Asha.

Have you met Asha?! Her name means “hope” and she’s hoping to find her forever home soon!

Asha’s typically calm when meeting other dogs on leash. She has met a 2-month-old puppy that was pouncing all over her, and she allowed it and was very calm and patient with the puppy. She has also met a 6-month-old puppy, where they calmly sniffed each other for a couple minutes. Asha shows nervous/anxious behaviour around larger dogs and it takes her a minute to warm up. If she is not interested in saying “Hello,” she will stop and walk the other direction to avoid the approaching dog. She gets anxious for a bit, but her calm energy allows the older dog to feel confident and let her sniff. She’s very playful with her foster brother, who is typically low-energy at home, and he likes to nap but when Asha wants to play, she always approaches him and bites his paws to start their play-time. We joke that she's a great MMA fighter as she enjoys full-contact "play flights" always aims for the legs first to try to “bring him down”, tackles him, and bites his ears.

She also goes by little miss sASHA fierce as she's finally showing her playful side and shows her foster brother that she'll always win when they play. She does well with self-play as well inside her crate with her squeaky fox toy and bone. She doesn't play much with humans yet with balls or tug toys. Asha has not met children, but she reacts with a very calm demeanour when meeting adult strangers. She's initially cautious/curious and sniffs their hand as they reach out, but she immediately allows them to pet her head, and will gladly take pets whenever they’re offered. Adult strangers fall in love with her immediately as she is very calm and enjoys positive praise. She does not get overly excited, nor does she jump. Asha has not shown any type of aggression towards humans. Asha’s not suited to live in a high-rise condo/busy apartment due to the fact that she’s still afraid of stairs, and although this can be worked on, a private entrance like a townhouse or single-family dwelling would be preferred. Some of her favourite things to do are to play and lay down on the grass, so having a backyard or access to open space would be ideal for her.

Asha does great with having a dog buddy in the home to learn from and play with. That said, she will also do well with a family who is extremely patient and gives her confidence to explore and learn new things. She’ll do well in a home that has an established routine she can get used to. We noticed that she shows her stubbornness if she doesn't want to do anything (walk in a certain direction, etc.) but will eventually give in as long as you stick to your decisions. Asha’s considered a MEDIUM energy dog, and as she still has puppy energy, she would thrive in a medium-high energy home where she could continue to be curious and discover new things. Right now, she’s going for 30 min - 1 hour walks every 2-3 hours or so. I do think she will benefit for a little more exercise, especially in a backyard, as we noticed she enjoys jumping/running around with dogs. She typically has puppy energy for 1-2 hours, but then she will nap for almost 2 hours, before the pattern repeats. Asha has slowly learned to "sit,” and she understands the word and the hand signal inside the house. She does not always listen outside as she is typically distracted, but will respond in a quieter area (with treats and a clicker). She has realized that she has to sit first before leaving her foster home, but does not always do this if she is too excited. Asha has not yet mastered "stay," but does well when you say "come." Asha’s slow to learn, but is smart and will learn with a patient owner. As she’s not always treat-motivated, she does much better with positive praise.

Asha’s fearful of fast bikers, loud noises, skateboarders, or large/loud construction equipment so patience and praise is important for her to gain her confidence. Asha’s such a sweetheart and so gentle, which is such a surprise for a dog who’s never had a furever family. Everyone that we meet instantly falls in love with her and she melts their heart when she lets everyone pet her. She licks your hand or gives you light kisses when she's happy to receive attention. She does show her fun quirky side once she's settled and happy, and occasionally, Asha hops like a kangaroo when she is excited! When walking, Asha typically heels when she’s unsure of the area. However, once she feels confident, she does slightly pull. Asha can definitely benefit from more leash training, and is working hard at becoming house-trained.

She peed inside her crate her first morning with her foster family, and during the first five days, she had three pee accidents and one poop accident inside the home. We have now learned her potty schedule. However, when she stayed at a friend’s house last weekend, they did let us know that she did had a couple of pee accidents inside their apartment (probably due to nervous energy being in a new environment). Asha’s displayed separation anxiety when someone leaves the room or leaves the house. She will either run towards the door and whimper, or if she’s inside her crate she will also whimper/howl. She’s only been left alone at home for an hour once after a long walk at High Park, however, she was very tired so she only cried/howled for a bit before she fell asleep. In her first week, she would continuously cry/howl if someone left the room, but have been practicing leaving the room at least 5-10 minutes at a time when she’s inside the crate, she’ll initially whimper, but will distract herself with a toy or she will learn to relax. She’s now able to take 1-2 hour naps inside her crate while her fosters are upstairs. Asha has not displayed any destructive behaviour towards items in her foster home.

A perfect weekend for Asha consists of going on long walks, wrestling with other dogs, and taking short naps before starting the routine all over again. Asha’s slowly coming out of her shell and showing more of her playful side. In time, I know she will gain the confidence to explore her surroundings. As she’s not very treat motivated or is easily distracted, it has been challenging to train her with basic commands, but that said, she is a smart girl and will learn quickly with patience and love.

Asha has not been off-leash yet, but her foster home, she’s curious about everything that her foster brother does. She sniffs his bed, his toys, etc. She sniffs around the couch, and tries to come up, but she has not yet successfully jumped onto the couch. She’s curious about the stairs going up to the 2nd floor of her foster home, and has taken a few steps, but hasn't successfully gone all the way up. She recognizes “come,” but hasn’t put this to practice in an outdoor setting yet.

Asha demonstrates prey-drive towards squirrels and birds, and typically whines/howls when she’s left alone inside her crate. She has separation anxiety when being left alone in a room, and she typically whines. She has also displayed slight resource guarding (light growls) towards her foster brother when she has food inside her crate, and he walks by to sniff. One night when her foster dad came home one time with a hat on, Asha lightly growled/barked while looking at him as if to notify her foster mom of a stranger danger. Asha’s also slowly learning to love her crate. She eats all her meals inside the crate, eats high-value treats in there, and sleeps throughout the night inside her crate. She understands to go inside her crate when you say "in your crate."

Are you hopeful that Asha’s your new best friend?

Sociability: Humans, dogs, cats

Energy: Puppy energy (Medium-High)

Quirks: Has a half nub tail

Training needs: Basic training/confidence building, separation anxiety

Medical needs: giardia antigen positive

Foster location: West Toronto