- Breed: Shepherd- Hound mix
- Gender: Female, spayed
- Age: 2 years old
- Size: 60 pounds
- Good with…
- Dogs? Maybe!
- Cats? Unknown
- Kids? Yes!
Hello! My name is Bailey and I am the most adorable, playful dog around!
History
I had a rough first year of life and was surrendered to Herkimer Humane Society before my current mom found me. I was very anxious at the shelter, apparently the people who surrendered me were NOT NICE folks, but life has been much, much better since I got adopted. Clearly, the people who had me when I was a puppy did not treat me kindly, which has left me very skittish with men until I get to know them. I have been in my new home for a year now and they have really helped me to become less anxious and to discover my fun side! The kids in the home keep me very excited and show me so much love. If I’m left alone, I still get anxious. I really enjoy the great outdoors and wherever my people are!
Personality
I am a very good girl. I have mighty good reason to be scared of people since I was treated so badly as a puppy in my original home, but I yearn to trust and to love and to connect and I have made great strides in the last year now that I am in a safe home with caring people. I am naturally respectful to my humans, and ready for any adventure, and I’m never grumpy! I have a very cheerful and enthusiastic demeanor, I want to be happy and joyful and loving all the time, and as my fears are lessening, you can see that shining forth more and more.
I’m quirky about affection in that I LOVE some types of affection but feel uncomfortable about other types. I love ALL kinds of verbal affection and cheerful attention–being told what a good girl I am, how sweet I am, how much I am loved. I love baby talk and happy-voice and seeing love and affection in your eyes. As for physical affection–I love snuggling in next to you on the couch, and I love it when mom lets me curl up in between her legs. I come up to my mom and lay my head and my paw on her leg, gently and sweetly asking if I can come up and snuggle in next to her (she says it is irresistible). Other times I give her the gentle, pleading puppy-dog-eyes and then do a slow-motion crawl up on her lap or onto the couch next to her. Like if I move slowly enough, she won’t notice or be disturbed! As for petting—I don’t like it! A little bit of brief petting occasionally is tolerable for me (though does not seem enjoyable), but any more than that and I get up and walk away. The dog rescue folks wonder if in that original not-nice home, if hands were only used to hit or punish me, leaving me very nervous about having human hands on my body. No matter the origin, the best way for my new people to help me gain trust would be to give me loads of verbal affection, and treats, and playtime to show me your love until I know and trust you very much (we’re talking maybe months), and then to very slowly introduce touch in brief amounts (a few seconds) followed by praise or treats!
I love playing with the kids in the house, I bark and jump around and make everyone laugh and laugh. But with my wonderful young dog energy, and lack of self-control training, when there is too much activity, I get a bit wild. At those times, mom will gently and nicely help me go to my own space, where it is quieter and away from the bustling, noisy activity, so I can calm down.
I love playing tug of war and chewing on my bones and toys! I am a bit rascally when I get the rope away from you in a tug-of-war game, I think of every way possible to get you to chase me so I can play “keep away” with you! Hahaha!
I am a great “alert” pup in that I bark when people pull into the driveway or knock on the door. No one will sneak up on you with me on the job! If they come in the house and I know them—I am very happy and friendly. If I don’t know them, and they are female, I can warm up quickly, but if they are male, I will need your help, as I will feel very nervous. Best thing unknown men can do is keep a good distance away from me and totally ignore me—no eye contact, no approaching, no petting, no talking to me. Ignoring in “dog-world” means, “I mean you no harm/I am not a threat” and that is helpful!
I love being outside, but since I am a good chewer, you CANNOT leave me tied up outside because I will chew through the leash/rope and run off! A metal coated dog run is fine though. Leashed walks are very exciting, I love them, but I do pull quite a lot, so a no-pull harness (like a Freedom Harness or Gentle Leader) would help a lot as would positive reinforcement training. Because mom has her hands full minding the little kids on our walks, she has been unable to do leash training with me. There are neighbor cows that graze in the field next to our unfenced yard, and I LOVE staring at and barking at them (they are behind an electric fence)! There are also chickens and deer and squirrels and I find them all fascinating and also sometimes bark-worthy.
Normally, I sleep in the living room at night on my special couch. I am fully housebroken at all times except overnight for a few days after being kenneled. This is very common, and my mom just has me use a crate at night for a few days post-boarding.
Cohabitation
I love people once I know them! I love my mom and dad their friends and all of the kids in the house. I am terrific with kids as long as they respect me. I am around a lot of little kids all day and I love to give them kisses! Mom does not let them crawl on me or pull on me- I like that she respects and protects me!
Men make me nervous until I see them often and learn to trust them. I will growl, bark and back away or hide…I have NEVER come toward a man aggressively. I don’t want trouble, I am just really scared of stranger men. I need you to insure that new men leave me alone and don’t make it even more terrifying by coming toward me or touching me, no matter how friendly their intentions! They can toss treats on the ground, far away from them, so I don’t have to come near them though as long as they don’t look at me while they do it!
I only have a little bit of experience with other dogs. At the kennel I could hear them and they excited me but I didn’t get to play with them. At home, my aunt did a very unfortunate thing,..,.she wanted me to meet her dog so she put me on leash and let her dog come in our house off-leash (worst strategy ever!) and of course I felt super threatened and ended up giving him a nip to his nose. He wasn’t hurt and they ended that meeting (thank goodness)! With a proper introduction to a dog and opportunity to learn or hone my doggy social skills, I might do great, we just don’t have enough data to really know.
I haven’t spent any time with cats, I’m not sure how I will do with them.
Favorite Activities
- Snuggling up next to with mom on the couch in the evening!
- Verbal affection from you! Your happy, loving attention!
- Being outdoors, going for a walk!
- Playing tug-of-war!
- Chewing on my bones and toys!
Why I am looking for a new home
I am looking for a new home because my family is going through a divorce and neither mom nor dad can take care of me on their own, given all of their other responsibilities.
Medical
I am a young healthy pup with no medical issues! I’m fully checked up, fully up to date on all shots. I do get very excited going to the vet so make sure you hold on tight.
Summary
We are hoping that Bailey will be in a home with a tremendous amount of love. She has been through so much in the first year of her life, now she knows what love is and there should be no lack of it. Bailey’s ideal family would be one that has some experience with positive reinforcement training, will understand her quirks and value all of her amazing qualities, will take her on lots of walks, have space for her to play outside, and have the time and resources to train her so she can be her best and happiest self. They should have a fence system of some sort so she does not run off. She has great energy that she would love to share with another young dog but it needs to be the right fit.
If you are interested in adopting me, please fill out an online adoption application and live close to Ithaca, Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester, or Elmira. We do home visits on every applicant, and can’t do home visits where we don’t have local volunteers.
