribute: She has a very funny trait of sticking her butt in the air and her head on the floor as a form of greeting…she can be and look very sweet/cute! She has beautiful brown eyes and very cute radar/bat ears when she is focused! She likes people and loves to be petted, prefers to sleep in your lap. She takes treats very gently and chews them carefully if given in small bites. (She will inhale a milk bone whole if given the chance!) She is a good companion dog ... would love to be with her person out on adventures!
I'd LOVE to be a part of YOUR family!
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