Holly 10

Update 04/08/2015:  “At home or away, Holly doesn’t really seem afraid of a thing, but she can be amusing when something she’s familiar with changes.”
Original:  “There she greets a dog-savvy clerk who understands the value of 4 on the floor and gives Holly lots of attention when she doesn’t jump...great reinforcement help for her!“

In the spirit of mid-March, Holly is answering to “Holly-gan” in her foster home.  This petite lass has a lively wag and a jig in her step.   If sizing up a new situation, she can be quiet and shy but more often, she’s dancing ahead with an engaging step.  She excites at every smile coming her way, whether from visitors to her home, at the vet’s office, or when out on the streets of her small town.
 
Holly-gan lives with 2 Springers, a 3- and a 10-year old.  The older one offered the first play bow.   Holly seemed uncertain of his intent but, with persistence over a few days, he gained her trust and the two became excellent playmates.  This took a little longer with the younger Springer.  Holly-gan skirted him widely for a week.  Then, from a tentative start have come high-spirited wrestling matches daily.  Chase is the outdoor game.  When her foster mom steps into the mix with a tug rope or stick, Holly is equally as willing to play with her.  Back inside, the toy basket is always full of Kongs.  When her buddies play out, Holly will grab a chew toy and occupy herself or nap.
 
Her house manners must stem from living indoors until recently.  She arrived with flawless housetraining, is crate trained, and doesn’t seek out trash cans.  The counters are of no interest.  She has run of the house much of the time when her family is home.  When no one is home, she crates and, at night, she either crates or sleeps on a dog bed beside the people bed.   She crates easily for road trips; there’s not a peep from her on short runs or journeys of several hours.
 
With many basics in place, Holly-gan began work on 2 remaining areas: leash training and her meet-and-greet skills.  She’ll sit politely and step into a harness lead for leashed walking now.  Making turns comes easier each day and, if she pulls, she redirects easily.  Much of her leashed walking happens 5 minutes from home, on the streets of a small town.  This offers the chance to help Holly tune her skills when meeting people too.  She’s a head-turner; folks notice her.  There’s no need to put feet on people to get some petting.   With growing encounters, she’s getting the idea.  She’s welcomed in a pet-friendly business daily.  There she greets a dog-savvy clerk who understands the value of 4 on the floor and gives Holly lots of attention when she doesn’t jump...great reinforcement for her!
 
Holly also sees other dogs when walking in town.  She’s usually eager to meet them but, as with people, becomes very excited by some.   With others, she’ll remain calm and pass them by…most easily done when they’re across the street!
 
Holly-gan hasn’t met children in her foster home.  Her walks take her close to an elementary school, and, if children are on the playground, she’s noticeably drawn in their direction.  Children might eventually be great playmates for Holly but, at this point, she could easily topple or frighten smaller kids with her vigorous “hellos.”  She also tends to become a bit mouthy when excited; she is not aggressive but needs adult playmates who will help her extinguish this behavior.  She’s much improved at home in two weeks and should continue progress with consistent leadership.
 
If someone said that Holly was an 8-month old, it would be believable.  To the contrary, Holly’s full vetting history arrived with her, confirming her age at a little over 2 years.  She’d been with her original family in West Virginia until changes resulted in her moving outdoors and receiving less attention.   When a kind neighbor asked about her, the process began and she was surrendered to MAESSR by her owner.  She visited the vet and, yes, she got very excited there too.  When it was time for her exam, though, she stood still and was cooperative, if a little wary.  The vet complimented her for excellent muscle tone and felt all she needed was to add a few pounds.   Toward that end, Holly’s eating 3-4 moderate meals a day and will look perfect with a gain of 3-4 pounds.  She’s also completing treatment for a minor ear infection.
 
A visit to the groomer resulted in a masterful shave-down.  Her coat was too badly matted to salvage, but the skin underneath remained healthy.  She’s already growing out and is downy soft.  It will be fun to watch her full loveliness emerge over the coming months.
 
A “dolly-kin” with a wonderful temperament, Holly will soon be ready for new playmates.  Though not a requirement, she’s perfectly poised for some formal obedience work with her people.  It will help her build her repertoire of basic commands and move bonding ahead quickly.   Daily on- and off-leash time will be as important as playtime.  She values sofa time on her own terms and is just beginning to settle for cuddle time there when invited up by her family.  Though lucky to have found MAESSR, Holly won’t need the luck of the Irish going forward.  Where luck is involved, it will be the family who adopts her who will be lucky!!