Shanny
Shanny has been placed in the special needs section because she has special issues regarding other dogs. She takes a while to build trust between her and other dogs. Right now she is living with 4 other dogs and has done so for the past 6 months with 2 new dogs coming into the pack. She gets along great with them and there are no issues. She is happy with her friends at home.
Here’s the deal. Shanny MUST have a strong pack leader!! Definitely not an “aggressive” leader, but an assertive one. Because of her distrust of other dogs, she needs to know that her pack leader is there to protect her, to guide her with interactions, to praise her for doing the right things and to correct her when she steps over the line and becomes aggressive.
Shanny is very dominant with other females, young dogs, insecure dogs and “pushy” dogs. Living many months with a trainer and behaviour experts, it seems her behaviour is so ingrained, even at such a young age, it is likely genetic. Her aggression towards dogs can be managed but she must wear a special head halter and a muzzle. She is quite accepting of the muzzle and we believe it gives her a sense of security as well – for sure good things (like walks) happen when she wears it.
Shanny is a happy, loyal, and smart girl. A mix of Rotti/Shepherd/Sharpei. She’s 3 years old and healthy. She loves people and older children. She’s been around cats and other animals and knows not to chase but being a dog, she’ll try it with a cat. She has great house manners, is great on leash (will pull without her halter though). She’s funny and has a sense of humour. Shanny will provide many years of great companionship with the right family.
As her foster mom, I do not recommend introducing Shanny to other dogs until you are comfortable with Shanny as her own dog and confident that you can handle the long slow process of an introduction. You need to be in contact with me before this can happen so we can go over details. I’m not saying another dog couldn’t be brought into the pack but it must be done in a specific way.
I would not recommend taking Shanny to off leash dog parks as this is too much for her – she is very fearful and cannot take the pressure. A long healthy walk/run/bike on leash with other dogs is very doable and if you can find an area where she can have fun or swim without the fear of other dogs, it would be great.
I would recommend a dog class, but only one that has a competent trainer that is aware of Shanny’s issues and is still willing to accept her in class with her halter and muzzle on, and is willing to keep her a safe distance from the other dogs. This would help build a bond between her and her new family and still allow her to be around other dogs learning that they really don’t want to eat her.
We love Shanny! She deserves the greatest home in the world. As her foster family we cannot and will not have her euthanized just because she doesn’t trust other dogs. She is not aggressive to people and never has been. She deserves the chance to finding the “right” forever family.
If you are interested in Shanny, please contact: Diana Miller
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