ADOPTED
Please read our dog bios carefully to be sure that the dog you are applying for suits your family and lifestyle. At Pound Dog Rescue, we believe in the benefits of post-adoption training for our dogs and their families. This allows for continued socialization, and learning and helps to create a well-mannered and balanced dog. Post-adoption training is a requirement in our adoption process.
As Lizzo would sing, it’s about damn time! Lizzo is a 6 year old female Yorkshire Terrier and is ready to find her forever home. She weighs about 10lbs, and has a slightly longer and taller frame than your average yorkie. She has been spayed and is up to date on her core vaccines.
Lizzo was not always told she was special. She was bred for-profit in a puppy mill, and found her way into rescue when she was no longer wanted. She is adjusting very well to life indoors as a family pet. She loves people! She is very sweet and will quietly approach new people to say hello without much hesitation. New people do not seem to make her nervous, especially when she is in a familiar environment. She was snuggling with a new person within 10 minutes of meeting them while in her foster home. Although Lizzo has not met any children, her general mannerisms lead us to believe she will be okay with some gentle human siblings who would dote on her, around 8 years and up, but it is likely she will be a close cuddly companion rather than a play buddy. Her favourite activity is to lounge on the couch with people, and she will do so for hours and hours if you sit with her. She loves to sleep on her back with her front leg in the air and snuggle in blankets with you. Lizzo typically likes to follow you around the house, and will often be standing quietly behind you if you are up and about, waiting to see when you are ready to sit on the couch and snuggle with her. She loves to be picked up and will pivot when you tell her “up-up” for the optimum lifting angle and wait patiently for lift off.
She’s beautiful from head to toe . . . you may have noticed that Lizzo is a tripod! Her front left limb was amputated after some kind of accident during her time at the puppy mill when she was much younger. Lizzo has adjusted very well to a life on three legs, and compensates very well in terms of her mobility. She did tend to throw herself up and down stairs when she was first learning how to use them, covering as many steps as possible in one go and landing hard at the top or bottom of the flight, but is getting much better at self-preservation and gentle stair use with practice. Her initial stair techniques should be observed at first in her forever home, to make sure she is taking reasonable steps instead of trying to cross the flight of stairs in one leap. Her foster home has stairs going outside to the grass in the backyard, and she is carried down these in the ice and snow to avoid her slipping and crashing onto the cement. Indoors, she handles going down wide doggy stairs quite well. Lizzo does not have any issues keeping up, and is quite quick when she wants to be! Tripod dogs often do quite well in general, but her forever home will have to take some future possible concerns regarding her joints into consideration. Lizzo may require joint supplements, arthritis medication or a joint health diet in the future, as her front limb takes on additional strain to support her body as she bounces along. She does benefit from an elevated and weighted dish for food as she tends to push around lighter dishes. She will always need to maintain a lean body condition to help her remain as comfortable and mobile as possible. Your veterinarian can help guide you in terms of the best options for Lizzo as she ages. She currently does not require joint supplements or medications.
At her vet visit, Lizzo had one tooth removed, and her veterinarian recommended close monitoring of her dental health and a repeat dental procedure within one year. This is a common issue for small dogs with their little mouths, and her forever family must be committed to a strategy to keep her teeth
as free of tartar as possible with chews, toothbrushing and/or a dental diet between dental examinations and cleanings which must be performed at a veterinary clinic. Dental health is tied to overall health, so this is a must in terms of her future care. Her forever family should research the cost of dental procedures with their veterinarian to be aware of the funds required to keep Lizzo as healthy and happy as she deserves.
As Lizzo’s favourite thing is snuggling with people, she does not appreciate being left alone, and has demonstrated some separation anxiety. When she first arrived at her foster home, she had no interest in being crated and frankly thought the idea was preposterous and would bark and fuss immediately upon entry. She has made great progress with consistency and routine, and sleeps quietly in her crate overnight until breakfast time. Lizzo tends to tolerate a slightly larger kennel better, and would love it if a small bed could fit in her crate. She is crated for varied lengths of time throughout the day, and settles fairly quickly now, but if you are home and she is crated she will try to bark to be released on and off for some time. When she is left home alone in her crate she tolerates it much better, but may have brief periods of time when she howls to check if anyone is home. Her discomfort from being crated seems to come more from not wanting to leave you more than anxiety about being confined. Lizzo is the type of dog who would follow you into the washroom if you let her, and is often right at the door softly crying for you to come out. She does tend to be a little fussy in general and makes the softest little sad sound if you do not sit with her immediately once she has found a comfortable seat on the couch. Lizzo finds your physical presence and attention the most rewarding, even if you are not petting her. She will appreciate a home where her family is home more often than not, but it is also important for Lizzo’s independence and confidence to continue giving her alone time and crate training her in a positive manner.
In terms of grooming and handling, Lizzo is very well-behaved. She has not had a formal groom with a groomer yet, but will likely be okay with gentle handling at a smaller scale groomer. She was not sure about her muzzle fur being handled at first and may still move her head away but is learning to hold still with praise as a reinforcer. Her coat is long and silky, and requires gentle combing to remain tangle-free, especially around her mouth. She doesn’t mind her feet being touched, and tolerates her body being handled quite well. She has had a few baths without issue at home. She will benefit from regular grooming appointments to maintain her coat and keep her appearance tidy.
While Lizzo does enjoy snuggling and lounging, she also likes working on her fitness; she loves walks around the neighbourhood. She is a lower energy dog but definitely loves sniffing and has no issue keeping up a quick pace. With the current weather Lizzo does struggle to stay warm, but in less frigid weather she loves to go on walks. Lizzo walks very well and does not pull on our walks. She generally walks in straight lines but may slowly stray in front of you, but is very easily directed. Lizzo would probably enjoy shorter duration walks in the warmer weather, with time to stop for sniffs. Lizzo is not reactive towards other dogs, wildlife or people on walks and seems very focused on walking and sniffing. She is currently walked on a martingale collar for safety, as many puppy mill dogs are unused to the new sights, sounds and smells outside of their pen and display a flight response when spooked. Lizzo has handled suburban neighbourhood noises quite well. She can be a bit wary of cars passing next to the sidewalk and needs to stop and look over her shoulder to see where they are going, but continues on once they have passed. She will most likely tolerate a suburban neighbourhood for her walks just fine with continued exposure, but a city centre may overwhelm her for routine walks.
Lizzo is progressing very well with house training and generally does not try to pee or poo in the house. Lizzo did have a very brief episode of digestive upset and did have a few accidents in her crate when she could not hold it after alerting us, but this has stopped now that she feels better. Lizzo is generally very easy to redirect as she comes to you and will circle a few times to indicate she needs to go out. In the recent extreme cold she has struggled to use the washroom outside because she does not handle the cold very well, but does well if you bring her in after about 2 minutes of her not urinating or defecating and trying again after a warm up. She generally defecates 1-2 times per day and usually after a meal, so she is fairly predictable in determining whether or not she needs a repeat trip outside. She did not have this issue prior to the cold snap, and will use the bathroom very quickly after being taken outside with the command “duties.”
In terms of training, our time with Lizzo has mostly focused on learning how to live in a home as a pet dog. Although she is generally a good eater, she took quite some time to learn that treats are delicious and rewarding, so progress in terms of formal training has been slow to start. She is very motivated by her people though so with time and consistency we can see her thriving with positive reinforcement.
Overall, Lizzo is fairly low-key in the home. Most household noises such as the vacuum, objects being dropped and the like have not been an issue for her. Strangely enough, she was initially petrified of the television but has evolved towards fascination and will often watch TV with you, probably
because she has also realized the TV is associated with the couch! She has not been destructive in any way in her foster home. She has not shown interest in toys for us yet. She can be a little curious when people food is being prepared, and may stand on her back two legs to try to get closer to the smell, but hasn’t tried to scale anything to reach food. If she is sitting on the couch with her foster family, they can have snacks and beverages and she is respectful and unobtrusive. Although she is named after the singer, Lizzo is very quiet around the home, as long as she isn’t crated while you are in the house. She doesn’t bark at strange noises outside at this time. Her whines are whispery and soft when she’s trying to catch your attention.
Lizzo is currently fostered with two cats, and is very respectful of them. Our cats will snuggle up on the same blanket as her and she may gently sniff at them when they are right by her, but is not excited by them playing or moving around. We anticipate she will coexist peacefully if her forever home includes cats.
With dogs, Lizzo is very respectful and quietly interested. She is fostered with two medium-sized dogs, and has met a larger dog and smaller dog as well. She enjoys the company of other dogs, but does not rely on their presence for confidence. She introduces herself politely with gentle, brief sniffs and is very respectful of their space. Lizzo does not resource guard space or valuable objects from other dogs. Lizzo seemed slightly interested when her foster family’s dogs were playing outside, but when indoors she is indifferent to their play. Lizzo was not sure what to do when one of our dogs play-bowed to her, and would likely not make a good play buddy for a younger or more play-motivated dog. She’s her own soulmate!
Lizzo travels fairly well in the car. She is crated in the car for safety as she would definitely bounce around in the car if unrestrained. As she tends to protest crating in general she may softly whine at first, but once she realizes you are driving settles in for the ride. She has been car sick only once or twice, and has handled long drives of 30 mins to 1 hour quite well.
Are you ready to be loved? Thank you for considering a rescue dog and reading her bio. Lizzo can’t wait to meet her forever family.