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About
- House-trained
- Yes
- Health
- Vaccinations up to date, spayed / neutered.
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Meet Penelope
See more pictures of Penelope on her Facebook album! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/edit/a.437118766306926.102515.364134910271979/
History:
We rescued Penelope on May 11, 2012 from an eastern Washington shelter on the day she was going to be euthanized. This poor girl had clearly had an extremely rough start to her short life. When we walked to her kennel, she just laid in the back, turning her head away and didn't want to get up until a volunteer she knew walked past. Once out of her kennel, she started to open up and realized we weren't going to hurt her, and when we introduced her to another dog, she became the most animated and happiest we'd seen her.
For the first month she was in foster care, Penelope was fearful of new people and situations, but not horribly so. She went on a trial adoption, but about two weeks in something changed and Penelope became much more anxious and "tightly wound", now barking at things she was scared of in an effort to make them go away. Her adopters tried training classes with her, but she was too nervous and anxious for them to be effective.
She was returned, and we spent months trying to work with her to calm her down, but her anxiety level remained extremely high, both in her foster home and when out of the house. When we consulted with a trainer, she spent an hour with Penelope, observing her reactions and behavior, and recommended putting her on medication (an SSRI, prozac), to help calm her down and allow her to relax.
She started medication in December 2012, and we've noticed a huge improvement. She's calmed down at home, while playing with other dogs, and most importantly, in new situations.
In our second session with the trainer, Penelope was actually seeking attention from her after just a few minutes. She was able to go into a community center and walk through, observing people from a distance, and remain calm. She was concerned and not so sure about the situation, but she didn't bark at anyone or go over threshold.
Her foster is working with her on continuing to go to public places and meeting new people without being scared, and she's making great progress.
We have noticed recently that Penelope seems to "guard" her foster mom when meeting new people. If a new person comes into the house and lets Penelope out of her crate when her foster mom is gone, Penelope is perfectly fine with them, but if her foster is home, Penelope seems to feel the need to guard.
Whoever adopts her will need to continue working with her on training and to build her confidence, and decide when to wean her off the medication. The medication isn’t expensive, about $23 for a 50 day supply.
Breed: Pit Bull mix
Estimated DOB: Early 2011
Weight: 60 pounds
Health: Good
Personality: With people she knows, Penelope is the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. She wants nothing more than approval and to be loved. She loves to play and just curl up with you and cuddle.
Kids: Before Penelope became so anxious, she was in a foster home for a week with three toddlers, who was wonderful with. However, now that she's more fearful, especially with new people, we wouldn't recommend her going to a home with kids.
Other dogs: Penelope adores her two canine foster sisters and is very submissive to dogs she knows well. As she's been with us longer, we've found she does need a proper introduction to new dogs (as most dogs do), and her play style can be very rough and "obnoxious", so she'd do best with a somewhat calm and laid-back canine sibling, and be supervised when playing. She is also great friends with the male foster dogs in her foster home.
Cats: Unknown
Energy Level: Moderate. Penelope is an amazing walking or jogging partner (provided the area isn't too terribly busy) and she loves to play. After a walk or jaunt in the yard she's content to just lounge around.
Training: Penelope is crate trained, house trained, and is overall well behaved in the house. She's working on good manners outside the home now that her anxiety in new situations is more under control.
She walks beautifully on leash, especially with a gentle leader.
Adoption fee:$150
Penelope will make the perfect canine companion for a quiet home that wants a loving, cuddly, and adoring dog.
All of our dogs come to their adopters spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, dewormed, and flea treated as needed. If you are interested in adopting one of our dogs, please go to our website www.forgottendogsrescue.com/#!adopt-a-dog/mainPage to fill out an adoption application, or email forgotten.dogs.rescue@gmail.com for more information.
History:
We rescued Penelope on May 11, 2012 from an eastern Washington shelter on the day she was going to be euthanized. This poor girl had clearly had an extremely rough start to her short life. When we walked to her kennel, she just laid in the back, turning her head away and didn't want to get up until a volunteer she knew walked past. Once out of her kennel, she started to open up and realized we weren't going to hurt her, and when we introduced her to another dog, she became the most animated and happiest we'd seen her.
For the first month she was in foster care, Penelope was fearful of new people and situations, but not horribly so. She went on a trial adoption, but about two weeks in something changed and Penelope became much more anxious and "tightly wound", now barking at things she was scared of in an effort to make them go away. Her adopters tried training classes with her, but she was too nervous and anxious for them to be effective.
She was returned, and we spent months trying to work with her to calm her down, but her anxiety level remained extremely high, both in her foster home and when out of the house. When we consulted with a trainer, she spent an hour with Penelope, observing her reactions and behavior, and recommended putting her on medication (an SSRI, prozac), to help calm her down and allow her to relax.
She started medication in December 2012, and we've noticed a huge improvement. She's calmed down at home, while playing with other dogs, and most importantly, in new situations.
In our second session with the trainer, Penelope was actually seeking attention from her after just a few minutes. She was able to go into a community center and walk through, observing people from a distance, and remain calm. She was concerned and not so sure about the situation, but she didn't bark at anyone or go over threshold.
Her foster is working with her on continuing to go to public places and meeting new people without being scared, and she's making great progress.
We have noticed recently that Penelope seems to "guard" her foster mom when meeting new people. If a new person comes into the house and lets Penelope out of her crate when her foster mom is gone, Penelope is perfectly fine with them, but if her foster is home, Penelope seems to feel the need to guard.
Whoever adopts her will need to continue working with her on training and to build her confidence, and decide when to wean her off the medication. The medication isn’t expensive, about $23 for a 50 day supply.
Breed: Pit Bull mix
Estimated DOB: Early 2011
Weight: 60 pounds
Health: Good
Personality: With people she knows, Penelope is the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. She wants nothing more than approval and to be loved. She loves to play and just curl up with you and cuddle.
Kids: Before Penelope became so anxious, she was in a foster home for a week with three toddlers, who was wonderful with. However, now that she's more fearful, especially with new people, we wouldn't recommend her going to a home with kids.
Other dogs: Penelope adores her two canine foster sisters and is very submissive to dogs she knows well. As she's been with us longer, we've found she does need a proper introduction to new dogs (as most dogs do), and her play style can be very rough and "obnoxious", so she'd do best with a somewhat calm and laid-back canine sibling, and be supervised when playing. She is also great friends with the male foster dogs in her foster home.
Cats: Unknown
Energy Level: Moderate. Penelope is an amazing walking or jogging partner (provided the area isn't too terribly busy) and she loves to play. After a walk or jaunt in the yard she's content to just lounge around.
Training: Penelope is crate trained, house trained, and is overall well behaved in the house. She's working on good manners outside the home now that her anxiety in new situations is more under control.
She walks beautifully on leash, especially with a gentle leader.
Adoption fee:$150
Penelope will make the perfect canine companion for a quiet home that wants a loving, cuddly, and adoring dog.
All of our dogs come to their adopters spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, dewormed, and flea treated as needed. If you are interested in adopting one of our dogs, please go to our website www.forgottendogsrescue.com/#!adopt-a-dog/mainPage to fill out an adoption application, or email forgotten.dogs.rescue@gmail.com for more information.
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Penelope
- Pit Bull Terrier
- Adult
- Female