Grier
	Gender: Female Age: 6 Years Height/Weight: tbd / 40 lbs Housebroken: Yes Fenced yard required: tbd Location: Mid-Michigan Foster Home: Tammy	Crate-trained: Yes Treat-motivated: YES Toy-motivated:YES Likes Car Rides:rides quietly Good with cats: no Good with kids: Yes Commands:

June, 2014:

In August, 2014, Tammy once again met up with Grier, Lakeston, and their family. She writes: "I had the wonderful opportunity to visit with Kyle, Anise, Grier and Lakeston after leaving the Highland Games on Saturday. Thought I would share a couple of the pics we took. Most amazing thing to see my lovely Mama (Grier) not only accepting Lakeston as her own, but welcoming Little Boy Blue right back into her ranks as well. She always did well with Roxy so I really did not worry about that meeting so much. I was so touched by seeing the pair of them again. Lakeston has grown taller, if that is even possible, and boy is he a lanky teen-ager! He is so skinny from his perpetual motion. He is one happy boy and it shows.

When I first got to the house Grier greeted me as she always does with strangers, a quiet and friendly meeting. Until I spoke to her. All bets were all then and she was climbing all over me smooching me and wiggling all over. I sat down on the floor with her and she hopped right into my lap and plopped down!

Then Kyle let Laker in. He was soooo funny! He took one look and me and lost his fool head! Wiggles, giggles and smoochies all over the place! This is a boy that knows how to show affection. Haha! Oh, but I have missed him. I could not be more pleased with his placement. Love that he has two very level-headed and capable people to love and support him. LOve that he has him mama dog to teach and guide him. (and she is doing a wonderful job of it!) Love that he has a nice yard to run safely in, a big lake to swim in at the lake house and my cup has runneth over!

Here we have Blue standing by me checking out the horses, Grier Chilling in the front of the screen, Roxy milling around with her tongue hanging low... And my Laker taking a much needed rest after cruising laps for an hour! Boy, he is skinny! Grier's coat is exactly as soft and supple as Blue's. Same length and texture. When he grows into his feathers, he will be a black version of his mama.

Blue and Grier

How's this for a happy girl???

In May, 2014, Foster Mom Tammy met up with Grier's new family. She writes: "It was more than great to see her again. AND to see her with a full coat and some meat on her bones. Such a lovely dog. She got to meet Lakeston and after a short little snark, she decided he was an "ok" little dude. They have done such a great job with this dog I can hardly believe the full turn around she has made.

"Best part is that Kyle is smitten over Lakeston too. How did we know that would happen! Hahaha!

"They said that Grier is a super farm dog and that she is doing great at respecting her boundaries and expectations. I love that they have expectations for her and that they stand by them. She is not given the opportunity rule the roost, but must maintain some sense of manners in order to gain the fun stuff she likes to do. Grier loves to help out with the horses, from a distance, and their newest pony just loves Grier. Even better yet, one of the house cats who is very antisocial (their words) has taken Grier on as its newest best buddy. Never would I have guessed that she wound not only be good with cats, but allow one to groom her head and snuggle with her!

"Anyhow, I am rambling now. She looks great and is making great strides in her behaviors. Could not be more proud of her!

April, 2014: Grier and her pony.

Sometimes Grier accompanies her human to work. It's a ruff life!

She has the most beautiful howly-song that she uses to express her displeasure at being in her crate while her foster brother and her little boy wrestle around in the house. Most generally she is very quiet, but she has been increasing in her vocalizations as she has been feeling better. I am not so worried about this, as I think it will diminish as she is able to get more exercise in the near future.

The fun is just beginning for this lovely lady since she can finally begin to stretch her legs and run. She LOVES to chase her ball, bringing it back has not been mastered yet... She also loves a nice session of squeak the toy. Problem here is that she likes to kill the squeakys, so toys don't last long in her chompers.

She is an athletic dog and loves to go for long walks. As this is all we have really been able to do, I am anxious to see how much exercise she really needs in a day. We have one more week of stitches from her spay surgery, then it is off to the races!

Grier struggles with her behavior with other dogs. She is best suited to an only-dog home, though she is able and willing to coexist peacefully with the right dog.

She adores children of all ages, from toddlers to retirees. :) She loves to snuggle and will just melt into you and gaze lovingly into your eyes if you care to sit down beside her.

If you are looking for a companion of the most lovely sort, look no further. Grier is your girl!

As Grier is feeling better her personality is really beginning to shine. What a bright, intelligent dog she is. I found, quite by accident, that Grier is fascinated by the ceiling fan. She loves to jump and lunge to try to catch the blades as they spin around. This seems to be the only circular moving object of her obsession, thank goodness.

She does not seem inclined to chase cars or bicycles or small children. She is great with my cat inside the house, but outside is a whole different game. Her level of prey drive is very high, as is her guarding of resources she deems as hers. We are working on her resource guarding behavior in attempts to curb the behavior, but I do not think it will ever go away. Through careful monitoring she is able to coexist nicely with my passive female. She is also able to go on a walk with my male dog now too. We have to be very careful, but she is willing to tolerate him. We will take it and move foreword.

Grier has leveled out in her weight after weaning pups and regaining her own state of health. She has plateaued at 42 pounds. She is a very lean dog and her coat is so soft. Right now her coat is very thin but it should grow back in better than ever very soon.

We are making progress, though slow progress, on her behavior toward other dogs. She has accepted my passive female with no problem and they are able to coexist nicely. Grier was not hip at all with my male dog at first, but with safe and slow introductions, we are making progress here too. She will need a home that is willing and able to stay on top of her with regards to her attitude to other dogs. I would also recommend that she not have a small dog housemate in her forever home. She is very intense in her stalking of animals smaller than herself.

Grier has recovered completely from her respiratory infection and should be able to begin heartworm treatments soon. Our timeline for her availability has stretched a little, but she is well worth the wait.

She is very attached to her people and wants to be with the family. Though she has not been off-leash outside, she does not seem inclined to want to wander far from me. She will take advantage of her long leash to investigate her surroundings, taking time to check in with me and always seems to know where I am. She will lay contently tied to the fence post as I work in my garden.

Grier knows some basic obedience and responds very well to verbal correction. She does have a little stubborn streak when she does not want to go back into her crate, but she will willingly comply if offered a cookie to ease the pain. Even with a foundation, an obedience class would be a good idea for this girl. She is smart and the challenge of using her mind will be important as she recovers from her heartworm treatment and builds her systems back to full steam. She loves to work for her people.

With such a powerful name, we should expect some powerful traits from her. She has them all! Constantly alert, she is always aware of her surroundings.

Grier is in need of some special medical attention before she will be available for adoption, but I thought I would let the world know what a wonder this little dog is. I have learned a little about her in the past week and look foreword to learning more about her as she adjusts, settles in and feels better. She will be receiving treatment for Heartworms very soon, and then once she has recovered from that treatment, she will need to be spayed before she can be adopted. Don't let the medical issues scare you, she should have a full recovery and be good as new in no time!

Cats and small dogs might not be the best housemates for Grier, as she is so very watchful and intense.

Grier came to GLBCR knowing some basic obedience skills, and she is working hard to improve on her tricks. Currently she knows “sit, down, come, and we are working on leave-it”. She seems to know what I expect when I tell her to leave things.

Grier does not like thunderstorms! A quiet and dark place for her to feel safe seem to do the trick to sooth her. A fan for noise reduction is a nice touch too.

Grier loves her squeaky toys. A favorite is her squeaky tennis-ball bone. She has great fun taking turns squeaking it and tearing the fuzz off the outside of it. She seems to be ball motivated, though I have not taken her out for a game of fetch with her heart worms. That will have to wait until later.

Grier was able to attend the Dog Bowl in Frankenmuth this weekend and was a super ambassador for the breed. She willingly met every person who came up to see her with a tail wag and a snuggle. She even sought attention from children of all ages. She handled herself beautifully with kids, even little ones in strollers. She has figured out that they are a great source of food and was busy trying to convince them that they should share their snacks with her all weekend.

She is a very social and outgoing dog, though at this point, I will say that she is not very accepting of other dogs, especially little dogs! She will focus on them very intensely and lunge at them if she is given the opportunity. She did respond well to redirection and I am hopeful that we can help curb this behavior with time and training.

Look for updates on Grier as she progresses through her medical procedures to see how this lovely little girl gets back to full health and happiness.

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