[10/26/24]  I've had Maria for 5.5 months now.  She's come a very long way.  Her skin issues have cleared up (she's now on a daily dose of Apoquel to ensure her skin remains healthy).  

Maria was spayed on 10/1/24.  If you had read the 6/20/24 update below, we planned to have her spayed in June.  But she went into heat and best practices indicate that females should not be spayed for about 3-4 months after a heat cycle ends.  The vets want to make sure that hormones have calmed down enough to do the spay.  So we waited until October. 

She was a trooper throughout recuperation - even with the cone (NOT her favorite).  The incision healed nicely.  It was a bit longer than most spay incisions because the  vet also repaired an umbilical hernia during the procedure.  I thought Maria was happy before the spay, but after that cone came off and I no longer had to use a leash, she was ecstatic!  I'm guessing since the hernia was repaired, she felt a whole lot better.  

Maria has learned to sit and wait for her bowl to be placed down.  We've been working on leash training, but she hasn't got the hang of that yet.  Since the spay, there are times where she doesn't pull on lead (the leash goes soft), but then she pulls again.  Her forever home will likely want to work with her on that.  She is crate trained - she goes in the crate at night and whenever I leave my house.  She also hasn't had an accident in the house for over 5 months, so I think it's safe to say that she's house trained as well.  :) 

She does have a high prey drive, so we're thinking a forever home with no small animals.  It might also be best if there were no small children in the home.  She is essentially an 86 lb puppy - bouncy, fast, zoomies, etc.  She's leaarning spatial boundaries and I'm sure she will continue to improve.  One additional observation is that her coat seems to be getting lighter.  I had her DNA tested and she came back 100% White Shepherd.  It'll be interesting to see how light her coat might get.  Oh, and I'll be happy to include those results with the  documentation we send with Maria.  

Maria is definitely ready for her forever home.  If you might be interested in this special girl, please do apply to adopt.  If you are already approved to adopt, please contact us.  


[6/20/24] Maria went to the vet yesterday and was a little nervous but was great with both the vet tech and the vet. Her skin issues are better, but haven't quite cleared up yet so she'll be on an antibiotic a while longer. The vet also gave me a mousse to rub into her skin. I'll start that today.

Her spay is scheduled for July 2. At that time, the vet will also repair what appears to be an umbilical hernia. Big doin's coming up for this sweet girl.

She'd also gained 4-5 lbs. This is great and the vet was okay about the food amount and the frequency of the feedings (3 times/day).

Today, I started a new "thing" with her. She knows "sit" and I decided to ask her to sit before I open a door. We've been through two doors so far and after a few seconds she managed it both times.

She's coming along nicely. And she's just got the best smile. :)