Foster Quiz arrived at our house in early August 2021. A tiny black 1.5-year-old female, she was by far the shyest dog we had fostered. She was constantly skittering away from us and backing into the corners of her crate if we approached her, and would spend pretty much all day in the crate for the first couple months, except for when she went out in the backyard to do her business (or Quizness, as we preferred to call it).
We couldn’t use a leash to get her out of the crate because she would panic and dig in, so we would wait until she went outside and then closed the crate doors so she couldn’t go back in. She wore a spook harness on walks so she couldn’t back out of it, and would occasionally freeze or panic if she heard people noises.
Fast forward 5 months—she is still a spook, but she has made huge strides in her confidence and her personality has really started shine. After working with a vet, we started her on Gabapentin and Prozac to see if it would help to ease her anxiety. The meds have helped, and she has relaxed more in the house, and spends much more time out of the crate during the day.
Quiz has also decided that walks are super awesome, and will be quite vocal if she gets left behind. She is still shy around new people, but has been on several group walks and seems to relish being around the other dogs, even if they are attached to strange humans.
Quiz may be tiny, but she’s a little ball of energy! We like to joke that she is nocturnal because she seems to reach her peak energy levels after 11pm, and will do zoomies by herself in the dark, tossing toys around. She will also do zoomies during the day, and likes to goad the other dogs into chasing her. (Even senior resident grump Emmet!)
She loves toys, and will collect them (and other non-toy items such as shoes, socks, remote controls, or pens) in her crate or a dog bed. She does like to chew on things, so we do our best to keep items we don’t want her to have out of reach. She has also discovered a love of peanut butter, and will now gladly lick it off our fingers. She is also a fan of goldfish, pretzels, and broccoli. She even comes up for scritches now, and won’t automatically run away if we pet her.
This week, she figured out how to sneak up on the couch when we weren’t looking. (Sorry Quiz—fosters aren’t allowed on furniture!)
Quiz would love a quiet adult home with another confident dog (or dogs), and a fenced-in yard she can run around in. She is cat workable, too!
Nicknames: Quizzy, Quiznos, Quizzle Stick, Mistress Quizzles, Quizzical