Sasha

NJ -

Female -

1 Years

This dog was adopted on 2012-07-21

Personal Information

Weight:52 Pounds

Color:Fawn

Ears:Natural

Tail:Natural

Spayed/Neutered:Yes

Shots Up to Date:Yes

Other Dogs:Yes

Cats:Yes

Children:Yes

Crate Trained:Yes

House Trained:Yes

Microchipped:No

Individual Needs:Anxiety-prone, Will require a fenced-in yard

Adoption Donation:$375

My Story

12/08/2011

Sometime in the last month, my fairy godmother must have paid me a visit and worked her magic on Sasha! She has calmed down, hasn't had any accidents in her crate, even past the eight hour point and the crazy puppy antics are now once in a blue moon. Looking at her now, it's hard to imagine how she was when she first arrived in rescue; the difference is like night and day. Crazy Sasha is quiet as a mouse! I never thought I would ever say that about her but it is wonderful. I have a sneaking suspicion her new mellow mood is due to her being hypnotized by the heater. She absolutely loves to lie in front of it and soak up all the warmth. It's her favorite spot in the house. Some days I have to move the heater as she has a tendency to lean up against! it (yes, she's still dopey). Sasha is totally in her element right now. I'd be willing to bet winter is her favorite season - I couldn't get her to come inside when it snowed for Halloween, and it was mighty high. 19 inches and she loved it. Marvin did his best to keep up with her but he left her a few times to come inside and warm up. The days when it’s true, chilly Fall weather, she will spend all day outside watching leaves blow in the street or the sidewalk. She runs up and down the yard trying to follow them. She desperately wants to catch them, even sticks her paw through the fence to grab them but just can't reach. She also likes to play puppy flag football with Marvin. He runs around with it and she chases him and tries to steal it. It's very cute to watch and to see her be such a happy little girl.

10/30/2011

Thanks to my own klutziness, I have been able to spend the last month with Sasha all day, every day, and it was the best thing for both of us. Sasha is such a different dog when she is with her people and gets to soak in the all the me-time she can. The anxieties she had when she first arrived are almost non-existent and she was completely manageable, even on crutches.  Even so, its still best not to introduce too much too soon to her so she isn't overwhelmed with newness. It took me a while to realize but I've misread her in a few ways. Much of what I thought was purely a lack of training and bad behavior was just Sasha's way of vocalizing, and her way of telling me to give her attention. To a person meeting Sasha for the first time, it might be mistaken for aggressiveness, or anxiety, but it's not.  Sasha doesn't do the typical boxer wookie sounds. She is a barker. That also leads to her being misunderstood and it can be frustrating, and possibly ignored for her behavior. This becomes a cyclical behavior of her being ignored, upset and demanding attention inappropriately.      Since Sasha has had the benefit of living with my two boxers for the last four months, it is helping her to see how she is supposed to behave. She is able to take cues from my two dogs, gets corrections from me and my two dogs and she now has someone to keep giving her guidance and training. Granted some of her behavior is not appropriate; but, she is slowly learning to undo months and months of uncorrected antics. I admit, I missed the meaning behind the demand barking, and the nipping at my toes, and the random chewing on whatever she feels like it at the moment to get my attention. It didn't click in my head until I stopped to realize that every time she acted out, she was standing right in front of me - trying to tell me something in the only way she knew how and I was missing it. I let the fact that she came into rescue with anxieties cloud all the progress she has made since then.      A typical, few-months back Sasha scenario would go something like this: In the morning, I would come downstairs and Sasha would greet me with barking and nipping and pulling at my pj's. If I slept downstairs with her, she was an absolute angel. Looking back now, it's kind of obvious he was saying good morning in a 1 yr old puppy fashion, a puppy who was never trained, or yelling at me for leaving her alone all night. Present day Sasha is allowed to sleep out of her crate and is usually just a sleepy girl too lazy to get up off her favorite couch and go out to pee. Before when we would go outside to go potty, she would bark like a fool, again nipping at my feet and hands. She wanted me to play. It's the same way she gets Marvin and Sasha to play. Now, what I've found is the best way to handle that behavior is to put her in a sit position and redirect her with a toy. Back when Sasha first arrived, I would come home from work and she again barked like a fool.  She was telling me she didn't like being left alone. Or telling me to take her for a walk. One day she was barking, barking, barking... I stopped, she sat down in front of me and I just talked back to her, gave her a big hug and squished her cheeks instead of immediately correcting her before she had a chance to correct herself. She loved it. The barking was replaced with a wiggling tushy. Her demand barking has subsided considerably now that she is learning the appropriate behavior, but she will have the occasional flare up. Now the task is to see if I can get her to not be such a little piggy, chow hound. She's figured out that if she licks the bowl hard enough to lift it out of the feeder so she can graze all she wants. In this situation, I just have to keep telling her no and close off the kitchen until she gives up.        Sasha is worth taking the time to get to know, appreciate and understand. She isn't a dog that can easily be summed up in a few words.  Her behavior can sometimes be like a bratty child, but she wants to please you. She's at peace and content to simply lay in your lap and fall asleep. Give her a cozy blanket and she is in heaven. She is such a love but still needs discipline as she wants what she wants, when she wants it. She is after all, a young boxer that hasn't had the benefit of a family willing to give her attention and guidance. She is also quick to react to sudden movements and noises which is why I think she would be best in a home with out children, or children over 12. Yet another reason for her to be misunderstood.  Yes, Sasha is still learning and no, she isn't the perfect dog. There's no such thing as a perfect dog, but with training, Sasha can be the most perfect version of herself. It will give her a sense of trust with her new family and provide a bonding experience when she gets praise for doing exactly what is asked of her. She will get a chance to meet new dogs and new people (which she loves), and it will build her confidence in new situations.        The ironic thing about humans is we acknowledge there is no perfect husband/wife, no perfect child/parent, or no perfect world but we expect perfection, and expect it very quickly, from our pets. Sadly, we fail them by not providing the love, discipline and consistency needed to achieve our self-imposed goal of perfection, and then give up on them for not meeting a certain standard.       What Sasha needs is patience, and acceptance from a committed owner. I'm sure there is someone who thinks Sasha is perfect for them and just hasn't found her yet. When that person is ready to find Sasha, I will be more than happy to tell them all the great things about her such as how she buries herself in blankets, or she never tires of playing in the snow. But for now, she is happy to wait here for her forever home with her dogs that she loves, all the food she can eat, all the toys she could ever want and all the attention she has come to crave.

09/21/2011

Now that Sasha is becoming more calm and balanced, she is becoming a welcome addition here. It doesn't take much to make Sasha happy. In typical dog fashion, her favorite activities are to eat, play and sleep. She loves to play with my marvin and sasha, and even lets me participate once in a while. She likes to dig deep in the toy box and pull out something she hasn't played with in a while and then she shoves it in my lap. I get to toss it a few times and then she sticks it in Marvin's face to tell him its his turn. After playtime is over, she wants to cuddle on the couch for a while and take a nap.       Sasha is crated during the day while I am at work but I have been letting her sleep in the living room at night, and so far, that has been good. I usually have one of the dogs stay downstairs with her so she isn't alone. Inevitably I will come downstairs in the morning to find both dogs smushed on top of each other in the same couch corner, but that's how she likes it.       She really is a sweet dog, and not difficult to handle. I would bet that once she gets through a cycle of obedience class, Sasha will be a real gem. Since she is so food motivated, training should be a breeze. She's a little timid in new places or situations, and likes things in her own pace...just slow enough for her to figure out the newness and then she's good to go. Meeting people, however, is a different story. She loves when people come to the house. Judging her reaction, she must think they came solely to see her. She is like my little welcoming committee...slathering kisses on complete strangers in five minutes flat and of course, has to sit in their lap for a few scratches behind the ear.

08/31/2011

So little Sasha girl is doing really well since her last update. The  calming essences are such a blessing for her, but I found out for  Sasha they are most effective when added directly to her food as  opposed to diluted in her water. Now that she is becoming more  balanced, she is acting like a typical young boxer should, definitely  still exuberant, but not neurotic. Not surprising, but I've  noticed  that her anxieties are minimal on the weekends when I'm home more and  in the past few days that I've had to work from home. Seeing how much  more relaxed she is when her people are consistently home, her new  family would get the best possible Sasha if she has one person home at  least part of the day. It would also help her house training as she  still has a hard time holding it in for a full work day. Eight hours  is her breaking point but she's still young so it might get better as  she gets older.       Sasha's personality is starting to shine and you can finally see how  sweet she is. She really is a trusting girl with a lot of love to  give. She is also pretty funny to have around as she is SOO dopey, and  I say that with love. Everything she does makes you laugh. She has  quirks like chasing feet and she likes to try to walk in between your  legs as you walk. Her reaction to odd noises are absolutely priceless.  The other day Sasha was taking a nap and I made a random raspberry  noise and I swear she jumped out of her skin, spun around and looked  at her own tushy to see where the noise came from. Too funny. And she  never figures out it's not her.

08/08/2011

Sasha seems to be doing much better now. She is starting to relax and enjoy herself here. She still struggles a bit with her anxieties in the car and when she sees cars and people outside, but it is definitely becoming more manageable. Inside the house, she loves meeting new people but people outside are more of a hurdle. When we are outside, I've been working with her to control her barking. That's been hit or miss but it's going to take time to undo that behavior so we will continue to work on it. She's been getting the lions share of attention in the house and it seems to be helping. I've noticed the more relaxed she is, the more her lack of boundaries come out. For instance, when she gets in a very playful mood, she has a tendency to be mouthy and nippy. A few times I've walked past her and have felt a few teeth around my ankle...I know she is playing but that is an area were working on as well. It seems like she has a fascination with moving things like wheels, door sweeps, vacuums and occasionally feet. The good news is that there has been a noticeable reduction in her anxiety level since she was spayed. I've also started adding some natural calming essences into her water just to help take the edge off a bit. Hopefully with the drops, attention, training and spay surgery, she will be able to really unwind. Sasha and my girl Sasha have recently started bonding too. They've been playing together and sleeping together and the best part is, my girl Sasha sets the boundaries for the dogs in the house so foster Sasha is beginning to ease up on the obnoxious puppy antics. Yay!

07/18/2011

Sasha came into rescue a few days ago as an owner surrender. She came from a home that realized they just didn't have the time needed for her. Thankfully they made the call to us to do what was right for Sasha, rather than turn her into a shelter. Just from observing her in the last few days, she would have been a mess in a shelter environment and the outcome would not have been good. Sasha is a sweet girl but she is a mixed bag of emotions. Some days she is more relaxed than others but right now, more than anything, she needs some time and patience to sort out what has happened. It doesn't seem like she was neglected, but maybe overlooked. If she feels like she's being separated from the rest of the family, or even just not included, she becomes pretty high strung. People, noise and cars can easily set her off when she is in that state of over excited energy. I'm betting that most of her anxieties will subside once she gets a steady stream of much needed attention. She needs assurance and confidence and most of all a good dose of constant quality time and pure devotion from her family. Sasha would do best in a quiet home with a family that can make her the center of their world. She likes having another dog in the house that can keep her from feeling alone when her family is busy or at work. She craves attention but oddly enough, she never quite asks for attention...you have to offer it to her. She needs to be encouraged to come sit and cuddle and just enjoy it. Many times food is the motivation factor for dogs, but with Sasha, it's attention. But she follows cheese everywhere too.

Recent News @ New Life Boxer Rescue

Copyright © 2013. All Rights Reserved. Designed by WebTrend Studios.