One of our HHS volunteers recently took Fifi home to foster. Here is what he had to say about this beautiful girl:
The first day she would stay within 20 feet of me in the fenced in yard and was constantly checking in with me.
By the second day she was much more comfortable, and I noticed her tail was up in a question mark shape more than her typical trailing fish hook neutral, and she was going behind bushes and trees and exploring more without staying so close to me.
At night I walked out with her, and kept an eye on her body language as I knew her visibility was down in the dark, but she remained very neutral and even relaxed.
It took her about 10 minutes after I sat down for her to settle on her own- I brought a bed from room to room and she seemed to settle on it rather quickly. She even retreated to the kennel I left open a few times for naps of her own accord.
When playing, she would often present the toy to me, and even jumped onto my lap and put the toy or rawhide right in my face to play. She never presented any resource guarding both with the toys/rawhide, or her food.
I was impressed that she did not have a single accident and would telegraph when she needed to go by either staring at me or the door to the yard.
Overnight, I kept her in the crate, and she did not show any signs of separation anxiety. In fact, I never heard her cry or bark the entire weekend.
Only twice did she get over-stimulated and began jumping on me repeatedly, but each time I quartered away and she very quickly dialed back her intensity to a lean in for pets.
I chose a weekend when my dog would be with my parents so I could see how she did in a home setting with someone she trusts, and it is clear to me that she is a very well behaved dog. Her recall from the fence was always almost immediate, even when chasing small animals. She observed my neighbor on the other side of the fence but was not confident enough to move closer, so I witnessed zero barrier reactivity.
Also, after she went out in the rain she allowed me to towel dry and tolerated touching of paws, tail, rear, and everything else without any stiffening.
If I could have, I never would have brought her back. I was impressed with just how well behaved and relaxed she was, and I thank you so much for letting me spend the weekend with such a wonder dog.
