Zoey2

My story

Name: Zoey Location: Lincoln, Nebraska Sex: Female Weight: 92.6 Spayed/Neutered: Yes Age: 7 years Good with Men: Yes Good with Women: Yes Good with Dogs: Yes, tolerant but not real interested Good with Cats: Unknown Children: Yes, has been around small children; described as "exuberant, bull in china shop" type House Trained: Yes Crate Trained: Yes Medical Issues: none Immunizations: UTD Rabies: 03/20/2025 Parvo/distemper: 03/18/2025 Bordatella: 03/20/2025 Heartworm test: 03/18/2025 Negative Fecal test: Preventatives: UTD Characteristics: Zoey is a priority and has 2 weeks max due to shelter being full so approx deadline is Apr 14th. Zoey is friendly and allows all petting and handling. She is easy to leash and affiliative in yard. She has done well with children but can bulldoze them because she doesn't recognize her size. She is allergic to chicken per previous owner. She will do a "happy growl" or "rottie rumble". She may resource guard food with both people and dogs so she needs to be fed separately. Zoey knows "leave it". She does not like to be crated- but can be confined to a bedroom and does well. She has been on traz and clonodine in AM. Zoey was surrendered by owner due to divorce/moving. Initially she was was ok in the shelter but her behavior as started to deteriorate. She has started to nip and growl when taking the leash off. She does well in a vehicle according to previous owner. Notes from Evaluator: Owner surrender to shelter due to divorce and relocation - can't keep in new home. Zoey has been with owner her whole life prior to surrender. Zoey did not live with other dogs at the time of surrender, but owner claimed she previously lived with other dogs of varying sizes (small-large) and has not had issues cohabitating overall, but is sometimes barrier or leash reactive towards dogs. Cats - unknown Shelter has not witnessed barrier/leash aggression or reactivity towards other dogs, but instead describes her as tolerant/avoidant and chronically stressed. She was surrendered having been consistently medicated for anxiety for 2+ years. Shelter has since discontinued anxiety medication. Zoey was hesitant with initial handling during intake medical evaluation, but was overall tolerant and did better being examined prone, laterally than standing. She has been muzzled at the vet historically per owner. At the shelter, she allowed exam of mouth, feet, etc. But displayed signs of discomfort. Vet stated she did not like her toenails being touched. She had a tooth extracted following exam, and may have been in pain at the time. She has tolerated a leash wrap around the muzzle with Shelter staff. Per owner, she has a chicken allergy and had a history of chronic vomiting. She presented to Shelter with a yeast infection that has since been resolved. She is currently on a prescription diet and has not exhibited vomiting concern at Shelter. Zoey may not do well with "pushy" dogs invading her space, and has corrected once while at the shelter. Owner stated good with men and women, no aggression. Zoey originally ignored me when she was first brought in, and was more interested in sniffing the dog bed, other goodies, and looking out the window. After acclimating to her surroundings for a minute, she quickly came up with a wiggly butt and gave me a happy, brief, hello before going back to inspecting the room. Initial interaction in the first few minutes: avoidant, tolerant, quick "love you", back to tolerant/avoidant. She was panting excessively and clearly stressed despite the avoidance and quick, friendly hello. Zoey sniff/licked treats nicely from my hand and the floor. She did not eat either (she had just had dinner). She appeared somewhat overweight and as she warmed up a bit, went back and forth between quite excited hello "bursts" with some jumping, wanting to be pet, and rottie lean, then laying down and panting. She seems distracted on leash (smaller space), but visually checked in with me several times, which was promising. Shelter described her as sometimes "leading off" with constant pressure on leash when interested in something (not a "spring loaded" or true pull). Offered "sit" on command. Owner said she also knows down, but neither myself or Shelter could get Zoey to perform. Zoey has been resource guarding food at the shelter (primarily when returning from walk and food is present in kennel). She also resource guarded toys today via rumbling and whale eye - no snapping. I did not attempt to directly take a toy from her mouth or right in front of her. She was willing to trade toys and even presented her favorite toy to me and touched my hand with it several times, but was visually nervous about it being taken away. She was VERY happy and playful with the toys - play bowing, throwing them around, etc. She was very content holding a toy in her mouth and leaning up against me for pets at the same time. Zoey was ok with being pet on the top of the head, back, hips, and side (seemed a bit nervous about pets on side) without the toys. Back/hip pets were ok with toy in her mouth, but petting the top of her head with toy did illicit more stress and a warning rumble. imulated knocking at front door and quickly raising/moving hand with Zoey. She directed her attention to both distractions briefly, but did get up, jump, bark etc. Zoey's behavior is overall characterized by short, excited, "bursts", followed by longer periods of laying down and displaying overall anxiety. I spent about 30-40 minutes with her, and even in that time she went from ignoring me to wanting to be "in my lap," visually check in more, etc. She seems like she genuinely wants to be confident and lovey, but based on my observation and the shelters feedback, I believe she has had anxiety over chronic resource insecurities and a high-stress, negative feedback home. The Shelter feels she is deteriorating quickly in their environment. Although the past owner has stated she's been around young kids, I would not recommend her being in a home with young kids initially due to her occasionally wanting to jump and needing to learn more about her RG tendencies. I believe she could absolutely be successful with the right placement, but putting her in a home that does not have a good understanding of dog behavior and body language may set her up for failure. She will take time and consistency to establish trust and finally feel comfortable in a new environment. With the appropriate person and a supportive environment, Zoey will likely flourish!

If you have any questions or would like to adopt Zoey2, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.