About Gracie

This is sweet Gracie. She is the most loving, happy and smart dog - with me and the few friends in her life- and every dog we see on our walks. But she is an otherwise, outside of our home, fearful dog�'�|(but amazingly, not afraid of loud noises or thunder�'�|). Since I got her, have been taking her with me everywhere- shopping, restaurants,�'�|she is perfect, but her tail is tucks and she is usually huddling behind me. I have Gracie bc a friend begged me to take her for 2 nights for a new owner in VA, who never showed up (this was late last year�'�|) I am recently divorced, living in a townhome with no yard or other animals - and working to start my life over�'�| I Love dogs (& So Love Gracie), but was not ready for a dog in my life. After the new owner didn't show up, and we couldn't find another home (not sure how much we tried), I eventually adopted her and committed to giving her the best life possible despite my situation. We (Gracie and I ) are Very Happy at home - but her life is small, she Loves other dogs, but is nervous at dog parks and runs away w her tail tucked from dogs who approach her aggressively. And she is getting more protective of me, and her fear in the world has, sadly, increased�'�| She is such a smart dog, very easy to train, has great recall,... I have not, however, been a consistent trainer for her, and for the most part, I work for her :), and have been fine with this. This life, although not productive for me, seemed to be working, but her confidence outside of my home has been decreasing, and her reactivity to potential 'threats' has increased. She needs more training and socialization. I am happy to pay for her training - and have already arranged for a 6 week immersive training in FLA next week (all trainers there have Malinois dogs), but after the training, our situation remains the same�'�| I am posting because I would rather these training dollars go to training directly with a new person willing and able to stay the course with her. I would Love to stay involved in her life (ans forever free boarding!), but willing to not be if this is best for new person -this is how strongly I feel that she would do better with (& be such an amazing blessing for) another person. I have met with and had her evaluated by numerous great trainers - all feel strongly that she is a very sweet, but very scared dog. I don't know her history before I met her, but she seems to like women more than men, and she is unnerved by sustained direct eye contact from men. I would only let her go to a situation and person who could give her a lot of love and leadership - and who has the time to commit to training. She has done great in basic agility and advanced obedience�'�| (private and group lessons)--she would be the Perfect dog for someone who wanted to do some sort of sport or advanced training with her - if my situation allowed, this is what I'd do. She would also thrive with another dog, a farm or large backyard or some other situation - although she does great with just me (& ball throw, her Favorite thing:)- as long as she has adequate training, more opportunities for work or play with another dog - or is with an experienced owner. - she would Not do well with someone who works away from home and would leave her on a crate all day (when I leave her, she is not perfect, never does anything wrong, stands (straight back, at attention) at the window in front of my home (I can see her on Ring). She would probably benefit from crate training down right (she often sleeps in a soft crate beside my bed, but I never close her in it�'�|) Please reach out to me directly if you're interested. Please understand that I would need to see where she would be living and would, as mentioned, pay for the trainer, but would want to be in touch with this trainer throughout (& unless someone is already experienced, I would want this agreement, training, to be in writing). With the right person, I would be happy to help and commit time in ANY way needed. If, after diligent training, the new persons situation changed for any reason which made Gracie not a good fit, I would take her back�'�|

Cobb County
Atlanta, Georgia