Lucy had her treatment two weeks ago and that means she will be ready to be adopted in about two weeks. She's doing very well. She is itchin' to run and play and to go for a nice long walk but has settled for cuddles on the sofa for now.
So, what can I tell you about Lucy? She LOVES people and has been very good with everyone she has met including my daughters (10 and 12) and their friends. She enjoys walks and does a happy, happy dance when the leash comes out. I'd say she's got an average to low-average energy level. She is very wiggly when I first come home or she first comes out of the crate but after a couple minutes she's found a nice place on the floor, bed or couch to rest. During the day, she's content to lay in the sun and she enjoys cuddling at night when we watch a little TV.
She is playful and will find a toy and play with it by herself for awhile before settling in on the couch or in the sun for a nap. I don't think she really knew "sit" before she came and we have worked on that she's picked it up quickly. She is food motivated and takes treats nicely.
She has been doing all her business outside. We have not had one accident in the house in the few weeks she's been here. Because I do need to restrict her activity now that the treatment has started and because she and my poodle aren't BFF's I do keep Lucy crated for several hours during the day and over-night. She is fine in the crate and goes in without a fuss. She sleeps all night without a peep and waits until we get up and let her out in the morning. Lucy is very fast about getting her business done. I walk her on a leash in the yard now that I need to restrict her activity and she does her business nice and quickly.
She is good in the car. Lucy came to Grandma's house with us for Easter and did well on the 5 hour ride. We brought her crate and she settled in and slept the whole way. Good girl. I'll add too that when Lucy rode up on Alabama she rode in a van with more than 20 other dogs. She was the only dog the drivers let stay up front and out of a crate. They reported she did well for the full trip that was more than 10 hours.
I'd say that Lucy would be happiest as an only dog. She is not wild about my 40 pound female standard poodle (I'll admit the poodle can get a little crazy sometimes). She seems generally uncomfortable when my other three dogs get too close to her in the house (she will give a low grumble I think she's telling them to get away) but that said Lucy is fine on walks with my 30-pound 14-year old Sheltie, is fine passing other dogs on walks and is fine sniffing the neighbor dogs through the fence. We don't know her past and perhaps something made her uncertain about some other dogs in her space. In a social situation where the dogs are leashed she appears fine with the others but she's uncomfortable when they are sharing her home.
Lucy is about 16 pounds. She has a beautiful black and white coat. I would describe her as low shed. She does shed some but it's not a lot from what I can tell. I think she will need an occasional grooming. There is a little bit of brown in her black hair. She has brown eyes and a bit of an underbite. She might have some Shih-tzu in her mix. She is a good looking dog and I've had people in the neighborhood stop me to let me know how cute she is. Her legs were shaved down due to mats before she came to the Rescue. Her legs will be fluffy once the hair grows out.
Lucy has needed to stay low-key for the last two weeks so the walks and playing I describe were before we started her treatment. Now-a-days I take her outside on the leash (because running in the yard is a no-no), I let her hang around the house with me for a few hours at a time and then put her in the crate for some rest. :-)
I'm including some pictures and video below. In the video below you'll she the work on "sit" that she's been doing. You'll hear some clicks in the audio. That's me. I click my tongue to let them know they did something good.
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| Bath time! When each new foster dog arrives the first thing we do is a bath. Lucy was good while we scrubbed her up |
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| Here she is sharing a kiss with my daughter |
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| Cuties (Daughter still in PJ's) |
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| Her favorite spot....in the sun |
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| Her tail is wagging here |
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| She is smiling here. Sometimes she will sit with her hip out to the side like it is here. Cute. |
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| Telling my daughter that it's time to get up |
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| Hanging out on the couch. Her ears go down when I put the camera in front on my face. I don't think she's used the camera yet Thanks for reading! |