GRETCHEN ZIAH AND HER NEEDS FOR THE FUTURE

If you're reading this blog to find out more about Gretchen (Ziah) because you're interested in adopting her, you might have some questions about her and her future with your family.


Since the questions about her health have been answered, at least for now, the main concern for Gretchen going forward is making sure she becomes a  well-behaved Weimaraner, with manners that make her a welcome family member in her new home.


Because Gretchen has not been up to date on her shots while she has lived in our home she has gone nowhere other than to her vet visits and around our very quiet neighborhood.  Normally I would be socializing Gretchen and taking her to obedience classes and helping her learn to adapt to new situations and learn to greet strange people and dogs in an appropriate manner.  When I picked Gretchen up at her previous home I immediately noticed her lack of social skills and I regret that I have not been able to help her in this area, but will as soon as her spay surgery is complete, as she will get updated on shots at that time.


To give an accurate picture of what I am discussing here let me explain what happened when I first met Gretchen.  The door to her apartment was opened by her owner and I was asked in.  Gretchen immediately approached me with her hackles up and a bit of a growling bark.  She quickly warmed up to me, but I would like to see her lose the small bit of aggression she did show.  She also has the same reaction when she meets strange dogs, but again, she quickly warms up to them, at least she did with my dogs.


One way I would suggest her new adopters deal with this is to have a container with small treats near their front door, even outside the door if possible, and have any visitor to the home greet Gretchen with a treat and a friendly, hello, so that she comes to expect good things from strange people.


Of course, as with any young Weim, I very strongly suggest that training classes for obedience be attended by both new owner and the dog.  These classes give the dog a chance to learn to behave around other dogs as well as learning the basic behaviors that every dog should know.  Gretchen knows sit and down and will give a high five.  She's a quick learner and loves the attention she gets when learning new things.  


Other behaviors that Gretchen needs to work on are jumping up, both on people and on counters.  We're constantly working on these two areas, but it will be a continuing area of learning for her.  She is also very mouthy, likes to grab hands in her mouth to get attention.  This is a very normal puppy behavior, but she needs to lose this habit very soon.


We still have Gretchen sleeping in her crate at night and we put her in her crate during the day if there's a reason that we need to.   She will protest at first, but then settles in and takes a nap.  We have left her a couple times when we've both been away from home for up to 4 hours and she's done well in the crate.


Her housebreaking is coming along nicely and the only "accidents" she's had in the last week have come right at the door.  She has never pooped in our home since we picked her up, it is just a matter of getting her out the door when she needs to pee.  She tries very hard to do right, but sometimes she just gets too excited and anxious to get outside.  We do take her out very regularly about every 2 hours, so we are helping her out still, but she seems to be getting the idea that outside is the proper place for those activities.


Gretchen is a lovely girl, very sweet and loving.  She is curled up beside me on the couch as I am writing this.  She deserves a great home because she's one very special, little girl.