Jade

Human interaction: When she first came into the house she was off to herself not wanting any attention.   By the end of the day Sunday she would come to me for reassurance and approval. Still hesitant to let me really pet around her head.  As the week went on she did really well with running up to me and checking in when we were not in the same room. She loves to get a massage on her back legs and getting the small part between her eyes gently rubbed.  By Tuesday she discovered my lap and laid on it all night while watching TV.  

Dog Sitter Visit (Strangers): Came over on Sunday and Jade ran right up to her.  On Monday I noticed on the home cameras she was terrified of her and was avoiding her at all cost.   I called my dog sitter and told her to just ignore her. 20 min after being in the house Jade approached her and 10 min later the leash was on her.  Every day Jade hides from her when she initially gets there. The relaxation and getting the leash on her is getting to be a shorter time frame. This is being done but letting the house dogs out and shutting the door to the house and just opening Jade cage and ignoring her. Once the house dogs come in she seems to relax a lot and feed on their behavior on what is ok or not.  The dog sitter is having no issues with her and I do watch on the nanny cams to make sure she is not getting overly stressed. 

Dog interaction: At first she would growl at both girls if they got close to her walking by. She has greatly improved. Overall, she gets upset when my younger more active dog is getting time with me. Jade will growls at her and then my dog will  hide but I do not allow her to continue this behavior. Also when I am doing something and she wants my attention she jumps on me, paws me or grabs my arm with her mouth and pulls me. I can’t feel her teeth so it’s not mean but it’s things that can scare someone.  I noticed she is feeling way more comfortable and starting to let her guard down as she is settling into my home and our routine. By Wednesday morning Hazel and Jade were wrestling and running around.  Due to Hazel being a rough house player they do well together. However, as soon as someone growls whether Jade or Zoey it causes Hazel to check out on play for the day. I usually let her retreat to my room and keep Jade and any foster out.   When sleeping she doesn’t like the other dogs near her. She growls a little using proper dog communication which my dog respond to appropriately. Jade likes to just approach the dogs and rip the toys out of their mouths therefore a home with small children is not recommended for her at this time. 

Obedience:  Jade does really well not much for her to learn. We are fine tuning her sitting especially for meal times and before going in or out of the house. She is learning my room is off limits. This is my rule for all fosters so my dogs have a place to have as their own quiet place if they need it. I can walk up to her while eating, drinking, playing, displaying no negative or concerning signals towards me.  She responds well to water bottle spray correction and “Jade, No!” If that command doesn’t work but she looks at me and continues the behavior she has been given a middle name and that seems to work when I say Jayda-Lynn or Ma’am.  She is food motivated. However, if she has to wait really long (more than 1 sec) the magic bubble machine and drool factory starts then jumping. 

Crate: Fabulous she has learned to go in crate and sit and wait for a treat. She is in all day while at work and over night.  Wed to Thurs I tested her out of the crate but gated in the room where the crates are due to still some growling and i don’t want issues at night.  She paced and whined ( cutest ever it is a mix between a dog whine and guinea pig noise ) for a while and eventually crawled in the recliner i sit in while watching tv and stayed there all night.  

Potty Training: No accidents at all

Things to work on:

1. Manners – if you’re ignoring her or not giving her what she wants she will jump on you or grab your arm with her mouth.  This can come across wrong with people and a dog her size should not be allowed to get away with this behavior in her new home. 
2. Her confidence – still not the best and relies on me or the house dogs to confirm her actions at times. She may benefit from having another confident personality dog to help show her the way. 
3. Constructive play time – just get her ok with the others walking passed her – this has improved and I feel in time it will continue to improve.
4. People – work on her confidence with strangers. On 2/13 we greeted 2 complete strangers in the lobby at The Mutt Hutt when I droped off and picked up with no growling or hesitation. This is a good sign this behavior will continue to improve. 
5. Jealousy – If I am petting one of the other dogs she bullies her way in and won’t let the others come near. If on my lap she growls if they come near. I usually remove her from my lap and ignore her so she knows that is not ok .

Overall: Jade is great when she earns your trust.  This will be the ultimate success in her forever home.  Being I am the only human in the house I am not sure if she will gravitate towards one person to guide her and confirm her confidence or if she can eventually have a human pack to trust.  She is getting more and more out of her shell every day and it is absolutely awesome. She comes to me and asks for her massages and will bury her head in my lap.