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BackSavannah
Adoption in Progress
Description
Name: Savannah
ID # A145145
Estimated Date of Birth: August 17, 2015
Sex: Spayed Female
Estimated Breed: Poodle Mix
Weight: 9.7 lbs.
Good with Dogs: Yes
Good with Cats: No
Good with Children: Yes, dog savvy children
Special/Medical Needs: Savannah is completely blind in both eyes.
Estimated Energy Level: Low
Current Location: Calgary
Adoption fee: $650
Savannah is a great dog for a quiet family where there's someone (or another resident dog) home most of the time to keep her company. She is low energy, fully house trained and never barks. She's a friendly pup when it comes to humans of all ages. Not mouthy, not jumpy, no food aggression at all. She is polite towards other animals but generally prefers humans. She has been tested with cats and does not like them. On warm days, she can walk for up to an hour at a time. We currently do 2-3 daily short walks during the winter and she sleeps for the rest of the day. She loves being next to humans and will actively nudge whoever's home to let her cuddle on their lap. Savannah came into foster with intense separation anxiety however it has been massively improved. She is now able to sleep through the night alone in the living room and she stays calm easily 3-4 hours in her closed crate if we go out for errands. Playing background music was our key to success. It keeps her calm and she falls asleep in her crate waiting for us.
Special conditions:
• Fully blind. She navigates pretty well by sound and smell. Would do best in a calm and tidy home where there's no risk of tripping over objects on the floor and no sudden loud sounds (especially from small children) which she is easily scared by. She is perfectly fine with general household noises including vacuums, laundry machines and blow dryer. In fact she is super good with grooming and will sit calmly as soon as she feels the dryer blowing at her.
Breakdown of observations:
Chewing: zero chewing issues. She does not chew anything other than kibble and treats. Leaves plants, shoes, wires, and all other household items completely alone. She also does not play with toys and prefers to sleep while the humans are busy.
Leash walking: she's so gentle on the leash, never once yanked and mostly follows behind us when walking. A lot of stop and sniffs. Need to be careful guiding her to step up and down curbs as with her small size, she can face plant on the ground if she accidentally steps off a curb.
Tricks: she does not know any tricks on command. She will regularly stand on her back legs and put her front paws on your knees to let you know she wants to be picked up. Super cute because she acts like a toddler asking for hugs!
Potty: She will let you know when she needs to go by pacing and pawing at the front door. She is a strictly outdoor potty pup, will never do it indoors unless she hit her absolute max time. She prefers grass or rocky textures to potty on. We give her 2-3 potty breaks a day but she can easily hold all day if needed. Good news on winter potty training! Savannah originally hated walking onto snow which was how we learnt her max "timer". After much encouragement, Savannah is now willing to quickly walk onto a snow pile, do her business and make a bee line back inside.
Dogs: submissive towards other dogs and is polite with sniffing. She does not seem interested in other dogs for interactions beyond basic sniffing. She will stay quiet and never bark back even if other dogs bark at her. Twice we have had large dogs knock her over trying to play, she will either freeze or back off but still no fighting back.
Cats and other animals: she does not like cats. We tested with 3 different people's cats and she tried to chase all 3 away.
Children: she is always super gentle with toddlers and children at the playground and loves getting head scratches from them as long as the children do not suddenly get loud and excited. Savannah never once showed aggression to children when they excitedly scream, but she definitely is scared and backs off with tail between legs. Would do best with respectful children who can keep calm around her.
Adults: friendly with all humans we met.
Cars: loves car rides! She is eager to poke her head out the window and sniff the wind on our way out. On the way home, she will curl into a ball and fall asleep beside you.
Condo life: knows to check for the floor gap when entering and exiting the elevator. Also good with walking in corridors and never jumps on neighbours passing by. Never barks at other units even if there are noisy children or barking dogs behind the doors. It took about a month of training and Savannah has now mastered our staircase too! She will climb upstairs 1-2x a day to check on foster mom at her home office. When she's done, she will climb back downstairs to hangout with foster dad.
Crates: not the biggest fan of crates but she has improved so much that it's no longer a problem. As long as we keep music playing, she'll fall asleep in the crate with no fuss.