Hazel
Terrier Mix | Female | 2 Years Old | 40 Lbs
QUICK FACTS: ✔️ Good with kids! ✔️ Crate trained! ✔️ Housebroken! ✔️ Good in the car! ✔️ Walks well on leash! ✔️ Okay for beginner dog owner! ✔️ Could do well in an apartment!
Hazel found her forever home on November 24, 2021!
Updates
PUPDATE 2
Hazel has really been coming out of her shell in the best of ways!
She is becoming increasingly affectionate. She still loves her neck/behind the ear scratches and will now come up and ask for them. Hazel is very sweet and gently asks for scratches by placing her head in your hand and looking longingly or repositioning her head for optimal scritchies.
Hazel has recently discovered a few new things: belly rubs and the joys of curling up in a dog bed. If you start petting her while she is laying down, she will casually roll to her side, with those longing eyes, as if to suggest that if it isn't too much trouble she'd enjoy a little belly rub. Also, as it has started to become cooler Hazel has been curling up in her dog bed and catching some zzz's.
Hazel stayed with one of the wonderful Fetch sitters and had a great time! She got along really well with the resident dog and opened up to the sitter quiet quickly. She is definitely becoming more self assured!
We are still working on her separation anxiety. This really only presents itself when we are fully out of the house. She free roams while we are home (sometimes choosing to lay in a different room), enjoys sniffing around the fenced-in backyard (while we watch from the kitchen window), and we kennel her at night in the hallway outside our bedroom (she goes in her crate and settles right in for the night). So far what works best when we are gone is her metal crate with a towel and a treat-filled kong.
Hazel is a very smart lady who still loves her food. She got a treat puzzle and figured it out right away. She has also figured out how to Houdini her way out of a few things (this only happens when we are out of the house).
As long as her humans are around, Hazel is a very laid back, go with the flow lady who is happy to loaf around all day, sniff things in the backyard, or join you for as long of a walk as you'd like to go on.
PUPDATE 1
Hazel enjoys starting and ending her day with a decent walk. She walks well on leash without pulling, even with kids! She doesn’t run or chase after squirrels or other common distractions on walks. She’s a pretty low-energy dog who enjoys relaxing around the home and approaching for some loving pets and neck scratching.
Hazel is initially shy with people but will begin to open up with slow introductions. She’s not an overly affectionate dog but does enjoy the occasional pet or scratch. She is not aggressive or territorial.
She is also shy around other dogs. She will initially attempt to avoid another dog. We’ve found that if given treats and encouragement around another dog, she will be comfortable being around that dog. Hazel has not had exposure to cats while in my care.
Hazel is great with both young children and older kids. She is not defensive or aggressive, even if her food is touched. She is willing to let children as young as 4 years old pet her, walk her on leash, touch her paws, etc. with no showings of aggression. She’s very tolerant of children. She doesn’t seem to show interest in toys. She is food motivated (loves treats).
Hazel sleeps comfortably in a metal crate and prefers laying on hard surfaces. I would recommend crating her or keeping her in a non-carpeted area when left home alone due to separation anxiety (dug a hole in carpet after breaking out of a plastic crate).
Just as Hazel's heartworm treatment was wrapping up (prior to coming to Wisconsin), Hazel started displaying symptoms of fever, lethargy, and decreased appetite. After various tests, including, bloodwork, chest x-rays, infectious disease testing, urinalysis and ultrasound, these symptoms seemed to be unexplained. Based on ruling out other causes, and an elevated c-reactive protein test (measures systemic inflammation), the vet in Texas deduced that this must be some sort of autoimmune factor. Hazel was placed on an anti-inflammatory dose of steroids for about a month. The c-reactive test was re-checked and came back normal so we had tapered off her dose of steroids which she was initially handling well. She did start displaying the initial symptoms of fever, lethargy, decreased appetite after being off the steroids for a bit so she was put back on. Once she was feeling better, the vet approved tapering her down to 5 mg (from the initial 15 mg) with the goal to be off Prednisone again by 11/2/2021. She has not shown adverse effects to decreasing the Prednisone dosage.
Overall, Hazel is a sweet, laid-back girl looking for her forever home.