Sierra
cur Mix | Female | 1 year Old | 28 Lbs
QUICK FACTS: ✔️ Good with other dogs and kids! ✔️ Good with cats! ✔️ Good in car! ✔️ Good running buddy!
✔️ Walks well on leash! ✔️ Good for beginner dog owner! ❌ Vocal dog! ❌ No apartments please!
Updates
Sierra marks February 7 as her adoption day!
PUPDATE 2
Sierra has been working on learning more house manners. She’s getting better about knowing where she is and isn’t allowed, though she does test the boundaries and venture into the kitchen. There are just so many good smells coming from there!
Sierra will counter surf and put her paws on the dining room table after we eat. She’s a curious dog and tends to be more mischievous on days she doesn’t exercise as much. Sierra doesn’t mind the snow, but doesn’t like the strong cold wind or really cold temperatures. With our weather lately, she doesn’t go outside as often. The weather doesn’t change her energy level, however! She’s a medium to high energy girl!
We recently changed her food. She didn’t eat her food and would graze her way through the day. Sometimes she wouldn’t eat her breakfast one day until the next morning. I used the leftover food from our previous foster (a different brand than what she came to us with) and she gobbles that up every meal time.
Between Sierra not wanting to spend a lot of time outside and not having a puppy friend to play indoors with, she will play more with us. She finds it difficult to calm down and tends to bite in a playful manner when she’s excited. This has been more of an issue with the kids (ages 6-8), as they also have a difficult time calming down. We’ve been using a stern “no” and redirection to teach her it isn’t ok to bite. Her bites are more playful in nature, never breaking the skin. Sierra’s favorite way to be redirected is with a toy. She loves to play tug of war with her plastic ring chew toy!
On the really cold days, Sierra enjoys napping in front of the fireplace. She’ll snuggle right up close to the fireplace in her dog bed and snooze away. If she gets too warm, she’ll slowly move further away and eventually join us on the couch. She enjoys being near her people, especially when she gets chin scratches, belly rubs, and soft pets on the head.
PUPDATE 1
Sierra wakes up in the morning, goes outside for a bit, and then comes inside to eat breakfast. If it isn't too cold outside, she likes to go back outside and play. We have a few toys that can go out in the snow. She loves to throw them up in the air and chase after them. She's quite funny! Sierra will come back inside and nap or chew on some toys. She likes this tennis ball ring we have, but she destroyed it within a week. Sierra also loves to chew on her peanut butter filled bones. She's gotten better about alerting us if she needs to go potty. She will whine at the patio door. Sierra has had a few accidents in the house, but I suspect it was from adjusting to a new home and routine. She goes outside a few times during the day, runs with our dog neighbors, plays with her toys, and likes to sit and watch everything going on outside. She eats dinner in the evening and tends to settle down as the day goes on. After dinner, she relaxes on her dog bed with a few toys chewing on them. Sierra goes outside one time before bed and sleeps all night in her crate.
Sierra hasn't met a person she doesn't like! She is a very social and friendly dog. She is a bit overwhelming for younger children. I'd recommend older children. Sierra gets excited and jumps up on people. She's knocked over a few kids in her excitement to see them.
She has exposure to children ages 1 and up. She jumps up on the children and doesn't listen when they say "off" or "no". She accidentally scratched a few of them when jumping up. She is just excited to see people and doesn't realize she can't jump on everyone. We've been working on training to get her to stop jumping up.
Sierra does best with a lot of exercise and play time. When we had another foster dog, she was very well behaved. She was worn out every day and did well with learning the rules of our home. Now that she's been the only dog in our home, she gets bored easily and tends to chew on non-toys and barks more. Sierra would likely do best in a high energy home and/or a home with another dog.
This gal loves other dogs! She wants to greet every dog she comes across, whether it be on a walk or in the fenced backyard. If Sierra hears other dogs barking when she's in the house, she will bark and try to figure out where they are. She barks at all animals and people when she is outside. Sierra is small and tries to fit through our fence to get to her dog friends on the other side.
We have a cat that is not always friendly. Sierra was very respectful of the cat but was initially curious about her. Once the cat established the boundary, Sierra respected it and has left her alone.
We have always crated Sierra when she's been left home alone. She does not like being alone. Sierra will bark and tries to get out of her crate. We've tried using "delta tones" and podcasts on Spotify to help calm her. She will bark for several minutes and then calms down. We do give her toys (usually a bone) to entertain herself with when she's left alone in her crate. Sierra did better in her crate when we had another foster dog in our home. The crates were close to each other and she could see him. Sierra was only left alone for no more than 2 hours once a week for church when she was with us. Otherwise, someone was always home with her.
Seirra is a snuggly dog. She will climb up in bed or on the couch to snuggle right next to you. She doesn't like to be cold and likes to sleep in front of the fireplace on her dog bed. Sierra is a smart girl and loves to be with her people.