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This is Sasha, a shepherd mix who is waiting with 4 Luv of Dog Rescue in Fargo for a forever home.

This dog loves to jump up and give anyone kisses! She loves all people, and everyone comments about her tail that never quits wagging. Sasha is really optimistic despite all she’s been through. She has not given up on humans.

Sasha has been waiting for a home for a long time. She was adopted for a few weeks in October but then she was returned. From the shelter, I take her for runs and started taking her to a beginning obedience class.

Someone willing to train and walk Sasha on a daily basis would make a great home for her. She is eager to learn and only wants to make people happy. She already knows sit, stay and down. She often looks up at me with her tail wagging as if to say, “I’m being a good dog, right?”

Sasha responds well to heeling when someone gives her the leadership she needs. She is very strong and will pull on the leash if she can get away with it. I started using a prong collar with her and she responds very well to it. She tries to run up to any dog, which doesn’t always go well if the dog doesn’t match her energy. Sasha also has an instinct to chase small animals like squirrels so she needs to be supervised around other pets.

Like any dog that’s living in a shelter, Sasha has lots of pent-up energy. But after I take her for a run she begins to calm down. Imagine how good she would be if someone took her for a long walk every day!

A great thing about Sasha is how quiet and still she is in the car. When I took her to obedience class she rode in a kennel in the back and waited patiently. She is obviously kennel trained and jumps right in.

Sasha is a good girl and deserves a home. You can read more about Sasha on her profile at 4 Luv of Dog. If you would like more information about Sasha or are interested in adopting or fostering her, send me an email at Lindsay@thatmutt.com.

I might feature a local homeless dog on my blog every week or month. What do you think of that idea?

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Note: This is a guest post from Apryl DeLancey who writes the blog “Women Like Sports.” Don’t forget to check out the video and photo gallery of Gus the bloodhound at the end of this post.

Well, after envying Lindsay and Ace’s relationship for quite a while now (and every other human-dog bond for that matter) - I have finally taken the plunge and adopted another dog! It was a challenge to get to this point, but we are so glad that we have done it! Our 16-year-old pound hound passed away about two years ago, and it took some time to get over it. More recently, our sweet 3-year-old cat Inso (who thought he was a dog) suddenly died from cancer. In spite of still having a 16-year-old Russian blue cat and two rescued alley cats in the house, all the life and energy seemed to be gone. The old cat is just that, old. Sure, he walks on his leash and is very well behaved but is not so playful in his old age. He’ll want attention but mostly wants to nap.

I was trolling the rescue ads as I often do (since I miss having a dog in the house) and came across a really special guy. I sent the ad to my husband, and we couldn’t get him out of our heads. I contacted his foster family and asked if he was still around. Sure enough – he was.

And now, may I introduce Gustav the bloodhound. His name is actually Gus, but Gustav sounds so much more regal! He is AWESOME and everyone who meets him falls in love. Besides bragging about my excellent new addition, I thought I would take this opportunity to reiterate what we’ve read on this blog many times and throw in some of my own tips:

Know the breed you are getting yourself into! Gus is a bloodhound. He is stubborn. He drools. He smells “like dog” (not overpowering, but that “dog smell”). This guy has big, floppy ears that need to be kept clean or else an infection could set in. He is also 110+ pounds and not the dog that just anyone should attempt to have. Conversely, he is the sweetest, most nonviolent dog ever. He won’t attack you, children, or other animals. The point: if you can’t deal with the idiosyncrasies of the breed – don’t get it! This poor guy was dropped off at the shelter, adopted, returned, adopted again, returned again and then saved by his foster family. We are at least the fifth family he has been with and estimate that he is about 3-4 years old. No dog deserves this. If you are going to adopt a dog, make sure you know what you are getting into. Animals are not disposable. Don’t be selfish with your choice. If you want a dog to just sit there and not need any attention until you are ready, then you should probably not get a dog at all.

Set goals! Gus is about 10-15 pounds overweight. This is partly due to his lazy bloodhound nature. I have two primary goals/challenges that I am undertaking to combat this. First, I walk him every morning right when I wake up. This is not a problem since I used to get up and get on my elliptical trainer or stationary bike for 30-45 minutes to wake up each day. He’s a brisk walker, which works perfect for me. We are on our second week and have not missed a morning. He does get walks at least two other times in the day so far as well. Second, I bought him a dog pack (like a saddlebag). This will help him lose the weight and give him a job to do where he feels responsible. He is trying to get accustomed to it now. It is really amusing at first, and he acts like he can’t walk. It isn’t tight and doesn’t hurt, he’s just stubborn. He’s getting much better, and we walk with it on him every morning. I keep a collapsible water bowl, refillable water bottles, a drool rag, doo-doo bags, treats, wipes and doggie cologne in his bag.

Speaking of goals, take on a small bit at a time. I have other future goals for Gus but am not going to burden either of us with that pressure yet. Once we have the walk and wearing a pack as a routine, I’ll introduce other enrichment behaviors and activities for him.

Realize your car will now belong to the dog if you take him places. We have two cars, fortunately. We have set up one with the back seat entirely covered in sheets and towels for Gus to lie and drool as he sees fit. Once you do this and let the dog have the domain, move on. This is part of having a dog. We constantly clean the sheets and towels and wipe up the drool, but do so happily since we are so glad to have him in our lives.

Be the pack leader! There is no reason to be mean or overbearing to a new dog, but set limitations early. Especially with my Gus, he likes to see what he can get away with. His foster family was marvelous and put him through some training so he understands “no” and some other behaviors. I need to continue to work on these with him so he does not forget. Again, being the pack leader does not mean you have to yell or make your dog feel bad. Like Lindsay has pointed out before, calling your dog over and then yelling does not work. Gus can try our patience but we keep calm and get him to cooperate. We don’t yell or scold. If you met him you would understand that! He’s the sweetest guy ever.

Fortunately, I live in a very dog friendly area. There are a multitude of places that we can take Gus in Los Angeles, and he is very mellow around other dogs to boot. Over the weekend we took him to the Venice Boardwalk and could barely get through the crowd. Everyone wanted to pet and talk to him. He ate it up! We don’t have many bloodhounds in this part of the country, so he is quite popular because of that and his sweet demeanor.

Bottom line, adding a new dog to the family is a real responsibility. Take that on (and take it seriously) and you’ll get more reward back than you ever put in. I’ll write about his progress again and how his goals are coming along (as long as Lindsay will have me). And yes, he is neutered, up to date with his shots and licensed.

Our 16-year-old cat is very happy to have a dog in the house again, but the two rescues were at first certain that he is the instrument of their demise. My husband is constantly working with them and they are starting to come around.

I want to especially thank Lindsay for keeping these topics at the front of my memory on this blog. Thank you also for allowing me to post about the lives of my wonderful companion animals. I’ll be commenting from now on about my Gus instead of what I used to do with my old girl, Moca. Well, I can’t totally forget about her…

Apryl DeLancey is a Los Angeles native and sports fanatic who maintains a blog called “Women Like Sports.” Just about every sport you can think of is covered, so stop by for a visit sometime! Oh – and please, to paraphrase Bob Barker, don’t forget to spay and neuter your companion animals! Check out Apryl’s other That Mutt appearances, Freako on a leash and How do I know when my pet is sick?

Check out Gus relaxing in his new home. There is also a photo gallery of Gus below.

Breaking Ace’s fixation

Note: This is part three of a three-part series on my dog’s tennis ball obsession. Click these links to read part one, My mutt has a fixation and part two, 10 signs your dog has a fixation.

Just like any addiction, rehabilitation takes a long, long time. In Ace’s tennis ball case, I have two options. I can either continue things the way they are and allow him to obsess over a ball until he ends up hurting himself, or I can begin the long process of correcting his behavior.

Obviously I am going to correct the behavior or I wouldn’t have chosen to do this series. The problem is getting started because I know how difficult it is going to be to follow through.

My goal is to have a dog that can control himself around a ball and play in a healthy way where he never becomes fixated. He will respond to all commands even if he has a ball. He will have the ability to stop playing and leave a ball alone without me hiding it or putting it away. Most of all, he will be able to play and socialize with other dogs as well as accept verbal and physical attention when there is a ball in sight.

Here are some rules I have set for Ace to begin right away:

1. No fetch playing for 30 days (at least).
2. No dog park for 30 days (but we’ll stay away as long as needed). The reason for this is there are balls everywhere and I can’t enforce my new rules if Ace is off leash in a big area surrounded by tennis balls.
3. Ace will begin a more regular, intense exercise program of at least one hour of running or walking at least five days a week.
4. Every day I will have Ace practice calm energy by lying on his side in a submissive position with a ball beside him. He will lie like that until he is totally relaxed and ignoring the ball. Depending on the day, this could take 30 seconds or an hour. He will also have to do this any time he brings me an object expecting me to throw it for him.

Once Ace has shown some improvements, I will move on to some challenges for him:

1. When Ace can manage to ignore a ball while lying down, I will move on to him sitting and then just being loose in a room with a ball, ignoring it.
2. Once Ace can leave a ball alone in a room, I will work on more mental challenges with him such as me throwing a ball while he sits and stays at my side. We will practice heeling by weaving around a yard full of balls with Ace on leash and then off leash.
3. Ace will get to play with a ball himself if he is totally calm. If he is even close to that fixated state of mind, the ball will be put on the ground and he will lie beside it.
4. I hope to return to normal fetch playing, but Ace must remain calm and in control of himself the whole time.

I have no idea how long this whole process will take. Maybe six months, maybe two years. Or maybe I will never be able to correct Ace on my own. It mostly depends on how well I am able to stick to these rules. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d like to hear them. My ideas are influenced by Jon Katz and Cesar Millan, but I don’t know anyone personally who has actually tried to break his or her dog of an obsession.

Click these links to read parts one and two of this series, My mutt has a fixation and 10 signs your dog has a fixation.

Image from flickr.com