Priscilla - Adopter Update, Oct. 6, 2007

Priscilla - adopted Easter Monday, April 9th

Foster volunteer Siobhan was driving up to Sudbury for the Easter weekend so she offered to take Priscilla. Reverend Dempster made plans to drive down to Sudbury on Easter Monday to pick up Priscilla. She reports that Priscilla was quiet and peacful the whole ride back to Iroquois Falls. She is going to send me a picture for the Happy Tail.

Ready for Adoption March 30

Priscilla has been working on staying quietly in a crate both when I am home, not at home and at bedtime. She resisted at first but now settles in, watches the activity for awhile then lays down and goes to sleep. She is a healthy, energetic 2 year old female, vaccinated, micro-chipped, spayed and in good health. She will find a toy, come up beside you and rub it against your shin for a game of tug. In the park she loves to run with a ball or soft frisbee playing 'catch me if you can", dodging all around you. And at the end of playtime, Prissy will happily snuggle up beside you on the couch, snore contentedly with an occasional sigh when you pet her head.

However, all of this and more is yours but you have to earn her respect. She has a dominant streak and needs to know the rules right from the begnning. She responds very well to positive training. The first hour she was in my place, we worked on the "Sit" command. She tested me but when she realized there was a little treat for doing the command, the rest of the training became easy. At the Sportsmen's Show, she refused to leave my side and was obedient when other dogs approached her.

Adopter Requirements:
She will need to be the only pet in the house - no other dogs or cats; but she will give you love and affection 10 fold. Prissy will need someone who can take control from the beginning and let her know what the rules are. She will happily obey as she has done with me while in foster care. So an adopter with previous training experience would be an asset. We are not requiring a professional trainer but someone who has worked with another dog or two using positive training techniques. Also she will need to learn how to walk on lead, either using a professional training class or with a knowledgable adopter. She is good with children but would not recommend her living with cats. <

Foster Update, March 10

Priscilla and Odin continue to grow closer together, playing happily, chasing each other in the park or wrestling on the bed. I'll have to take a video of her and Odin playing tug (surely a scene from Pug Gladiator if there ever was one). I was considering an only dog household for Priscilla but seeing how well she plays - she could go to a house with a the right dog, a young male her age. The adopter will have to maintain authority and control to not let situations get out of hand.

I've switched her from Purina One (the food she came with) to a raw diet. She has to sit and wait until I tell her to come eat. That took a week to master but she waits now for my command.

This week I'm doing crate training with her. She is not used to a crate so positive training and repetitive behaviour is on the menu.

Foster Update, March 1st

She does have a habit of wanting to bite down on my ear lobe - so we are working on her stopping that rather painful display of affection. I was also having a problem with her house training and we had a few accidents. Priscilla had to learn my schedule and I had to learn her rhythm. So the last couple of days have been okay.

She loves a game of tug and when this 30 lb pug gets her muscle into a game of tug, you could close your eyes and swear their was a Rottwieller on the other end. The first game of tug and I thought my shoulder had been dislocated. I'm exaggerating of course but she does pack a punch so to speak. I have noticed some agrression level rise when we are playing tug and one of the others gets too close. So we are working on me telling her when it is time to stop - so she has a cooling off period.

And finally, as you can see, Priscilla loves to run in the snow. We were by the kids playground and she went up the stairs on to the climber. We all walked beside her. At the end where the little slides which were covered in virgin snow. Odin stopped at the end of the slide looking up at her. Before I knew it, she was going down the slide, her big broad chest pushing the snow like a plow and it all ended up on Odin's head. (No, I did not have the camera with me)

Priscilla (Prissy)- Introduction, Feb. 24, 2007

Priscilla is a 2 year old fawn female. She first came to our rescue in June, 2006. She was placed in a foster home with 3 other dogs where she integrated well. She was adopted in mid-July to a loving family with a young boy and another female pug Priscilla's age.

However over the Fall and Winter, dominance issues began to develop between the 2 pugs. Although they would play well and eat together, every so often a fight would start with neither backing down. The owners tried to correct the situation but, in the end, felt it best that Priscilla return to rescue.

Priscilla will be assessed and montiored over the next 4 weeks with additional training (if needed) to be added to her schedule. Her initial integration into our foster home was full of play and excitement. All three male dogs initiated play with her. Priscilla has submitted to the alpha dog (Dante) by averting her gaze and lowering her body. Meanwhile she is happily playing with Odin, who is about her age and just as energectic.