Shepherd Mix
14 Weeks
Girl (Spayed)
$450
I am special needs! This is our little foster baby, Xena, our warrior princess. She has some medical conditions that you will need to discuss with Lifeline if you are interested in adopting her. She is a wonderful puppy, very silly, playful, cuddly, smart and loves to please! We don’t notice anything medically with the exception of depth perception. She loves to snuggle on the couch but cannot get up by herself, she leaps and hopes for the best but doesn’t make it. If she is allowed up on furniture she should not be left alone as she needs help jumping down so she doesn’t get hurt. In addition, we have a two tier deck with just one step going down to the second tier. Xena took a solid week to even attempt to go down the one step and the veterinarian has advised us she needs to be kept away from staircases to keep her safe as it is likely she may fall down the stairs. When we first brought Xena to our home, she wouldn’t notice if we threw or rolled a toy and she wouldn’t go get it, it seemed she wasn’t tracking the movement. The last few days, she is doing much better with that and if you throw a ball or toy and she sees you do it, she will run and get it and bring it back. We think that was a huge step for her! She is very clumsy and doesn’t really walk anywhere, she kind of gallop/runs everywhere. The veterinarian said this may be how she always moves around due to her depth perception issues. It’s truly adorable but may not be the best fit for a family with very small children. Xena is very treat motivated. She was able to learn “sit” in just a matter of minutes. Now she often runs in front of us and sits without prompting, all in the hopes of getting a treat. We believe she will learn lots of things if she has a family who will take the time to work with her. She is doing very well with potty training. With the extreme cold, she stayed inside a lot and learned to use potty pads inside the house. The last few days, she has been going outside pretty consistently. Xena grazes when she eats, eating just a little bit at a time so we have been leaving her food down during the day. She sleeps in a playpen at night and has been doing really well! We’ve got her into a routine and she no longer cries when we put her in her playpen and most of the time, she sleeps through the night. She does whine in the car for a while but will eventually settle down (probably because she hasn’t gotten to go anywhere fun yet ?). She does best in a carrier in the car. Xena does listen well when you tell her no to correct a behavior but if you tell her no to something she really wants to do, she will pout. She has mastered pouting! We love having Xena in our home and cannot wait for her to find her perfect family who will let her be her silly self while keeping her in a safe environment.
