Meet Penny - We're trying again

[wdfifteen]

Vicki could not stop crying after we gave up or puppy Lacy. (Meet Lacey!)

She can't live without a dog. I'm fine without a dog, especially after the Lacy debacle but we had to get another one for Vic.

We went to the Animal Shelter last week and found this little girl. She's 2 years old, weighs about 20 lbs - just right for us. She was found stuffed in a crate with six other dogs that look just like her in an animal hoarding situation. The Shelter hasn't followed up to see what has become of the "owner," but the Sheriff was involved when they picked the dogs up.

The Shelter did a DNA test on her and it comes up:

63% Miniature American Shepherd
13% Pomeranian
13 % Siberian Husky
12% Australian Shepherd

Living with this little girl looks like it will be a piece of cake after Lacey.

[rfuerst911sc]

Good luck with the new pup .

[berettafan]

She's beautiful and deserves your best. Hope this works out for you guys. Remember all dogs are better than any person short of Jesus.

[Seahawk]

Penny is the pup from the Dog thread, right?

I was hoping for a match. Great eyes on Penny, That is always the best sign.

Best.

[Skytrooper]

Hello Penny ! You are a beautiful pup ! You won the lottery with Patrick and Vickie !!

[DWBOX2000]

Good looking dog. We just got a hoarder dog. He’s nut but a great dog.

[oldE]

Penny, you lucky pup! Give her a chin rub for me, please.

I am like the op. I can live without a dog, but over the years have been blessed to have my life enriched by so many rescues.

Best
Les

[craigster59]

Good for you Patrick! I'm sure Penny will work out great!

We lucked out with Nalu. Only had one "accident" as a pup in the house, never chewed up anything and is wicked smart.

He has a heck of a bark if anyone comes to the door, never goes out into the street, stays by your side like a faithful friend and he LOVES to play fetch.

But right now he's shedding like a maniac. Must be his winter coat coming in.

[ckissick]

Penny looks a lot like Teddy, the mini Aussie (technically, American Shepherd) that we loved for 16 years.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Penny is the pup from the Dog thread, right?

I was hoping for a match. Great eyes on Penny, That is always the best sign.

Best.

Yes, she’s the one. We brought her home this morning. She’s nervous and is afraid of me when I’ve been away from her for a while, but warms up to me fast. She’s asleep on the sofa next to me right now.

We did a lot of studying and came up with a plan. We are keeping her on a leash next to us or in her crate all the time for a while. We also make sure she sees us put her food down and we stay with her when she eats. The theory is if she gets used to the idea that all her safety, comfort, and food come from us she’ll be more manageable. I dunno. At least we sat down and made a plan we agree on and both promised to stick with it. So far Vic has broken it twice - put a bowl of food on the floor before we even got home with her, then took her for a walk in a place we agreed we wouldn’t walk her. (We are going to put in an invisible fence and agreed we would not get her used to walking across the line where the fence will be, so she won’t have that habit to break. She’s been walked across it twice.).

[masraum]

Penny looks like a cutie that just wants to be a great, easy companion for you guys. Good luck to all of you. I hope it goes well.

[cabmandone]

With the aussie/husky mix she should be highly trainable but a bit high strung.

[Baz]

She's a cutie....congrats to both Penny and her new humans!

[LWJ]

Congrats!!!

[Gogar]

101% good dog!

[KFC911]

A yappy pack is a happy pack...

I luv happy tales too

[VINMAN]

Beautiful puppy Pat. Best of luck with her.

.

[wdfifteen]

24 hours in and she is still quite shy, as expected. Penny is more shy with me than with Vicki. We believe it could take months for her to get over the trauma. We're ready for it.
She is much easier than Lacy because Penny's baseline is to lie down and sleep. Lacy's was to run around chewing on things like she was on cocaine or something. Lacy would not go into a crate, and Penny doesn't want to come out of hers.
Thanks for all the good wishes.

[berettafan]

I’ve read and been told the best thing to do for bonding with a new dog is get on the floor with them.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by berettafan

I’ve read and been told the best thing to do for bonding with a new dog is get on the floor with them.

Yes. With treats in your hand! Fortunately, Penny is very food motivated. We got her to let us pet her by sitting on the floor with her and holding out treats. In just a day she has gotten to the point where she will tolerate being petted without the food lure.