Vanessa is a lovely Boxer mix. She and her puppies were rescued for the Seminole County Animal Control. She was a wonderful momma but now she is ready for somone to take care of her! Do you have a loving home for this girl????

2/15/09 Volunteer Update:
Vanessa's picture truly shows her personality, Fun, Happy Go Lucky, Alert, and Ready to Play. Her babies are long gone and now Momma needs a forever home! Vanessa would rather be inside with her family than out in the back yard. I believe that she would make a good apartment or condo girl. BUT she needs to be worked with on leash manners. Nicole has done wonders with Vanessa and leash walking. She still has a way to go but we have broke the ice. I use a gentle leader when I walk her. Vanessa hated the GL at 1st but after about 3 mins its like a competely different dog. She enjoys jumping in the car and going for an adventure and would be good in a home with kids but they should be bigger than her ~ we don't want anyone knocked down.  If you're looking for a bundle of fun Vanessa is the girl for you!

03/24/09 Volunteer Update:
Vanessa is always ready to greet everyone with a smile! She was gentle and patient when taking a treat from my hand. What a sweet girl, all she wants is to be loved!

 

09/18/09 Foster Update:

I just brought Vanessa home to foster today and have already taught her how to heel on the leash.  It's new to her but I can tell that she understands what is expected of her already and has responded very well to it!  She knows how to sit, and partially how to lay down.  I expect that I'll be able to teach her that as well as shake and roll over in just a matter of days.  She's VERY playful and a VERY happy dog, clearly LOVES people!!

 

09/24/09 Foster Update:

Vanessa is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met.  She has the energy level of a puppy at times still, but her training to be a well-behaved dog has been delayed from the year she's spent at the shelter.  However that hasn't deterred her from learning things very quickly.  She LOVES to chew and has two different bones that she's made her mark in in the past week.  Because of her love of chewing I keep a close eye on her when I'm home and when I'm not, she is crated.  A few times she's gotten ahold of socks or tried to play with her bed, thinking they're toys.  I take them away and tell her "no" and she cowers right down but seems to be learning what is and is not okay to chew on and is perfectly happy when allowed to chew her bones.  Getting her to eat was a chore at first.  Stressed in her new environment, it took her several days and she still turns her nose at all-dry food.  But I mix in some plain yogurt for her and she licks the bowl clean.  She's a great sleeper, dozing all through the night and patiently waiting for me to wake up the next morning without rushing me (and I'm not a morning person so this is great!).  When I have to sit down and study, she's perfectly content laying in front of me and playing with my leg and foot when I can't give her my full attention.  One of my favorite things about her is how soft her fur is... usually short-haired dogs have coarse fur in my experience but hers is sooooo soft, you just want to keep on petting her, which of course she loves!  You know when Vanessa is happy, she has a pig-like grunting noise that she emits when playing or being pet.  It's so cute!  She's a wonderful, happy dog.

 

10/04/09 Foster Update:

It took a couple weeks but Vanessa has finally settled into a "home" routine.  She was so used to the shelter environment that she needed an adjustment period.  But now she eats every day, like clockwork.  She knows that if she's not finished in 10-15 minutes, the food is taken away.  This ensures that she respects the pack order in the house and that she doesn't have the privilege of eating whenever or whatever she wants to.  She's happy to eat regular dry Natural Balance food and the gas she had when she first got here is completely gone.  Although she behaves much better for me than she does for my roommates, she knows that she's not allowed on furniture, and is only allowed to chew her bones.  I watch her closely at all times though, because she has been known to get excited and start to chew on her bed pillow.  For this reason I keep her crate empty, with no padding yet.  But this doesn't deter her from being comfortable -- she's very crate trained and goes inside without a fight.  Once she's in there she's quiet and well-behaved and does not exhibit any signs of separation anxiety.  When I come home she doesn't go crazy in a haste to get out, either... she sits very nicely and waits patiently to be reunited.  She loves to play and loves the attention but she tends to be mouthy.  A firm "no" and she stops, but I'm still working with her on this.  She gets better and better each time she goes for a walk and she definitely knows not to pull.  The one thing she seems to refuse to learn is how to "shake".  Sit and lay down she knows, but she seems to hate the shake idea... I know she'll get it down eventually!!  I call her "Miss Piggy" sometimes because of her pig grunts, but she really is a cutie.

 

10/27/09 Foster Update:

Vanessa is the sweetest, most loving dog!  Since I've had her this has not changed.  She prefers attention from people above everything else.  I've found that consistency is very key with her training.  She's extremely conscious of her surroundings and has learned what she can and can't chew.  If she ever makes a mistake and starts playing with someone she shouldn't, she immediately stops when told "no".  There is nothing she loves more than her chew bones and she'll try her best to get you to play with them with her if she can!  Surprisingly, she's not a big eater, or a big sleeper during the day.  She eats once a day since she's out of the puppy growth stage.  At times she gets distracted and doesn't finish her meal but it all goes back to her wanting to be around people as much as she can.  If you stand next to her, she will finish her dinner.  She's very obedient and does not beg for food.  Once in awhile she'll think it's play time if you sit to eat but a firm "no" and she'll lay down or chew her bone to keep herself occupied.  At night time she's excited to get in her bed and lays right down.  Once she gets settled in for the night there is NO disrupting her!  She sleeps great through the whole night and waits until I'm up and ready to take her out for her morning walk before she gets out of bed.  Vanessa is a great dog and so loving, she needs a great family she can give all of her sweet kisses to.

 

11/07/09 Foster Update:

Vanessa went to the groomer's yesterday and had a nice long day the doggy spa!  When I went to pick her up, two of the groomers spotted me walking her to my car and started raving about how awesome she was -- "She is the BEST dog!"  "She's SO loving!" and talked about how they wanted to keep her in their classroom with them.  I was happy to hear that she had been well-behaved.  Vanessa knows how to sit, lay down, shake, turn around, and roll over.  I can't remember the last time I needed to discipline her for anything.  She's become very well-trained and doesn't even wiggle around anymore when I go to wipe her feet after she's been playing in the yard!  She's a joy to have around and of course, she's still an avid chewer of those bones - she just loves them.

 

11/12/09 Foster Update:

This week I took Vanessa to a doggy playdate with Arlo, one my past fosters.  He's a very well-behaved and submissive male and it was so much fun to watch them play together.  Although Vanessa loved running around and playing with him, she does seem to get a little jealous of attention he would get from me.  She displayed this by mouthing at his face - something that other dogs may not take too kindly to.  I was able to correct this behavior using the remote training collar that I've been using with her and it worked wonderfully.  She realized immediately that the behavior was inappropriate and then responded more quickly to my verbal corrections, stopping as soon as I said her name, followed by "no".  Her behavior gets more and more obedient every day!