ATL: Fabulous Farrah, the Training Graduate, Looking for Her Leader via Foster/Adoption! Plz help!
Jamie Sprague
With New Year’s resolutions comes a self assessment of one’s strengths and weakness. So, here it comes…My name is Jamie, and I make for a poor pack leader. I need your help.
We desperately need a good “alpha” to progress my foster dog Farrah to help prepare her for her forever home. An “alpha” is a natural leader – one who exudes confidence, is assertive in their approach to others (including dogs) and leaves no question in anyone’s mind that they’ve got things under control. They often say, “Everyone just relax, I’ll take care of this” – and you believe them. In the words of Farrah’s trainer, herself an alpha, they are benevolent dictators. They are the opposite of me.
Farrah is a sweet little thing that is terrified of the big bad world and people she doesn’t know. This poor baby was tethered in a backyard as soon as she was old enough to run – along with a pack of others that were being bred/sold. A kind rescuer convinced the breeder to surrender all of the tethered dogs and they went to live at the local no kill shelter, where poor sweet Farrah was confused by all the noise and activity at a shelter that must provide refuge to so many homeless dogs.
That’s where I came in, offering a quiet place for her to build some confidence and learn that people can do more than just tie you in the yard. She’s blossomed into a gal that will now actively seek out love and petting – even though she still crawls over to humbly request it and then flips on her back to show me her belly. She now wags her tail too – even though it’s sometimes tucked under her bum, wagging against her belly.
Our challenge is that she’s still afraid of the big bad world outside. Between work and rescue, I don’t get out much – nor do my dogs. Farrah really only knows my house and fenced yard. And, she doesn’t have confidence that I’m strong enough to protect her because I make for a poor pack leader. When strangers come to the house, she clearly wants them gone, and the average adoptive home is not going to be visitor free.
In an effort to expose her to many people and dogs and to help her gain confidence, Farrah just completed a stint with Atlanta dog whisperer Angie Wood (http://uscanine.com/). Angie’s worked her magic on dogs like this before – but she still needs to also be confident in her alpha. And she needs ongoing exposure to the world beyond my little refuge – frequent leash walks in the neighborhood, through parks, or perhaps sitting alongside you as you enjoy outdoor drinks or dinner. Here are more photos and videos of Ms. Farrah (in addition to attached):
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/16496258
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcAJY_n401o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uJCyKzw0pI
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10793&id=100000669590457&l=7490ae3dc9
So, come forth presidents, coaches, management and parent-almighty types – Farrah needs you! We desperately want to move her forward; returning her to my house is only going to set her back. If you have interest in fostering (or fostering-to-adopt) Miss Farrah, please contact me at ja...@doggieharmony.org. This dog has a heart of gold – you will want to hold her (even at 45 lbs) as if she’s a gushy little baby, and she’ll let you. She’s an approximately 1½ y/o pitbull-pointer mix – the two breeds that were being produced at the house she was taken from. Her adorable under bite would suggest mom and dad had different face structures – perhaps one pit, one pointer.
If you share our belief that there are no bad dogs, just bad owners (or shall we say, bad alphas), please consider donating to our training fund via PayPal to don...@doggieharmony.org or by mail to Doggie Harmony, P.O. Box 191362, Atlanta, GA 31119. Dogs continue to surface that demand our “never give up” attitude – see Molly – and training is key to helping them. U.S. Canine/Angie provides a generous discount, but funding is required to help position dogs like Farrah for success.
Thanks as always and please feel free to circulate this far and wide.
Jamie & Liz
Doggie Harmony
