Julia

#13-070 Julia, age 2

AVAILABLE SOON

HEARTWORM POSITIVE

“She's a sweet, gentle girl and so easygoing it's unbelievable. She's always calm, low-key, and impeccably behaved (well, with the sole exception of the chickens!). She will put her paws on you sometimes if she wants your attention, but she never jumps. Quiet, gentle attention and praise are the best ways to earn her love.”

That’s the word on beautiful Julia, who switched foster homes about ten days ago, along with her little family. Now that two pups have left the nest (Eddie and Erin) and the others are getting big & eating puppy chow, Julia should be able to direct her calories away from milk production for her chubby crew, and  towards adding a few pounds to her own skinny frame. To that end, she’s getting peanut butter sandwiches and extra treats throughout the day!

This soft-natured girl responds well to soft voices and a soft touch. She tends to get nervous around new people who are loud or who try to move her from place to place by pulling on her collar. She barks at that behavior, but never growls or snaps—just moves away. “She doesn’t bark a lot, so when she does, I tend to see if I can find the reason for the barking rather than just asking her to stop. And as soon as she sees that I’m coming to investigate, she stops.”  She hasn’t shown much interest in toys, but just today, foster mom reports that “we played an indoor version of fetch. What a good girl! She brings me the ball right away and is very polite about letting me take it from her to  roll it gently away again. She really likes this game!”

Julia is fine with nice, dog-savvy children: “She follows my 11-year-old around and seems to love attention from him. She has met five other kids, ages nine to eleven, and has behaved well and accepted pets from them all very nicely. I’m not sure how she'd do with a younger or rougher child, though.”

She was nervous about the brush at first, but foster mom has learned to start slowly, in areas that will pull less, and this technique works nicely to help Julia relax after just a few minutes. ”Lots of praise and positive reinforcement (frequent breaks for just petting, telling her what a good girl she is, and treats) have made her less fearful over the past week. She let me take her outside on the leash and brush out a lot of loose undercoat with only a tiny bit of nervousness at the beginning. Over five minutes of good brushing, even around her neck and ears, today! Win! I'd really like to give her a bath, but will wait several more days before I try it.”

Now, about those chickens… Julia is not allowed outside off leash. She managed to get out the other day while the pups were heading out for a bathroom break, and was chasing chickens within a very short time. “She very badly wants to catch one and nearly did. We barely managed to stop her from killing one of them. Close call!” Cats are something else again, though – she completely ignores them “unless they are being actively obnoxious. One of our cats hissed and smacked her and she barked and lunged at the cat, but didn't chase it.”

Julia’s still recovering her strength and does a lot of sleeping, preferably in a room with a person, but she is fine on her own as well. She has been completely trustworthy when left alone in the house; her foster family hasn’t been crating her, and all has been just fine.

This shy, sweet girl should be ready for her spay surgery soon, and once she clears that hurdle, she’ll need heartworm treatment. For that, her calm nature should be a real help, as she already likes to be quiet and serene (unless a chicken is in view, that is!). We’d love to find her just the right family now, one who’s willing to see her through her HW injections (GRR will cover the cost, of course). Contact us to learn more!

“Nursing mom w/ Pups - Golden enough for GRR? Came in stray yesterday with six kiddos. She’s only about two. Can you take?”

Wow, Mom looks like a Golden movie star—so our response was “You bet! Come on down!” Followed by: “Yikes!! Where are we going to find a foster home for seven dogs at one blow??” Our chief  foster coordinator got on the phone and went down the list, and hooray! One of our long-time foster moms stepped up to help out.

And now … We’re delighted to introduce GRR’s latest group of celebrities (we understand they already have quite the Facebook following). Mama is so glamorous that her foster mom picked a superstar name for her – and the pups were all named for characters in movies featuring Julia (you know the one we mean!).  

While mom is a Golden through and through, her adorable kids—now about six weeks old—are quite the “variety pack”: one short-coated blonde (Tess), one long-haired blonde (Erin), two tricolor cuties (Eddie and Viv), one solid black girl (Anna), and one black with a white blaze (and a little tan coloring, too) – Darby, the smallest of the group. We’re DNA testing them and should have the results in around three weeks; we’re all very curious to know just what went into the making of these darling fluffballs.

Julia is still nursing her pups, but she’s teaching them to be independent, too; after all, they’ll be ready for homes of their own in just about two more weeks. And is she ever enjoying her new life: “She is happy and calm and just wants petting. She likes to drape her legs on you so she can get more attention.  She’s been focussed on her pups and her new people friends, but she’s just now starting to play a little bit with the other dogs here.”

Don’t tell the tabloids, but Julia may need a little help with her leash-walking—let’s just say she has the looks of a runway model but she doesn’t have the controlled strut quite down yet. She doesn’t pull too badly, but she tries to walk between your legs! On the other hand, as befits a star, she knows how to behave indoors. Not one accident!

Julia is so proud of her toys! “Keep your Oscar statuette and give me a tennis ball,” she says. Toys are about the only thing she’s protective about.

For a movie star, she is surprisingly resistant to the brush and comb! But we know she’ll come around. We do think she’s been dieting a bit too strenuously in preparation for her next starring role—or maybe it’s just the demands of nursing a half-dozen plump, hungry pups! In any case, she needs to put on around ten pounds, which will put her at around 56 pounds (a nice slim weight for her). A few weeks of pampering and luxury shampoos and high-quality, nutritious meals are going to turn this Pretty Woman into a stunner!

“Julia is just REALLY sweet. She may need some additional attention during the adoption transition.  I think she has been left to fend for herself one too many times. But once she’s sure she’s truly home, all will be well. She’d do fine with another low-key dog or as an only dog, too. Really she’d be great with anyone who will give her lots of companionship and affection. She’s not into rough-housing (“I’m not a fan of action-adventure movies!” she says), just cuddling and petting.”