Reba McEntire~Adopted

This gorgeous little red girl is probably less than a year old.  She comes to us from Brevard County, thanks to Marjie Wolfe for transporting her to us.  She can jump in mid air from a stand position, and has incredible focus and drive.  I scrambled to think of a name for her, when Reba was suggested by both Nicole and Brittney!  Reba it is!

Her coat tells her story; she has been on her own for quite a long time.  Considering how young she is, I suspect she escaped when she was just a pup.  She is very affectionate and great with my kids.  She is guarded about her food, but that is understandable, she doesn’t know that there is a never-ending supply of food here.  She cried at first when I put her in a crate, yet one firm Tssshhhht and she stopped!  Reba is a listener, she gets it!  She aims to please, yet her contact with humans has been very little.  She was someone’s puppy at one time and craves your love.

I don’t think Reba knows what dog food is.  I gave her homemade dog food last night, and she didn’t know what to do with it.  I’m sorry girl but dirt, grass and rocks are no longer on the menu here!  She didn’t even know to chew on a raw beef marrow bone.  She’s just never had it before.  Amazing as it may sound, she is very content in her fancy air-conditioned and padded crate, and is having many power naps!

Normally, I would wait to have her professionally groomed by Serena at Newman Veterinary Center, but I think this girl might need a few baths just to give her coat some moisture, it’s extremely brittle from the weather.  Brittney will come over today and together, we will scrub this little girl from head to toe, check her ears, and check for ticks.  Maybe then she will be magnificent in her photos, but for now, she looks really scruffy!  As a side note, I don’t think Winter’s or Mystery’s coat was this scruffy!

If you’re looking for a performance dog for agility or frisbee, this is your girl.  She has drive, focus, speed and is quick to learn.

Her photos can be viewed on Facebook, and we will be taking a lot of new photos of her shortly!

05/26/13 Update:  Okay, this isn’t not my first rodeo, and who ever owned this dog, I can only say that one day, you will face your Maker… but we believe that she was left in a crate way too small for her little body for too long.  Her tendons have been shortened probably from being left in a crate way too small for her for too long.  This will get better with good diet and exercise.  I believe this was early in life, when she was very young.  Therefore, I would like to think she was a breeder’s dog, but she has not yet had puppies, at least there is no evidence she has had a litter.  Regardless, she has not had the freedom to stretch.  That combined with my other suspicions that she escaped, and has been on her own for a while, I still believe is true.  Am I completely right?  Maybe, but I don’t think I’m very far off.

She is starting to eat, and she pooped today for the first time!  She is a bit fearful, but she was also very interested in the sounds of very young children… she longed for them, so tomorrow we’re going to dig deeper, and test her with toddlers.  She just might shock us and really want to be with iddy biddy kidlettes!  We’ll see!  She is very affectionate with Sarah.

5/27/13 Update: Okay, Okay I finally made it to Gisele’s to bathe Reba. Boy! Was that a job! She was a HOT MESS! It wouldn’t hurt her to have 3 more baths. I have to admit when I met Reba for the first time I wasn’t thrilled with what I saw. She jumped on everyone and was uncontrollably running wild all over the porch/yard. Almost to the point of annoying. Okay it was annoying!

Today, However, Gisele and I drew her bath and prepared for what we just knew would be a rodeo. We picked her up and put her in the doggie bath tub, she struggles. I rush to snap the restraint on her so that we can safely get this over with. I take the head, Gisele takes the rear. We lather and lather and lather and rinse. Oh My! There is white under there! Reba wasn’t thrilled and UGH! There was hair everywhere.

We towel dried her, no way I was blowing her dry she is unsure of everything, She is stressed out enough. She cringes at the thought of anything touching her. I don’t want to push her too far the first time it could cause a lifelong fear of a bath. Something I definitely do not want.

Three towels later Gisele carries her out to the back yard and sets her down. She sprints like a bolt of lightning! You can see she feels soooo much better! She comes back to me; I block her and give her a firm verbal correction. Much to my surprise she Freezes and sits patiently at my feet. Gisele and I brush her out the best we could and we sit and watch her run FREE and with joy!

She returns multiple times for some more lovin’ each time waiting patiently next to me to be petted. I was incredibly proud of her. After a moment, I realized she was COMPLETELY focused on what I was telling her to do. So I started to work on sit, a few seconds later she had it! Next she ran to the far side of the yard I whistle, she turns on a dime and recalls directly to me. YAY!!! Luck of the draw? Nope! I asked her to go play and we tried again! Yep you guessed it! She recalled directly to me! WOO-HOO! This girl has an incredible NEED for a job! She would make an amazing agility or Frisbee dog or any other action packed sport! Oh, and she LOVES her tennis ball too, the purple one in particular.

After playing for a few moments I called her back, she sat relaxed at my side while I pet her. When it was time I called her to the door and opened her crate and pointed and she went right in no hesitation!

This girl has a lot of potential, she will need a stern, confident yet loving voice and a firm precise hand to guide her but she shows the want to please (something I didn’t see the first time I met her). I love when a foster gets their first bath; it establishes Trust and Respect, both are essential in the rehab process. Once she gained a level of respect for both me and Gisele, she was a totally different dog! She is a very good girl just doesn’t know what us “Humans” want from her! It will take a special person and she isn’t for just anyone but when that person comes along we will know and so will she! She is going to make a fantastic dog for someone that knows how to properly guide her.

Looking at her more closely today I agree with Gisele’s theory that she was crated for a long time and then escaped and lived on her own for an has been on her own for an even longer time! That didn’t stop her though she wants to learn she just doesn’t know what is expected. It hasn’t taken me any longer than 5 minutes to teach her any one thing so far! She is extremely smart! She doesn’t like to be restrained, and that comes from fending for herself for so long. It will pass and she will overcome it, She is going to shape into a great dog! ~Brittney

06/22/13 Update: Reba has left the building! She was adopted by Mary & Steve of Clermont, Florida… Mary writes on Facebook, “she acts like she’s always lived here!” Woo Hoo Reba!