FANCY - Mutt Female Dog For Adoption in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA

Dog Breed: Pit Bull Terrier (medium coat).

Introducing Fancy! She has been social with humans, but less so with dogs. She’ll sniff and check out other dogs but so far has not been interested in play or social time with dogs. It’s possible she might enjoy the company of another dog, but a meet n’ greet is required if there’s a resident dog. Overall Fancy enjoys being social with her human friends, but she can also be anxious. As with all dogs, experience with positive reinforcement, or willingness to learn, is the best way to create happy associations to the world while building new skills and confidence. While this can change in a home, there has been mild resource-guarding with subtle signals. The safest way to manage resource-guarding is by ‘trading up’ with something of equal or higher value tossed to the side so the original item can safely be removed. This also helps a dog learn that valuable things will always be available instead of removed and reduces anxiety around the loss of prized possessions. Due to the mild resource-guarding we’ve seen at the shelter, she is best suited to older children, 15+ who can give her space, and learn how to read body language (link under 'resources' on our website). Minors should be actively supervised to be sure everyone is safe and comfortable, and important signals aren’t missed. As a younger pup she will thrive with regular exercise combined with plenty of mental enrichment such as food puzzles, sniffing time, learning new tricks, and playtime to keep her mind and body active while preventing boredom. Positive reinforcement to keep learning fun, and effective management (setting her environment up for success) will help Fancy learn important skills, create a strong bond with her guardian, and help build confidence, all while having fun. To keep her happy and healthy, she’ll benefit from regular visits to the vet. Please come meet this sweet girl by coming to the shelter Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday from 12N-3:30, and Saturdays by appointment.