About Daisy

Daisy has the sweetest face and the most kind and soulful eyes. She was found wandering alone in a park and was initially skittish around people but very happy to be around other dogs. I fostered her for 1 week. She is very quick to trust and now she really loves being around her people. She will come lay her head on my leg while I'm working or will lay beside my desk. She is a very calm, quiet, and submissive/non-assertive dog when she is around her people. She has shown some signs of anxiety when being left alone including barking and pawing at the door. She will do this for a few minutes then settle down. She seems like she may have been primarily an outdoor dog previously because she needed to learn to urinate/defecate outside and she was unsure about her footing going up and down stairs/walking on tile. She is almost house trained and only seems to have a urinary accident overnight. She does not urinate or defecate while on walks/on a leash and prefers to urinate/defecate off leash in the fenced yard away from people. She walks very well on a leash, does not pull, and is calm when walking by other people, cats, and dogs. She does love walks and we even went on easy hikes. She tends to walk beside you or just slightly in front on a loose leash. She is not food motivated at this time and she does not understand toys. I tried to have her play with plush toys or balls and she was not interested. I have a small terrier mix in the house (~ 18#) and Daisy is ~75#. She did well initially around my small dog. They walk well together on leashes and they calmly relax in the same room on their respective beds. I also have cats in the house. Daisy initially was curious about them but not pushy and allowed the cats to come up to her and sniff her, she sniffed them. She did not act aggressively and remained calm around them. It took a few days to get her a crate and to start introducing her to it. However, she took to the crate immediately. She would willingly go in and out of it, and she would rest calmly in the crate with the door shut. This initial trial was performed while we were present and working in the room. We have not yet left her crated by herself. One behavioral concern made itself known while she was in the crate. The crate door was shut and we allowed the small dog to walk by the crate and one of the cats. In both instances, Daisy unfortunately growled, lunged, and snapped at the dog/cat. It appears that she may have some barrier aggression or have some insecurities that she will need help with (guarding her new 'house' or feeling threatened/cornered while contained). It was due to this that I elected to return her to the shelter because I do not have experience training a dog off this type of behavior and I did not want her to learn any bad habits that would affect her ability to be adopted. I do not see this type of behavior thus far out of the crate. Even despite this set back, Daisy is a wonderful, loving, dog and I think she will love her adoptive family unconditionally. Perhaps she would do best as an only pet, or with a family that will have time to help with her crate training insecurities.

Contact

AZ Pima Animal Care Center
Pima County
Tucson, Arizona

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