Alana

Profile

 Happy Spring Alana! Love, your fur sister Cait 16-045!

 Happy Spring! So glad you are a Ragom Rescue now! Thank you SFHS for your efforts! From RD in SD

In addition to LOVE this dog has the following requirements:Date PostedFenceKid FriendlyAnother DogCat Friendly 3/23/16Preferred
 Ages 10+
Preferred, but not required
 Yes
This is the most recent information available; however, it may change as we learn more about the dog.

Please welcome beautiful Alana to the RAGOM family. Alana came to us, along with 10 other dogs, from a hoarding situation. She should weigh between 60 and 65 lbs., but she only weighs 45 lbs.

In spite of her hard life, she is a very sweet girl. She met our two dogs without any problems. She shows little or no interest in either of our two cats, and they are not afraid of her. She is very affectionate to us. This past weekend, she met our dog-savvy grandkids (ages 10 through 16) and did just fine with all of them.

We took her to the vet on Wednesday, and we are glad to report that medically, she checks out just fine. They estimated her age to be about 6 years old and that she is a (mostly) Lab mix. Doctor Amanda was concerned about her weight, of course. She recommended that we not have her spayed until her weight gets up to 60 lbs. She is on a diet of three feedings a day of a high-protein, high-fat dog food (similar to what hunters give their field dogs during hunting season). Our first job will be to put some weight on those bones! We won’t be walking her longer distances at first so that she doesn’t burn large amounts of calories, but instead, turns them into fat and muscle.

Because of her background, we realize we have a lot to learn about her, day by day as her personality comes out. For that reason, as well as her weight issues, Alana will not be available for adoption until she can be spayed and we can be surer of what she will need in her forever home. Until that time, her web page will say “unavailable.”

We are learning new things every day. Because she likely never had enough to eat and was competing for what food she could get in a household with 10 other dogs, most of her daily life revolves around food. She is an extremely talented counter-surfer – the best we have ever met. We thought we had our house dog-proofed, but we soon found that no spot on any counter was safe. We feed her in a separate room, out of sight of our resident dog and with the door closed. She is VERY protective of her own food and will aggressively seek other dogs’ food if given the opportunity. At this time, our strategy is to eliminate potential counter-food opportunities and dog-dog conflict around food. Our hope is that she will gradually come to realize that she is loved and protected here, and that she will ALWAYS have the food she needs to survive and thrive.

Alana loves her walks with our resident dog Beau. She has no leash discipline whatsoever, so our next step will be starting to introduce her to a Gentle Leader Head Collar. We found out yesterday that she also enjoys playing. She enticed our blind resident dog to play with her, and it was wonderful to see how gentle she was with him. Here is a short video.

She loves dog beds. Actually, if she had her way, she would join us on our bed every night. At this point, for her safety and ours, we kennel her in our bedroom at night and whenever we need to be out of the house. She goes in happily with the enticement of a treat and doesn’t bark or fuss.

Please stay tuned for more of Alana’s story. She is an amazing girl to have survived so much in her life to this point, and we want to share her journey to the Golden Life with you.