REMI
UPDATE 9/13/08 - About a month has gone by and Remi is settling in very well. I think she knows this is
her new home by now. She has been very well behaved and we barely hear a peep out of her. She has a
great amount of energy and enjoys her 2 daily walks. We have a few very nice parks in town where the area
is fenced in and well behaved dogs are allowed to run free. She enjoys these places the best as I bring her
their daily. She enjoys jumping after the ball and bugs and me while I am jogging...we are working on that
one..also she tries to eat the goose poop that is in the park but we keep her away from that as much as we
can. At night we never hear a peep out of her and she sleeps at the foot of my bed. We have been crating
her for short amounts of time when we have to be out of the house and she pees a little bit when we get
home but this is progressively getting better. I have taken her out to the swimming holes and while at first she
was reluctant to go in the water, after I went it she was ok with splashing around.Overall she has been
perfectly behaved except that she seems to be a bit afraid of my brother when he stops by.He is very nice to
her but at times she growels at him..I have not seen this with any other person.
I have taken her to the firehouse a few times and everyone their says how perfect she is. I am constantly
getting good comments about how beautiful she is. One funny thing is that we have a Lieutenant at the Fire
dept with the same nickname as her so that has caused some laughter at work.
She has gained a bit of weight as she should have and she weighs about 50 lbs now. When we got her she
weighed just over 40lbs. We have been feeding her quality food that was recommended by the vet. She gets
a ton of exercise as we are active people and she comes everywhere with us. She is a very strong and
healthy dog. She is great in the car and loves to ride. We were cleaning our new car recently and while the
vacuum was running she jumped in the back seat and didnt want to come out.
While at home she plays with her toys or just relaxes with us. She gets a bath once a week and never puts
up a fight.
Overall Remi is a great dog and she seems to be doing fine here with us.

UPDATE 8/11/08 - Remi made it home ok last night. She was very well behaved in the car and we never
heard a peep out of her. She likes to have her head out of the window to smell the air. When she was just
riding we found her sprawled out across us and laying with us very lovingly. On the way home we stopped
to eat at a restaurant that had outside seating so she could sit with us. She was very well behaved around the
table and was very calm and relaxed. When another dog went by and was barking... she was interested in
the other dog but she was very quiet and listened to our commands. We stopped by a pet store and she was
allowed to come inside. The store owned commented on how well behaved she was and how she was not
pulling on her leash and stayed right by me. Last night when we got home she had her tour of our yard and
played ball and ran around with me. She is easy to play with and has a lot of energy which I like. She was
given a bath with flea shampoo and seemed to not mind the water at all.
When the day was over she laid next to my bed and fell asleep on the floor. She slept all night and got up
with me this morning. Mid morning she went for a walk with my father and I to burn some energy and after
that she had some food. The neighbors cat came around and was growling at her but she just wanted to
play.... she scared the cat away. You can tell she has a big heart! This afternoon I'm going to take her to the
park to have some fun.

8/10/08 - Remi has been adopted!

7/24/08 - Remi just got back from her spay and she's doing well.  The only way I could tell she just had
surgery is that she only trotted after a squirrel in the backyard instead of running full tilt!  Other than that, she
still wanted to play with Brady (I guess she missed him!) but settled down when I told her no.  I suppose
that too shows that she isn't feeling her best since she wouldn't be content laying next to me when there are
jowls to chew on!  Other than the obvious soreness and being tired she seems quite happy to be back
among friends.  Her sutures will need to be removed in two weeks (which could happen at any vet) but
other than that she's 100% ready for her new family!  I still think she would be happiest if she had a
fur-sibling for company and play, but if you or your family is home more often and has plenty of time to
devote to playing and exercising her everyday she would be happy with that as well :)  If you have a place in
your home and heart for her, she'll be happy to love you back!

7/21/08 - This afternoon I had to go out for a few hours for errands and decided to try something new.
Since Cooper had(has) separation anxiety I knew that it was mostly going to be time and patience that
would help Remi.  She's been having a tough time of it when it comes to crating- similar issues as Cooper-
bitting at the wire, slobbering/salivating all over the crate and floor, breaking out unless the crate seems were
zip tied, urinating, etc.  The only thing that eventually helped Cooper was getting and extra large crate and
putting both him and Brady in together.

So today, since we have two crates and I know that they are all getting along really well now, and the boys'
crate has two doors (one on the short side and one on the long side) I put the two crates together and
attached the two short sides together leaving the long side door on the one crate as an entrance to both
crates- essentially creating one large 6' x 2.5' foot crate.  They all went in quite willingly, as usual, when their
are PB Kongs to eat, but the real success was when I got back and she was not nearly as frantic and there
was no urination or salivation!  She also didn't do the jumping/climbing thing on the crate walls in her frenzy
to get out when I walk through the door.  Yay!

We always wait- even as long as a half hour sometimes- for them to be calm and remain seated/laying down
while we open the doors and they have to stay inside calmly, even though the door is open, until we say
"ok."  The boys had gotten this down pat and it usually only took minutes to get the door open and be
released.  Then Remi came along and Cooper's SA has started to resurface because he could see and hear
her freaking out.  Previously, Brady's calm influence had helped him relax, so I'm hoping that Brady can be
the calm, relaxing influence for BOTH of them now.  For being at the bottom of the pack he sure is a calm,
steady pillar of support for the two nervous-nelly's.  The real test will be leaving her for more than 5 hours
which seemed to be the time trigger for the worse behaviors.  I'm anticipating good things with time though!

7/20/08 - Remi is improving day by day.  She hasn't had an accident with her "submission urination" since
the last update and she is starting to get over her hand shy-ness.  As long as we don't try to touch her when
her tail is tucked or her head down (this is body language showing nervousness/uncertainty) she does fine.
She is getting more comfortable here so it happens less often, but when she does show nervousness I ask
her to sit and wait for her to look at me with her ears up then I praise her.  Then I call her to me and praise
her again and give her affection.  These confidence building exercises have helped her immensely in avoiding
accidents and becoming more relaxed here.  We are now able to play with her without her thinking that she
is in trouble or going to be hit- it was a big breakthrough for her!

All three are able to play together now without much issue.  I think she and Cooper have finally sorted out
their pack rank and with the exception of minor grumpy-ness, which is corrected immediately, all three are
able to run and play with each other.  This makes me think she would probably be fine with most any dog,
keeping in mind that there would be an adjustment period.  She was fine playing with Brady within 24 hours,
but she and Cooper took about 2 1/2 weeks to get their issues mostly sorted out.

Remi is also doing really well with the resident cats.  She has learned that she is not allowed to chase them,
even if they're running around playing with each other.  Rashka thinks he's a dog and thus greets them first
whenever he enters a room and has gotten comfortable enough with Remi and the changes she's made that
he'll even do his annoying "rub all over your face repeatedly" move with her.  All three dogs tolerate it pretty
well and I am particularly proud of the progress she has made- especially because she still has a really strong
prey drive with animals outside!  (She's always quick to check the trees to be sure those darn squirrels aren't
in reach!)

She is pretty good at "sit" although we are still working on her staying that way when she is excited.  She has
also learned "drop" very quickly.  She learned it when I was playing fetch with her.  She brought her toy
back to me but wanted to play tug of war, so I taught her "drop" so I could throw it for her again.  She
followed the command on her own the second time we tried it- very smart!  It also comes in handy when
she's chewing on a bone and its time to go upstairs for "bed time."

I brought her with me when I stayed over night at my sister's apartment last weekend and although she did
great obedience wise, I could tell she was quite bored without her buddies to play with!  I think she would
be happiest with another dog to play with (and also help reassure her with her separation anxiety).  If you
(and/or your kids) have plenty of time to devote to keeping her happy, well exercised, and played with she
would be fine with just her humans.  When napping her favorite spot is at your feet or under your chair but if
she was able to sneak in some lap time in the evenings she would just adore you!

7/7/08 - Remi has adjusted pretty well and is settling in.  She has been playing very well with my Brady, they
do the mouthy/chew-on-your-jowls/boxing thing for hours.  When outside they will run and chase each
other, in and out of the woods, up and around the yard, back and forth, around and around!  Sometimes
Cooper joins in, which can result in a scuffle, as both he and Remi want to be the one in charge.  It's never
been serious- no biting, etc- just a lot of noise and boxing until I tell them to stop.  I believe she would best
go to a home with another dog, but one that would share the lead dog status willingly.  She would be quite
bored without another set of jowls to chew on! Unless of course she had a playful human or three to play
with!  We were told she came from a house with kids ages 7-16 and was good with them.   

I had discovered some printouts in her file about "submissive urination" and thought it was a problem she
must have had when younger, but low and behold, I discovered her trigger.  She can be very hand-shy and
if she thinks she is in trouble and you reach out to reassure her she will squat and pee a little.  In the dog
world this is the utmost symbol of submission and if she thinks she's in trouble or you're mad, and you make
a movement to touch her, she panics and thinks the peeing will make you happy.  She has only done this a
couple times (a few minutes apart several days ago) with me before I figured out what was going on and
how to avoid the problem.  When she does something wrong, like play too roughly with the cats, I give my
verbal correction and she immediately stops.  I ignore her when she comes over to apologize, only when she
relaxes and sits in front of me, does she get affection.  This avoids the frantic mind-set and the fear that the
hand coming towards her is going to hit her.  If she has something she's not supposed to, only happened
once so far, I told her to drop it and she did.  I picked it up and turned and walked away from her.  After
she realized things were going to be okay, she came over to me with tail wagging and ears up so I had her sit
(as I always do) so I could scratch her ears and neck.  All was good and no pee incident!

She is doing ok with the cats, definitely still sees them as a game or something to play with.  A couple of
times when I wasn't watching closely enough, she has mouthed them, softly making chewing motions, as she
does when she's playing with the boys.  I correct her each time and can tell she is not intending violence but
it is still something we're working on.  Cooper was the same way when he first got here, so I know she'll be
fine with the proper supervision and training.

She learned very quickly to sit and wait for her dinner.  All three sit and stay while I put food in their bowls.  
Then they have to be looking at me before I give them the "ok" to go eat.  She is doing very well with this
and also knows "down" although is less reliable at it, unless you have a treat, of course!  As for walking on a
leash, she does pretty well with me and seems content to stay by my side with some reminders, just a quick
tug on the leash with her slip collar.

She is not doing well with crate training, seemed ok for 1-3 hour stints, but when we left her for six hours the
other day she peed in her crate.  I believe this stems from her separation anxiety, but I do not know how she
reacts out of her crate, I will have to try that next.  She goes in quite willingly for a peanut butter kong but
once she realizes you've left the house she starts barking.  I think she settles down though, as the
biting/slobbering on the crate haven't been a problem since the first few days.

She is definitely a velcro-dog, same as my Cooper, and her separation anxiety will take some patience but
she will be just fine and most gracious for someone to love her and put the effort in for her.  She is definitely
a sweetheart with kisses to spare and loves to lay at your feet with some belly-rubs for good measure.  All's
well that ends well for Remi and she will love you unconditionally for giving her that happy ending!

6/28/08 - When Remi arrived it seemed as though she had about a year and a half of pent up energy!  She
just raced around and around in the yard even though its close to 85 degrees today!  All three are passed
out in front of the fans now, so I'm sure she's happily tired out.  She needs to settle in some before I can get
a better idea of how she is obedience wise but first impressions tell me that she needs a bit of work.  If you
make it clear that you're the dominant one she catches on quickly but is still testing her boundaries.  She may
have been a touch spoiled in her previous life and once she gets over that she'll be just fine!  She is so small
(to me, anyways!) that it doesn't take hardly any energy to correct her on walks- just a quick flick of the
wrist.  I'm sure that by the time she leaves here she will be well versed in walking in a calm, submissive
manner.  She has already met my boys and they all get along just fine so far even though they are both easily
twice her size!   She is new to cats but both of mine have introduced themselves to her.  She is definitely
interested in them but I think she will be fine with a little bit of work.  Remi is a beautiful young girl and
seems to be such a sweetheart.  Get your applications in quickly, she won't be around long!
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SCBR    PO Box 525    Woolwich, ME 04579
STATE: CT
AGE: 18 months (DOB: 01/11/07)
WEIGHT: 51 lbs
SEX: Female  
NEUT/UTD: Yes/Yes
COAT COLOR: Flashy Dark Brindle
DOCKED TAIL: yes
CROPPED EARS: no
CHILDREN under 4: probably
CHILDREN OVER 4: yes
SEPARATION ANXIETY: Some
OTHER DOGS: yes (best with submissive
ones)
CATS: Learning
CRATE TRAINED: No
HOUSE TRAINED: Yes
OBEDIENCE TRAINED: Somewhat
LEASH TRAINED: Somewhat
MICROCHIPPED: no
ADOPTION FEE: $300