MEET:

SASHA
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UPDATE 1/16/10 - It doesn't feel like a year that sasha has been home with me but it is and I couldn't be happier with having her. she's my special girl AND she gave mac the best year of his life [in my opinion]. I've never seen him happier than he was with her. sasha brought out a side of mac that was so full of love and life.  it wasn't easy for her to loose mac [she was next to him when it happened and she pawed at his face while he fell] but we have a ton of great memories. she really really loved him, it was so obvious to see. sometimes I worry that she's starting to wilt but it comes and goes.
Sasha had a really great year - she just needed time and patience to come into her own. I was walking her and marvin yesterday and I noticed that she doesn't want to be in charge any more. With mac, she was always out in front [mac walked slow] no matter how hard I tried to keep her next to me. Now she's next to me or even walking behind while I teach marvin some leash ettiquite. Mac definitely let her do what ever she wanted but now its marvin on top [literaly and figuratively]. she does a great job of being tolerant of marvin and I can see her teaching him often - she does like him but its a totally different relationship for her. It was so nice to see sasha and mac be so very happy with each other - I'm hoping she can get back to that place soon with marvin but it might be a while until she feels that comfortable. He's a bit relentless with the puppy antics. Maybe when the spring rolls around and they get some decent time outside together it will different but for now I tr  y to give her some alone play time-just me and her- so she doesn't get stomped on and have her toys stolen.
The one thing I did notice is sasha seems to be going back and forth with her confidence now that she's not with mac. She was very protective of him so I think now she's turned that energy towards protecting her home.  She's been great at my mom's house every time and has been ok while on walks but I've noticed she's overly sensitive to doorbells, delivery truck sounds, and certain voices. I think if I like marvin's trainer, I may bring sasha for a session or two with her just to help build her back up. I wan't to keep her life as easy, perfect, calm and happy as I can.

UPDATE 7/16/09 - Sasha's personality has really come out in the last couple of months. Wow, is she a funny little thing & man alive is she a nag!! Whenever sasha wants mac to play she starts with this insane chatter that sounds like something out of Jurassic Park - and it gets really LOUD if she doesn't get his attention, or if mac won't give up his toy. Her next move is hilarious...sasha will actually lift mac's ear with her nose and keeps grumbling in it until she gets her way! Mac doesn't want her screaming at him so he runs away and she chases him. Mission accomplished. She's even recently started talking to me. She has different sounds for every mood -  for me its very different sweet and whiney sound, for mac she uses her get your old fart ass moving and play with me voice and if he's in talking mood, she chimes right in and tries to out talk him.  It's a good thing mac is responding well to his arthritis medicine because this girl has some crazy energy. I'm glad though because mac looks very happy when he plays with her. she keeps him young...
I call her sasha bean the beauty queen cuz she's just too cute!

UPDATE 4/16/09 - It's official. Sasha has scared away her trainer for good. The last session we had didn't go very well, again, and I never heard from her since. I can understand if the trainer felt like she just wasn't going to be able to help Sasha but at least be a professional and tell me...don't just avoid your client. I have been speaking with someone who is a certified canine behavior counselor so hopefully this will work better than the last. In conversations with the potential new person, she said Sahsa's last trainer should have never walked into my house and immediately started working with her which makes sense. 
But for the good news, Sasha finally took the three hour ride to grandma's house for easter and she was SO good. She was the star of the weekend. That was her first long car ride and she did very well [she usually gets whiney in the car]. I told my mom to ignore Sasha when she came in the house and it was picture perfect. She actually approached my mom in just about 5 minutes wagging her little nub AND even slept with grandma on her bed. Sasha got the entire bed to herself too while the rest of the crew were in their crates. My loud, pushy, obnoxious sister on the other hand was a different story. Sasha did try to bite [and unfortunately missed] her because she never listens and as usual ignored everything I told her to do and pushed her self on Sasha - stood in front of her staring at her while telling Sash that "they will bond by Easter". I guess that was Sasha's No. They were fine eventually. Truth be told, I would have tried to bite her too.
Sasha also got to meet all of Mac's brothers and sisters. We introduced them one by one - 8 in total and she had zero issues with any of them. She really had fun with baby Apollo and ran him ragged. She really whooped his butt! He's only 1 1/2 and was dying to play with someone. He's stuck in a house with 9yr olds that don't play much so he was sad to see her go. I think my mom even wanted her to stay.

UPDATE 3/17/09 - Sasha...my sweet little terror. She is absolutely a love in my house but she doesn't seem to care too much for her trainer. We have been working with someone for a few weeks now and Sasha has made it very clear she is not her favorite person, numerous times. I asked Liz for some ideas and we decided to have the trainer basically start over and take it super slow and that worked better. I think my boy Mac helped too. He climbed on the couch and sat next to the trainer and Sasha seemed to relax a bit. Still grumbled a bit but didn't try to bite her until the end so it was an improvement.  I'm going to give it a couple of sessions more before I make a decision to switch to someone new. 
I opened up the dog door this weekend for a little bit and tried to show her how to use it. She was afraid of it the first day but soon mastered it, on her own time. Her curiosity got the best of her fear when she heard Mac outside barking and of course she just had to be there. She is stuck to him like glue! 
She was so proud of herself...came running in with a big smile on her face all excited. It was very cute.

UPDATE 2/15/09 - Sasha is absolutely wonderful and we love, LOVE,love her.
She fits right in here and feels like she has been with us forever. For the rough
start she had, I thought she would take a couple of weeks to get adjusted to her
new home and hopefully bond with us, but that wasn't the case. She became
more comfortable with every hour the first day she was here and by 9pm felt
comfortable enough to take Mac's (my almost 9yr old boxer)toys out of the toy box
one by one and start playing. She's a very energetic little girl and Mac loves that
and loves her to pieces, which is exactly what I was hoping for. They play hard
and often and it is always followed by lots of doggie kisses and I've never seen
that from Mac before. I've been taking Sasha for walks in the neighborhood to
expose her to new people and rides to get her used to the car for the long rides to
Grandmas house that will follow later in the year so she can meet the rest of the
family. She hasn't needed to go to the vet but I did take her to get her Lymes
vaccination because it is so necessary up here and she was not nervous at all.
Yesterday we had our first private training because she does have some
nervousness with strangers that has turned a bit aggressive (in her defense, he
was a creepy stranger that approached us in the street like a big dope) but I have
no doubt that we will be able to overcome that. Sasha is actually a very smart and
obedient little girl and also takes direction extremely well. With that said, we are
signing off to go for a walk and practice our training exercises.
P.S. Thanks Liz for all you did for Sasha.

1/16/09 - Sasha has been adopted!

11/17/08 - Hi Folks, please meet Sasha she is 5 year old female who was
surrendered to a local shelter. I happened to be at the shelter the day Sasha
came in. This poor girl weighed in at 29 lbs. She was clearly dehydrated, weak
and scared. In rescue you come across many dog in bad shape. Just not owner
surrenders looking this bad. When you see a dog looking like this is usually
because they have been running the streets for weeks :(    She was clearly very
neglected and acted like someone may have had a heavy hand with her :(   When
I approached her kennel her ears were pinned back and her tail tucked between
her legs.  Sasha was giving a clear message not to approach.   We felt she
needed some time to hydrate and feel secure before she could be evaluated.
I went to the shelter 4 times in order to just work on bonding with her.  Upon my
3rd visit I was able to pet her and she took a biscuit from my hand.  We decided
she  was a good as she was going to get in a shelter situation and to give her a
real chance  of recovery in a foster home.   Sasha likes her crate, she appears to
feel safe in there.  She is eating well and I even saw a play bow from her this
morning along with some kidney bean action. ( ya know when a Boxer wiggles
and they bend their bodies in half) lol lol   She loves to be told how pretty she is.. I
seem to get the most nub wiggles when i speak to her in a baby voice :)   She is
not friendly with strangers. She grumbles a bit, just out of fear.  Sasha seems to
like the other dogs. They have all gone up to her while she's crated and she
wiggles that nub.  I'll do formal intro's in  7 to 10 days.  We're going to give her a
few weeks to decompress and settle in. We will  then  work on exposing her to
more of the world.  More info to come as she progresses
STATE:  NJ
AGE: 5 years
DOB: 10/8/03
WEIGHT: 40 lbs
SEX: Female
NEUT/UTD: Yes/Yes
COAT COLOR: Flashy Fawn
DOCKED TAIL: Yes
CROPPED EARS: No
CHILDREN UNDER 4: No
CHILDREN OVER 4: Unsure
SEPARATION ANXIETY: no
OTHER DOGS:  Yes
CATS: Unsure
CRATE TRAINED: Yes
HOUSE TRAINED: Unsure
LEASH TRAINED: Yes
OBEDIENCE TRAINED: Some
MICROCHIPPED: No
ADOPTION FEE: $300