Meet Olivia “Liv”

Come on in, have a seat, so I can tell you all about Liv.

Liv has had a lot of challenges in her life. When Liv was about a year old, she was confiscated, along with 34 other dogs, from a hoarding home. When Liv and her friends were taken away, they were all put into the same shelter. All of Liv’s friends got out of the shelter but, Liv was left behind. Liv spent 5 years in a scary shelter, with lots of big dogs all around her. Liv came to Match Made in Heaven very scared. You could tell she really wanted to trust but, needed lots of time and patience.

Liv has come a long way since she first came to us, in December. She has been with her current foster for two months and, it has taken these two months to gain her trust. She will let foster mom touch under her chin and recently started allowing foster mom to pet her back. But, she is still fearful of touch, for the most part. Liv will sit by foster mom, sniff her, get up on the couch and lay next to mom, as long as it is on her terms. Liv really seems to want to belong but, just has some awkward, post shelter social skills. She is very much on her timeline and the kind of dog you let come to you. Since she’s a shorty, sometimes mom will sit on the floor or even lay on the floor and she likes to come over and checks mom out head to toe.  Getting down at her level puts her a little more at ease.

Liv would do pest in a calm and quiet home. Liv is in no way aggressive but, she would not feel comfortable in a home with a lot of energy and traffic. Liv needs to be continually pushed past her boundaries but, gently. She is all about the baby steps As time goes on, she will continue to blossom. She still uses piddle pads in her kennel area but, does prefer to potty outside if she has access.  Liv ALWAYS goes potty right after she eats her meals. I mean in seconds. She likes her crate and will go in there on her own and, nap in there. Olivia is very fond of her small fur foster sister. She likes/needs a canine companion, her size or smaller. Liv is NOT fond of her foster sister who is bigger. She has done very well with the cat and leaves her be. She is smart and watches everything. She takes a lot of her cues from the other dogs. She observes their interactions with foster mom. Liv is just starting to reciprocate play with her small foster sister. It seems likely that she had never seen a dog toy before and will sniff them, but has not caught on to what to do with them.

Liv loves food and will start barking AS SOON as she hears the scoop of food hit her bowl.

She seems to show excitement by barking and her happiness giving a little howl sometimes. She has started running and rolling in the grass.  She takes great delight in the yard and MUST have access to a yard.  I suspect the bigger the yard, the better, fully fenced of course, though clearly does not have to be higher than about 3 feet. Liv has never attempted to escape the yard or her exercise pen area in the bedroom. She is not leash trained. She has a collar on and has not and, has been leashed when needed but, she has also chewed through a few leashes.  All you have to do is wave a leash and she runs the other way. While Miss Olivia is not trained to commands, she seems to understand things like let’s go, or get down, and saying good girl.  Any raise in your tone, even directed to another dog, she will go put herself in her crate and hide. While she still has much fear, she has come such a long long way.

Bones from the butcher shop are Liv’s all-time favorite treat.  She likes a stuffed Kongs and also has a little hedgehog that foster mom puts peanut butter on.  She likes to take her treats and bring them back to her kennel and savor them. It’s pretty darn cute. Liv loves when her people are around and close by. She likes to sit outside next to her human on a sunny day and nap. Liv isn’t a cuddly girl but, with patience and time she will be your loyal companion.