Clarice

I am happy to introduce you all to Clarice, something about her made us instantly drawn to her name, it must have been her confident and curious nature that she displayed the moment that we met her.  Clarice is a 2.5-year-old Shih Tzu, she has soft white and cream colored fur and she weighs about 15 pounds.  She has the most endearing and excitable eyes, and she will use them to her advantage as she knows she is oh-so-cute!  Clarice may be small, but she definitely has some big dog personality that likes to shine!

Clarice was rescued from a commercial breeding program, where she was not shown much love or kindness, and was really just a means for profit.  When she first arrived, she amazingly showed quite a bit of confidence in our home, she was not scared of the humans or the other dogs in the home.  Over time she has settled in quite well, but she does tend to get startled when the men in the home are around, she will let out a few quick barks, but then generally settles well.  Clarice still has a ways to go in terms of building her confidence, but we are certain that she is on a great path to success.  It is to be expected that it will take Clarice some time before she really settles into her new forever home and it’s not expected that she will immediately want love and affection.  Any men in the home need to be patient and caring with her and show her that men are kind.  This will take time for her to relearn this so patience is key.

Clarice is generally okay with quick movements in the home, though loud noises do sometimes startle her.  She is happiest if she could be by your side at all times, in fact if she had it her way she would be attached to your legs with Velcro!  We constantly need to be watching where we are walking as she will always be right at your feet if you go to move anywhere, even if it’s just a few steps away!  Clarice gets along well with the resident dogs, though she doesn’t necessarily interact with them.  We don’t feel that Clarice requires other dogs in her home, but she could happily live with another dog in the home.  Clarice hasn’t been around many kids but I would say she would be suitable for kids 8+ as she doesn’t seem too bothered by sudden movements or known loud noises.  While Clarice is very confident with us and in our home, she is still very reserved when we are out and about, she has had the opportunity to go to the Home Hardware, she was very brave and walked in on her own, met some of the staff and allowed some pets, but it was evident that she’s still not fully confident in these situations.  Gradual exposure to new sights, sounds and places will help her to continue to build her confidence, but it’s best kept to places that have low foot traffic.

Clarice walks very well on her leash, she’s not one of those dogs that picks a side and walks there, she really does enjoy going from side to side, but I find that she does not pull on the leash, she is happy to walk within the length of leash that you have given her.  We have not seen many other dogs or wildlife on our walks; however I feel that Clarice would do really well and likely just keep walking.  We do have a cat in our home, Clarice has shown some gentle interest, but overall ignores the cat.

Clarice will require regular grooming appointments for her long fur, as well as regular brushing between grooming visits.  Her fur is very soft and fine, and it really tangles quite easily, so regular brushing will help to avoid any matting between grooming appointments.  The wonderful thing is that Clarice absolutely loves to get brushed!  When we pull the brush out she will happily lay or stand in front of you and allow you to brush her all over, she must really love the way that it feels!  Clarice has had one bath with us while in our care, while she wasn’t a huge lover of it, she did tolerate it well.  

Clarice is doing extremely well with her house training, since she has arrived we have not had any accidents in the house, and only one accident in her crate (on her very first day).  While Clarice doesn’t yet have a tell when she needs to use the washroom, we do let her out consistently so she knows she will have time to relieve herself.  Clarice is not a huge lover of being left outside, and would really love if her humans accompanied her into the backyard, that being said, she only wants your company after she has finished doing her business, as she does not want an audience – HA.  But once she has done her business she is happy to sit and enjoy the outside if you are outside with her.  Clarice wasn’t a huge lover of the very freezing temperatures that we were experiencing, or the snow, but as the temps warmed up she was enjoying the outdoors more and more.  While we have a fully fenced backyard for Clarice, we do not feel that she requires this in her forever home.  If her backyard is not fully fenced, we just expect that she be on a long leash with martingale collar to ensure her safety.

Clarice is currently crate trained, she goes into her crate during the night, as well as anytime during the day that the humans are not home.  When we put her to bed at night she does protest and bark for a short amount of time as she is really hoping that one of these nights we will let her out, however we don’t and she does settle down quickly and then sleeps the night away until the morning.  She will only bark in the morning if she hears the humans are awake and about in the house and they haven’t let her out, otherwise she doesn’t make a peep!  During the day when we leave for work, she sometimes will let out a few short barks, but this is also generally very short lived and she is back to just laying down and sleeping until we get home.   Clarice is however not fond of being crated while we are still home and in the house, this is still a work in progress for her.  Clarice very much loves to be with you and at your side at all times, so this is a very difficult thing for her to be crated while we are home.  I would encourage her forever home to still practice this occasionally, although Clarice is an angel when she is out of her crate, it’s always good for her to understand that sometimes she needs to be away even if someone is home, for things like people coming in and out for house cleaning or home repairs!

So far we haven’t found that Clarice has shown much interest in any toys (or furniture), as she gains more confidence I am hopeful that her young playful side will come out and she can enjoy playing with some toys the way a young dog should!  Clarice really enjoys chewing on dental treats when she is in her crate.  Clarice is still working on taking food from our hands, she isn’t super food motivated, but with the right treat she will slowly start to have the confidence to take it right from your hand.  She has never once shown an interest in eating any furniture in the home, taking socks/clothing, or anything like that.    Clarice is so happy to receive love and affection from us, she is especially fond of back and bum rubs, she will arch her back and then rub up against you to make sure that you continue to offer these amazing pets!

Clarice is up to date on her vaccinations, she has received her flea and heartworm preventative, heartworm tested and spayed and she has received a good bill of health.  She recovered very well from her spay surgery, it was almost as if nothing had happened at all and she was completely unbothered.

We are continually working on house manners with Clarice and assisting to build her confidence.  Clarice will greatly benefit from an obedience and manners class that can help her to build her confidence when working around other people and dogs, and to help her really understand some of those important commands.   Clarice does have a tendency to want to put her front paws up on your legs at all times to let you know that she would like pets, we are working on consistently letting her know that she needs to have all 4 paws on the ground in order to get pets.

Clarice’s ideal home would be with a person/family who spends more time home than not.  Clarice really enjoys the company of her people and therefore someone who doesn’t spend most of their free time out and about would be better for her.  A home with someone who is retired would be amazing for her, however she is fine with a working family as long as they do spend quite a bit of their “free” time at home with her.  Clarice would be fine in most home situations, she does have a tendency to bark in the crate sometimes, so be mindful of that if you share a wall with other individuals.  Clarice does not require a fenced in backyard, and she does not require having any other dog siblings in the home, but she would also be happy to share a home.  If you think that you can offer this sweet girl the best home that she could have, then I encourage you to apply!