Howdy, my name is Sasha! I am a snuggly, loving dachshund mix.
Quick Facts:
- Breed: Dachshund mix
- Gender: Female, spayed
- Age: 4 year old
- Size: 25 pounds
- Good with…
- Dogs? Some
- Cats? Yes!
- Kids? 14+
***Sasha is not a CDR dog and has not been evaluated by CDR.***
History
My family adopted me from the Tompkins County SPCA two years ago; I was two years old at the time so I’m pretty sure I’m almost four years old. The SPCA was very scary for me and I barked and growled at everyone while in my room. When I met my people in a neutral area of the facility, they sat on the floor and were given treats to share with me and soon I was coming to them and letting them pet me. Then they got a toy and threw it for me and I was in love. When they returned, we met again in this neutral area and I was nervous at first and barked a little but quickly remembered them and was quivering with excitement to be going home with them!! Since then I have had many new experiences; I have moved houses with them, met new people, visited new cities, tried new foods, met new canine and feline friends, and even learned some new tricks. While I have gotten better, I still bark or growl when I am exposed to anything new. Sometimes I can control my fear but other times I just need to be allowed to leave the fearful situation.
Personality
I’m a happy, energetic and enthusiastic dog! I love to snuggle and play with my family! I’m very interested in them and like to know what everyone is up to in the house.
Morning is probably one of my favorite times of the day! I think it is my job to race around to each side of the bed– sometimes two or three times if people are slow to rise!– and lick hands and sniff faces with my wag-wag-wag-waggly tail and quivering body!!. Plus mornings also mean…breakfast! Another favorite activity (see below)! The morning is also so awesome because it’s when I get my full body hugs—this is when one of my people massages my tummy and haunches while I get in a full body s-t-r-e-t-c-h. In the morning I have lots and lots of energy and eagerly await our ball throwing sessions where I can race across our lawn, back and forth endlessly. I am also a wonderful self-entertainer and can happily chase my own tail or snap at flies to my heart’s content!
I also like to greet all the cats, giving them the morning sniffaroos. My favorite days are weekends, when my people are home all day and we sprawl in the sunshine together or play hide ‘n seek or Frisbee. I keep a close eye on my people, following them from room to room and keeping them company. Often I get to sit on a lap or sprawl on a couch! I love this! This results in tummy rubs and ear rubs and chin scratches, my favorites!!
Sometimes I like to look out the windows but I am a short dog and have to climb on a bench to watch the road. I do like to watch the driveway for when my people come home and then I bark happily in greeting. The backyard is like doggie TV and I will sit for hours and watch the animal life. I don’t think that deer should be in my yard though, and will bark at them to let them know! Sometimes I mock the cats, when they get stuck outside during the day and I am warm and snug in the house! Ha-ha! But we are all really great friends, it’s all in fun. Then I will curl up in tight ball on my pad and tuck in my nose and sleep. It is not as good as the fleecy blankets my (human) big sister and I curl up in at night, but still pretty comfy!
I am eager to learn new tricks and my (human) big sister is teaching me to jump through a hoop! I am clever though and keep finding ways to go around the hoop so I get more treats. Ha-ha! I am smart! Often she will stamp her feet and I will go into my playful crouch and then we will play tag, with me chasing her, and then her chasing me. Sometimes when my people toss the ball for me, I find a stick instead, because variety is good, and I will wag it at them teasingly until they try to take it from me and we play tug of war. Or they will hold the stick in the air and I will jump and jump and jump to try to reach it.! I may have short legs but they are very springy!
I am a terrific weeding assistant in the summer. I am usually off leash in our yard and, as my people pull weeds, I grab them, either out of the air or from the ground, and shake them until all the loose dirt is off. And I love the winter! I can hop along snow drifts like a rabbit, bouncing and eating the snow for miles. I am not very helpful with the fall leaves though, preferring to scatter the big piles my people make.
I think you have the sense that once I know and trust you, I am a lover and so much fun! But you also need to know that I am very scared of people whom I don’t know (or whom I don’t know well). I find meeting new people pretty stressful, so when people whom aren’t in my “inner circle” come over, I do best if allowed to go in my crate or to another room. My family has some friends that are very confident around dogs like me and once I have a chance to get to know them, everything is just fine, but when people are nervous around me (which happens, because I will bark-bark-bark at them!), that makes me even more nervous (thus more barking) and it’s no fun for them or me! I sometimes jump up toward people when I am nervous and upset like this but I have never bitten anyone.
I go to the vet and the kennel when my family travels and those people are good with me, I think because they are super confident and I can sense that.
Cohabitation
Once I know and trust you, I LOVE you!!
I am awesome with cats and live with three cats currently. I tried to be bossy with them when I was new to the home, but they were having none of it and, with my humans’ help, I quickly learned good manners around the cats! Now we are all buddies.
I love the human teenager in my current house, and she does a lot of my care. She has some friends who are clearly comfortable with dogs and if she gives them my ball to throw, I am quickly at ease and can play with them. But other of her friends are less comfortable with me and then I am scared of them and so when they come over, it’s best that I go to my crate or to a bedroom and relax on my own.
I’m a bit nervous with new dogs, but have been good with dogs whom I got to know. Every once in a while a smaller dog stays over at our house and since I’m bigger, I get to be the boss, but we get along really well, playing and sleeping together, and sharing balls and toys.
We had a neighbor dog about my size that I got to see every morning at the mailbox and we loved to sniff and play together. I haven’t been introduced to many larger dogs but I have gotten used to those I have met in a controlled environment (sniffing first, on leash, before any contact) with only a little whining because I was so excited. But again, I am nervous with dogs just like with people…I bark a lot if we’re strangers, but warm up if we get to know each other nice and slow. I would hate a dog park—so many strange dogs, I would not enjoy that one bit!
I would NOT do well in a home with kids. Way too scary, too much noise, weird movements, etc. My people do not let small children approach me because I will bark and scare them. I don’t like any service people, their uniforms scare me so I stay in my crate when they visit.
Favorite Activities
I love to go to the park but I have to go early when there aren’t lots of other people or dogs.
I have tried riding in a rowboat and canoe and really enjoyed that but I decided I don’t like swimming, I just sank! I need one of those doggy flotation thingees, to keep me afloat!
My favorite thing to do is fetch my ball or a stick in the yard; I do that now a couple of times every day and it makes me so so so so happy! I love to run with my ears back and legs stretching to their full (if short) length. My people say that a tired dog is a well-behaved dog but I think I’m pretty great even when I’m bursting with energy!
I also love doing tricks! I can sit, stay, stand, shake, lay down and go to different members of my family, especially if there are treats involved! Riding in the car is fun especially if I can stick my nose out the window. I like trips as long as they don’t involve meeting many strangers.
I also like snuggling in the evenings on the couch with a family member or better yet, snuggled in their arms. Basically I like to be where my people are at and I follow them from room to room. I like it best when they are all together because if they are in different rooms I have a lot of checking up to do.
I love dinner preparation time where my job is to constantly scan the kitchen floor for any dropped food and to clean it up immediately. I like to eat! Sometimes I trick my people with my woeful eyes and they don’t realize I have already been fed and they feed me twice. Heaven!
Why I am looking for a new home
I am looking for a new family where I can enjoy my loved ones but not be scared by strangers so much of the time. We used to live in the country, and I could go for long walks without being scared of things, but we moved to a new home and the neighborhood has lots of people and other dogs and it’s just really hard and stressful for me. I can’t go out and get nearly enough walks anymore, and when we do walk, it’s tense and not so enjoyable.
And while my family keeps a close eye on me which is why I have never bitten anyone, they worry that if they slip up some day, I might. They don’t know if this is true, but it’s a worry, especially because they have so many visitors, and there is a teenager in the house who has lots of teenage friends over.
If I had a home situation that was quieter, with less visitors, and situated in a more rural situation, I would be so much less stressed. Also, my family likes to travel, to hike outdoors, to visit the park, and do outdoors activities and they can’t take me with them because I will growl and bark at the other people or other animals.
My family has tried to train me not to bark at people when we travel in the car by offering me treats when we see “people” and they have taken me into public settings and used the same training to carefully introduce me to having people or other animals around. This has helped a little but I am still very nervous and can’t help but bark and growl and jump when I am startled or surprised. I would love someone who would continue this very important training with me, but it would help if there were fewer of these situations to contend with all the time.
Medical
I’m very healthy. I go to the vet regularly. I gained a few pounds right after I was adopted but once my family figured out I could fetch we did that a lot and I’m back in great shape.
Summary
My family loves me very much and have enjoyed having me as a member of the family. They are hoping to find a new family for me where I can share my love but not have to meet new people very often.
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.
