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BackPistachio
Foster Home Needed
Description
Name: Pistachio
ID # RT20260922-1
Estimated Age: 1-2 years
Sex: Female
Estimated Breed: Shepherd Mix
Estimated Weight: Unknown
Good with Dogs: Unknown
Good with Cats: Unknown
Good with Children: Unknown
Special/Medical Needs:
Estimated Energy Level: Medium
Current Location: Incoming to BARC's Rescue, Calgary, AB.
Pistachio is a young shepherd mix, around 1or 2 years old. She is naturally a more fearful, anxious, and lower confidence dog, possibly due to some genetics or her personality but also because of probable lack of socialization. She does better with women than men, but it does take some time for her to warm up and get comfortable. She warms up to people first by simply being ignored while in her presence, letting her choose when to interact with you, and lots of hand feeding. Then when she’s comfortable with someone, we noticed she warms up quicker when with a handler, on a leash outside of the kennel being able to move more freely. Once she comfortable and makes a bond with someone, she is an absolute dork who loves to run, have a bit of a cuddle, and play with some toys. She is a very easy to read dog with her body language and some vocalizations, she goes into flight/freeze mode when scared. When she vocalizes, she does so very clearly, with some barking, little growls, and avoidant/nervous body language. As she gets comfortable in her environment we have seen more signs of anxiety, separation anxiety, and some reactivity from her. On top of everything else, we have been working on not coddling her and building some confidence with obedience training and some engage disengage games. During her stay Pistachio has learned her marker words, sit, get dressed (allowing us to put a sliplead over her head), touch, and positive association with leash pressure. She still needs to practice her leash manners, but she isn’t terrified of the leash pressure anymore.
Pistachio works best with a calm, force free, and positive reinforcement style of handling and training. Everything we have done with her has been built on trust and consent. Things like hand feeding, not rushing her to get used to our presence, taking things at her pace, building positive association with the leash and pressure pulses, and letting her consent to interactions when she opts out of handling and letting her choose to reapproach us with lots of positive reinforcement. All of this and more has helped us be able to fully handle her, this includes leashing, walking, and carrying. Pistachio needs someone who’s willing to give her time and put in the work with her, be her voice, and show her the world isn’t that scary. While it can be hard work, Pistachio will absolutely shine and can be the perfect dog for the right people.
If you are interested in fostering this dog, please fill out an application
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