Meet Adoptable River!
River is such a beautiful soul, we love her so much. She is 2 and half years old, and originally from Bella Bella. River was adopted as a puppy from Raincoast. She is sweet and gentle. She loves the humans in her life very deeply. Once you’re part of her pack, she will love you more than anything. She loves to go on walks, swim, fish for rocks and little fish, and adventure in nature. She needs about 2 hours of walking a day to be a happy pup. She loves to be thrown the ball with her chuck-it. She also loves going mountain biking with her human. She is extra soft, truly the softest dog you will ever meet.
She is very chill in the house. She loves to sleep on the bed or couch, and play a little bit with her toys. She is not the biggest snuggler, but loves to be by your side, and sometimes is a big suck for snuggles and belly rubs.
She is very smart, and picks up on training very quickly. She’s also quite stubborn.
River is reactive to dogs, children, cats, and sensitive to people she doesn’t know. She resource-guards food from other dogs, and from people she doesn’t know. She does great when slowly introduced to new people. She needs slow introductions to new people coming into the house, and even sometimes with people she knows coming into the house (if it’s been a few weeks since she’s seen them).
On walks, she does a great job at spotting a trigger, and refocusing back on us. She doesn’t bark or lunge at triggers, if given the appropriate distance. She needs less and less of a distance between her and people on walks. And is getting a lot better at remaining calm when she spots another dog on the walk, or refocusing her attention onto us. We don’t let her off leash unless we can tell there is nobody around, and if there is, they are very very far away. She has a good recall. She would do great in a home where her humans can take her on big walks in places she won’t see any humans or dogs so she can run free and be her happy self. While she does great on on-leash walks, she’s definitely a dog who needs to run off leash as well.
She is a strong dog, so when she is pulling on the leash, be prepared. She is generally great on leash, but will pull on the leash right when we get out of the house, if she sees a cat/bunny/deer, or if she smells something very interesting (like a cat or a bunny).
She can be left alone in the house. Leave her a kong full of peanut butter and then she will sleep until you return. Note: the maximum we have left her was 6 hours.
She needs a home with patient, loving people with no kids, dogs or cats. Ideally someone who knows reactive dogs, who are committed to the training, and who don’t like to have a lot of people over. She is just a fearful dog who doesn’t know how to communicate her fears.
We love River so much, and are very heartbroken to be looking to rehome her. We also really believe that in the right home, River will thrive and live such a happy life.
Important note for Jesse: River’s reactivity and triggers
For the following, we find that giving space between us and the trigger + saying “Yes!” and giving her a treat works great. With all of these, we are making progress. On walks, her reaction is usually intense staring, unless she is too close to the trigger and then she could either lunge, growl, bark or snap.
Joggers: not always, but especially if they are running towards us. She has been getting better with this, but it can be hit or miss.
Children
Some people randomly (ie: a military guy that she didn’t see coming, people running, someone standing not moving). It’s very random, so it’s hard to say exactly what and when. People who appear out of nowhere can be a trigger.
Dogs: She is reactive to dogs she doesn’t know. She’s pretty good when seeing dogs from afar and the most she will do is stare. If the dogs lock eyes with her, she might pull the leash suddenly trying to get close to them. If they get close, she will lunge/snap. This has improved a lot. She has been able to say hi to 2 dogs in the last 2 months. She has two dog friends. She is good with dogs she knows. But she resource-guards food/her humans.
Sometimes, not always: Slow cars driving past her. We believe it’s because she thinks Julien or I are in the car. People she doesn’t know coming to pet her.
Resource Guarding:
Food: with people she doesn’t know, and with dogs.
Her humans:
When dogs she doesn’t know come to say hi to us. This was back when she was okay with dogs. It hasn’t happened anymore since we are working up to her having a selected dog friends she is comfortable with. When her dog friends are too excited to see us. Sometimes, people she doesn’t know hugging us, shaking our hand.
People in the house:
She gets nervous when new people come into the house. As a precaution, we meet new people and people she knows outside first, go for a little walk, and then go inside.
Even after a slow introduction outside with new people, she usually still feels stressed when we first enter the house. We ignore her and all sit on the couch for a little while, until she looks relaxed. If the introduction was done properly, she is great with people in the house once she feels comfortable with them.
There has been a few incidents with her resource guarding, grabbing pant legs and lunging. Please message us for more details on these events.
River will need a very special home that is willing to work with her resource guarding and reactivity. A home that only has one person or a couple living in it, that does not have children or other animals at this time. She would be perfect for a remote acreage that’s got secured fencing and lots of love and patience.
Please message us and apply at raincoastdogrescue.com if you’re interested in knowing more about River.