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Lola's (foster) Life

December update

I suppose this update is long-overdue, however there's really not a lot to add. I've had Lola long enough now to where I believe I understand her well, and have already provided info about her behavior & needs in prior listings.

One thing I will change though is that while Lola would probably LIKE to get to the dog park once or twice a week, due to the weather, we haven't been to the dog park in a couple weeks now, and she's been doing OK. She burns off some of her energy by chasing around & playing with the other foster dogs, both inside the house (playing chase -- running around the coffee table in the living room, and wrestling around) as well as in our fenced-in back yard.

But if an adopter doesn't have a playful dog & fenced-yard for Lola to run around in, it will really be important that she gets to go to the dog park, or go for long walks with her human -- as a young, Jack Russell mix, she does have a lot of energy. Thankfully though, she is also VERY affectionate, so will always stop her play if invited to sit down next to her human & get a belly-rub.

Lola has been going to classes at the shelter I'm fostering her for, and does OK with other people working with her. I have to tend to hide from her or else she'll just stay focused on me, but if she doesn't see me, she will focus on her handler & be good with him or her. She is still initially timid of new people/situations but would warm up pretty quickly. An adopter would have to be patient with her & give her some time to bond and get comfortable in her new home, and then gradually introduce her to their friends & relatives. You'd think this would be common-sense, but it's apparently not...

I think that Lola would be good with children -- she'd absolutely love to snuggle with them & be petted by them -- however she's not really exposed to kids much around her foster home, so the introduction to any kids in her new home would have to be done carefully, and the interaction would need to be monitored until Lola truly settles-in with her new home & people. The children in the home would need to be mature enough to not be running around screaming & throwing fits, which would scare Lola, and also be able to help with Lola's training, so that Lola respects the kids. But regardless of my informed opinion on the matter, the animal welfare organization I am fostering Lola for would have the final decision whether or not to adopt Lola to a home with children.

I hope I'm not scaring off any decent potential adopters here, just trying to let everyone know what Lola is like, so that only people who are ready for her will contact me about her. She's a very affectionate, goofy, loving, playful girl, you just might not see all of that for the first couple days after she comes home with you. I'm really hoping that Lola can be adopted this month, as in mid to late January I have to go out of town for a while, and any foster dogs I still have at that time would have to go back to the shelter -- a major change from being fostered in my home!

Lola Update

I've been taking Lola & my other foster-dog, Shane, to the dog park 2 or 3 times a week now, not only does she love it, but Lola really needs to be able to run around at full-speed & burn off some energy at least once or twice a week. She's extremely fast & agile, and we stay at the dog park for at least an hour each time we go.

Initially, she's a little obnoxious with the other dogs. She's so excited that she'll run right up to some & bump into them in order to try to get them to play, so she still needs some work on dog park etiquette, but is learning. She's a lot of fun to watch at the dog park & lots of people are always amused. She'll approach strangers there for a treat or quick pet on the head, but otherwise, she likes getting her fill of attention & affection from people that she knows.

Anyone interested in adopting Lola *must* be the type of people who will enjoy getting her to a dog park on a weekly basis (year-round) so she can burn off some of her energy. I'm sure she'd love it if I took her to the dog park every day, but she's doing OK by getting there at least once a week.

At home, she enjoys just hanging out inside relaxing, or quietly wrestling around with Shane. She's always eager to go out into the back yard & 'hunt' for cats, squirrels, etc.

Initially it was more important for me to work on building Lola's confidence, but now I'm trying to focus on basic manners & training, such as walking well on-leash, staying, etc. & while we will make some progress, whoever adopts her should plan on taking her to basic obedience training classes.


I have to be very careful whenever I leave my home without Lola, as she will try to 'escape' the house to come with me. In addition to the main front door & a screen door, I also have a 'baby-gate' at the front door of my house, so I can open the front door without her being able to dart out. This is where Recall training would be very beneficial for her.


Lola is up for adoption right now, so if you are interested in possibly adopting Lola, please contact me via this Dogster page & provide some info about yourself, your home, etc. & then ask any specific questions about her that you may have.

To sum up Lola's needs:

1. A lot of exercise (long walks, a big back yard with another playful dog, or frequent visits to the dog park).
2. A 'secure' back yard & special precautions that she can't sneak out the front/side door of your home.
3. Ideally, another playful dog in the home (if you don't already have a dog, please do consider adopting my other foster, Shane, along with Lola. Shane's Dogster page is on the 'My Family' section of this page for Lola).


Tim
Lola's Foster Dad

Lola Update

I've had Lola for almost three weeks now, and she's doing great. She's very energetic and playful, yet she also enjoys just snoozing and quietly relaxing. I can only show three videos of her on Dogster, so the videos I've chosen all show her playing because videos of her just laying around & relaxing would be boring, but while she's playful & energetic, she's not high-strung & demanding like full-breed Jack Russell Terriers can be.

Her best buddy in the whole world is my other foster-dog, Shane. As you can see from some of the videos posted, Lola & Shane love to chase each-other around & wrestle. Even though Lola is 3 times the size of Shane, she's pretty gentle with him. While Lola plays with Shane, she knows to not really try to engage my 11-year old MinPin 'Baby' in play, so she's pretty smart at assessing potential playmates.

I've taken Lola to the dog park a couple times now, and she really enjoys it a lot. She tends to sniff around & explore on her own, plus look for dogs to play with. I've been taking her to the 'small dog' section because tiny little Shane is with us, but one of these days I'll take Lola to the big dog section so she can get accustomed to larger dogs. As you'll see from the video, she mostly tends to ignore people at the dog park, yet is not timid of them. I'm hoping to get her to accept treats from other people at the dog park, in order to help socialize her.

Lola is not up for adoption yet, though I expect she will be sometime in August. As you can see from the videos of her playing inside & outside with Shane, Lola really needs to have another playful dog in the household, AND she needs to go to a home with either a big, secure yard, or where her humans will take her for lots of walks & at least a couple times a week, trips to the dog park. Her adopters will also need to understand that Lola can still be on the timid-side regarding new situations, so she'll require some patience and continued socializing.

I'm hoping that I might find a home for Lola & Shane to go to together, since they've become such good friends & playmates. If you have a serious interest in potentially adopting Lola (& ideally Shane too, but that's not a requirement), please contact me ASAP via Dogster, providing some basic info on yourself & your home.