Nikita Pit Bull Terrier Richmond, BC

**Due to COVID-19, all meet and greets will be by appointment only. Please call us at 604-275-2036 to set up an appointment.**

PERSONALITY: Meet Nikita - the stunning pitty girl who was surrendered to RAPS. Nikita is a high energy, bubbly, sassy and sweet girl. She absolutely loves being the centre of attention and getting all the cuddles & kisses from her human friends. Nikita also loves playing with toys - tug of war is one of her favourite games to play.

Nikita is under socialized and because of this she lacks confidence and is fearful when meeting new people (particularly men) and dogs. She puts on quite the vocal performance when meeting new people but when a proper meet is completed, where her thresholds are honoured, she can warm up rather quickly - especially when treats are involved.

Nikita's ideal home would be an active one where Nikita is only pet in the household as she likes to be the Queen B. Nikita requires a calm, confident handler that has large dog experience - preferably power/bully breed experience - and is willing to work with Nikita on her socialization, manners and building her confidence. Nikita is a bit of a project pup but she is definitely worth it.

Right now she is with a foster family who are in love with her, and are working with her so that she can be her best for her new home. They have the following to say about Nikita:

"Nikita is a very sweet, special girl. She’s had a rough first year of her life, but whatever happened to her hasn’t stopped from being a goofy, playful, sweet cuddle bug – she just needs time to warm up to you!

She loves: tennis balls, the newer and fuzzier the better; naps in the sunshine; fresh baked treats and chicken – in fact, she is very food motivated but never gets aggressive about it; tug of war with ropes and toys. She is crate trained and sleeps in her crate all night, as well as while alone in the house for a couple of hours (when her fosters need to be outside without her). She adores a good brush and is a good sport about baths too, as long as treats are involved.

Nikita is incredibly smart and a fast learner! Her fosters have been doing training and counterconditioning for her triggers – there is still work to be done on her reactivity to other dogs, but has learned to mostly ignore them with a treat. Likewise, she will tolerate strangers and new people if they follow her very strict guidelines to approach; it only takes her a couple of meetings to either ignore or treat them as friends, but she is still very wary of being touched too soon. She still doesn’t like bicycles and skateboards, and most men are a little scary to her – she might be the perfect fit for a house with a cool lady or two.

She has been learning how to walk on a leash properly, using harness and collar alternately (to be less rough on her sensitive skin). She enjoys a good sniff outside, and loves long walks – she adapted immediately to a downtown living situation, and has since moved to a bigger house in a quieter neighbourhood and loves it! After meals, especially in the evening, she loves a good zoom, so a house with yard or garden would be perfect for this otherwise very chill dog.

TRICKS/COMMANDS: come, sit, stay (including waiting for food), roll over, look at me, up, off, down, bow, paw, high five.

TRIGGERS: loud skateboards, bicycles and motorbikes; men, especially if wearing glasses, headware, masks; male dogs, but less so than skateboards; female dogs if they get too close, but much less than male ones."

Due to BSL we are hoping to find a home for Nikita outside of Richmond and Burnaby as she hates wearing a muzzle. She has been spayed, microchipped and vaccinated with us.

**Special Needs**
Being a Pit Bull comes with its challenges, one of them being allergy issues. Nikita is a champ, but does have her flare ups and is on different medications and treatments for her skin. We find that the weather affects her a lot, and during the summer and spring months her skin and ears react to allergens. Right now, she is on a special diet, a daily allergy treatment, and on a few medications that help. She sees the vet regularly, so needs a home that understands that allergies are a long term battle, and sometimes hard.

LIKES: Cuddles and attention.

DISLIKES: Not being included.

AGE: About 1 year and 11 months.

If you are interested in Nikita, you can call our shelter at 604-275-2036 to book a Meet & Greet.