Vickie has been with APA! since December 2012 after she was transferred from the city shelter where she was picked up as a stray. Her behavior quickly deteriorated in the high stress environment of the shelter and she developed severe kennel anxiety. The behavior team began working with her to develop her skills and obedience to provide an outlet for her energy and stress. To date, she has received over 300 hours of one-on-one training with both staff and volunteer trainers.
As soon as Vickie came into the apartment she sniffed around and then settled on the dog bed, completely independently. My roommate and I spent most of that first weekend saying things like "She's just a regular dog," "I just don't understand why she hasn't been adopted," and "Vickie is perfect." We were pleased to see that all of her obedience and skills transferred to the home. This came in handy the one and only time she picked up a shoe from near the door. When given the 'Drop' command, she instantly brought the shoe to me, dropped it at my feet and looked at me with her "I did it!" face.
Vickie is crate trained and can often be found resting in her crate while her humans are doing other things around the house. She is completely potty trained, loves daily walks and obedience practice sessions. Vickie travels wonderfully on both short and long drives, she recently travelled to the beach and stayed in a hotel with no problems. She enjoys accompanying her humans to stores, bars and other dog-friendly establishments around Austin. Vickie likes to have all the attention to herself so she needs a home with teenage kids or older where she can be the only fur child.
