Meet Fortress, a sweet 3-year-old, 35-pound lovebug who is an extremely fast learner! This smart girl is motivated by food and verbal praise, and is so eager to learn. Fortress knows "sit," "paw," and "stay" and is learning new tricks like come, wait, down, drop it, up, downstairs, off, and go. She is so smart and athletic. This sweet girl has ears for years, and will show her cute head tilt with a whistle. Her vocabulary continues to grow and now includes sit, paw, stay, down, wait, good girl, ball, toy, up, come, yes, downstairs, outside, pee pee, poop, go, drop it, place, no biting, and get it. Her fosters even have 12 more words on her list to learn!
Fortress is currently living in a foster home, and has settled in beautifully. Housetraining is going well! This polite girl enjoys having a "place" to go to. She has a bed in each room so that she clearly knows where the "place" is and she now takes herself to her spot to relax. She is a polite car passenger and can settle both inside and outside in the yard. She is great when left alone - her fosters close her off in the living room and after watching them leave through the window, she takes a nap on the couch with her toys. She is an absolute angel. Fortress continues to do amazingly well when left alone and is happy to look out the window or sleep until her fosters return. There are no resident pets in her current foster home.
Once she's out and about, Fortress walks well by your side and frequently checks in with her person along the way. Of course, she might also be checking to see if you have another treat ready! She is able to be redirected when seeing the neighbor's calm dog, but will react with barking dogs. She is making progress each day with her fosters and a structured training plan. Her love of treats and willingness to engage make training together a fun way to build her confidence and strengthen your bond. Her fosters have also been practicing leash skills with her in the yard. She still pulls a little at times, but she is getting the hang of loose-leash walking beside her person. Structure and consistency continue to work well for this amazing sweetheart. Fortress recently met a man and woman at her foster home. She was a little tense at first but quickly warmed up once they offered her some butt scratches and played fetch with her outside.
Fortress is a love bug and super goofy! She's hilarious and a constant source of joy and happiness. She enjoys squeaky and crinkle toys, and balls. She loves playing fetch and showing off her tricks. Fortress is super athletic and will thrive in an active home (running/hiking buddy, dedicated to playing fetch daily, sports like agility, barn hunt, fast cat, etc). She enjoys being involved in everything and is curious. Fortress has lots of playful energy, but she does not have a great deal of endurance, so about 10 minutes of fetch can be enough to wear her out before she settles down for a nap. Her favorite things include squeaky toys, tennis balls, durable squeaky plush toys, and playing fetch in the yard.
Fortress has also started enjoying her snuffle mat, lick mat, and Kong. She was initially skeptical of the hose but has discovered that chomping at the water can be fun! She is not interested in getting completely wet in the kiddie pool, but she will drink from it, put her paws inside, and dig in the water. During the workday, she enjoys napping with breaks for fetch. She has a larger play session with training breaks in the afternoon and usually experiences another burst of playful energy after dinner before settling down for the night.
Fortress does have a snuggly side, too, and is a complete love bug. She is a velcro girl but also very happy to go to her "place" in the room to watch rather than participate when asked. She is a huge snuggle bug who is extremely affectionate and loves cuddling on the couch.
Fortress would like to be the only dog in her future home, where she can soak up all the attention for herself.
MVP Up to Bat! I'm a BARCS MVP because I'm learning to stay calm when excited, feel comfortable being alone, and make dog friends at my own pace. I'd do best as your only pup at home. Please contact our Dog Foster team at dogfosters@barcs.org to connect with my foster family, and get to know me better! I can't wait to meet you.
Every animal deserves a home run! BARCS MVPs are overlooked pets in the shelter. Thanks to the generous support of the Alonso, Basallo, and Bradish Baltimore Orioles families, all MVP animals have waived adoption fees AND will go home with a brand new leash and collar or cat carrier.
For more information or to see the full MVP line-up, click here: https://www.barcs.org/mvp
