Ivy 20-140
Profile
At a Glance #20-140
| Mixed Breed | Born: August 2019 |
| Female | 41 lbs |
Status: Adopted
Profile
Updates
Sunday, September 13, 2020
Ivy was adopted today by the G family. She will be an only dog, but have a two-legged brother and a two-legged sister. They are eager to learn more about her Border Collie side and work on training with her, and they even already have an agility course for when she is ready to learn. We wish her well on her new journey. Have a GReat life Ivy!
Monday, August 31, 2020
Ivy continues to do well in her foster home. Her foster family continues to work with her in daily 45-minute training sessions on basic commands. She has nailed sit, down, stand, watch me, and the name game. We are working on stand and stay.
We have learned that not only does she need physical exercise, but mental exercise as well. The mental activity for her is almost more important than physical right now. That has been done by doing training sessions on a 50-foot leash in an open field and letting her do a sniff walk, or “snifari,” as another volunteer called it.
During this walk it is important not to briskly walk, but to let her go where she wants, on leash, and let her nose do the work. We will incorporate commands into this walk as well, checking her recall to a sit or recall to a down. We will then scatter small pieces of treat on the ground to have her sniff them out.
We have done this twice now, and it has improved her ability to relax later in the day tenfold.
What Ivy needs in her forever home is someone who can provide continuous training—both physical and mental. If you do not have a fence, you must have a plan in place to contain her in your yard so she is safe. She would be an excellent candidate for agility or rally, and when she is older and fully grown, dryland dog sports.
Monday, August 24, 2020
We would like to introduce you to Ivy. Ivy was found as a stray and when nobody claimed her, RAGOM was called to accept this little lady. The vet clinic that originally took her in believes she was let loose because of her abundance of energy.
The vet clinic did a marvelous job keeping her safe, brought her up to date on her vaccines, and ran a urinary analysis as she was going to the bathroom more than normal. She was clear of parasites and got a clean bill of health on her blood work (heartworm negative).
Ivy did have a bacterial bladder infection, for which they gave her medication and is now cleared up. She still needs to be spayed, but otherwise is perfectly healthy. She has not had a single accident since being here. She will signal that she needs to go outside by giving a bark.
Ivy would like to say hi in her own words.
“Hello world, my name is Ivy and I joined my foster family one week ago. I was found as a stray and no one claimed me, but don't worry I am having the time of my life with my new foster family.
“They have three dogs and I get along with all of them, but especially the one closest to my size, Stacey. We have lots of fun and she has an activity tracker and apparently all our playing adds up to about 8 miles a day! Whoa, can you believe it? My foster mom hasn't found my off switch yet. (Hee hee, I'm not going to tell her where it is either.)"
That is correct, Ivy is a very energetic puppy who is guessed to be a Golden/Border Collie mix and roughly 1 year old. She is a bit of a barker when excited or playing, which we are working on. Because she barks when overly excited, an apartment or condo would not be a good fit for Ivy. Her bark is very loud, low, and reverberates.
She is a strong, confident dog. She can get mouthy when you play with her—not biting, but putting her mouth on you. She seems to know it is not right as she will immediately sit down and roll over as if to say, “I am sorry.” When she does this, you can easily redirect her to another command, or just ignore and move on.
Keep in mind, she is still a puppy, so it is important to redirect unwanted behaviors and reinforce the desired ones. She knows many basic commands: come, sit, kennel, high five, and fetch. She does kennel nicely for meals, during the day, and at night for sleeping.
While she loves the company of other dogs, she would be perfectly fine being the center of attention as the only dog in your home—as long as someone spends time helping her burn off her high energy!
We feel that she will be good with children 8 years old or older, because they will be able take direction from their parents regarding dog behavior and training. We have not yet cat tested her but believe that she would be friendly with a dog-savvy cat. A fence would be optional as long as her family has a plan in place to keep her safe in their yard.
She also needs a family that is committed to working with her and training her. We see the Border Collie side coming out in her and continuous training, walks, and mental activity will help expend that energy.
The foster home she is in has three resident dogs that are all high-energy breeds. But her high energy is a different type, one that requires more mental stimulation and walks than just play time.
Overall, she is a very happy girl who just needs some guidance and a place to burn off her energy. Once Ivy has fully matured physically and her growth plates are fully formed at about 2 years old, she would be a good running, bikejoring, or skijoring partner and these activities would be so fun for her.
