CLOUDY
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| Cloudy is a purebred German Shepherd with a July 2002 birth date. He has been raised by the same family since he was a puppy; however, his family is now being displaced and must move out of state (to New York) into a rental home with relatives that does not allow dogs. This family is heartbroken to have to give up Cloudy, but they know that someone out there who has experience with German Shepherds would LOVE this boy, and he would love them!
Cloudy is happy to just be with his master, laying at his feet. He is great with older kids and young adults as well as the elderly. The grandmother of the family was very frail before she passed away last year, and Cloudy watched over her every move near the end and never left her side. He's currently about 90 pounds, but could stand to lose a pound or two. Cloudy will lose his current home in early April--the furniture is disappearing from the home, and Cloudy keeps following his owner around the house, confused at what is going on. The family members are doing all they can to prepare Cloudy for his move to rescue in Arizona. They have placed Cloudy in training with Salem Flores of Markim Pet Resort in Carmel Valley, California. Salem will be doing an initial eval on Cloudy and then doing some training and doggie socializing with him before Cloudy packs his bags and heads for Arizona. UPDATE 3/4: Cloudy had his initial evaluation with Salem today. According to a family member who was present at the eval: So it went REALLY well today. He DOES need work but in less than an hour with a choke [collar], Salem was able to get him to totally listen and walk nicely with him and he was able to get him to go near the fence with 4 dogs running and playing on the other side without going nuts. He tried to lunge at them 2 or 3 times.'' Salem corrected him and he stopped. ... We are signing him up for 3 training sessions with Salem because then he will work on getting him closer to the dogs. He had just never had ANY training and [we] let him get away with anything. Once he knows HOW he is suppose to behave, I think he will be a MUCH happier dog. We heard from Salem, as well, today and, bottom line his evaluation was: "Cloudy has the potential to be a very good dog." Salem said that Cloudy passed his people evaluation with flying colors. He did everything he could to push Cloudy's buttons, and Cloudy took it all with a wag of his tail. When Salem showed Cloudy some other dogs, Cloudy was initially reactive; however, after a correction from Salem, he settled down almost immediately. It was Salem's opinion that Cloudy's reaction around other dogs was simply lack of socialization with any other dog(s). Cloudy has lived his life in the same loving family, but was never taken out of his own comfort zone to experience other people and dogs that existed on the outside. Salem will be reporting back over the next couple of weeks prior to Cloudy coming to Phoenix in search of his forever home. UPDATE 3/7: Some photos of Cloudy and a video from his family:   
CLICK TO VIEW CLOUDY'S VIDEO ON FACEBOOK CLICK TO VIEW CLOUDY'S VIDEO ON YOU TUBE
UPDATE 3/17:
UPDATE 2/26: Cloudy's third training session with Salem: UPDATE 4/4: Cloudy has arrived in Phoenix!
INITIAL EVALUATION: Cloudy is a sweet boy who has been over loved and over indulged. We have no doubt that Cloudy's owners loved him, but he's never been asked to follow any rules. He's a headstrong boy who is used to having his own way, but, when corrected for inappropriate behavior, accepts the correction readily and ceases the unwanted behavior. Our trainer's assessment: Cloudy is definitely trainable. Cloudy will be spending the next few days living with a cat to see if that adjustment can be made, after which he will be transferred to a foster home with other dogs and an attempt will be made to work Cloudy into the pack by pairing him up and giving him a female "buddy" to show him the ropes. Cloudy also needs to lose some weight, and we will be working on that right away. Other than the extra pounds, Cloudy appears to be in excellent shape for a dog of almost 8. Please check back for updates. Cloudy is neutered, up-to-date on shots, has recently had a dental cleaning and is now microchipped. He will be ready for adoption shortly. UPDATE 4/8: Cloudy saw the vet today for his intake exam. He was a perfect gentleman throughout the exam (contrary to what we had been told to expect) and weighed in at a whopping 100.5 pounds--he needs to lost at least 10 pounds. Otherwise, he was declared to be in good physical condition by our vet. Cloudy was started on a course of adequan (Cloudy is currently on oral glucosamine supplements, but the vet thought that the adequan would be a better choice for giving Cloudy the glucosamine as oral supplements are not always efficiently absorbed by the body). If it will help Cloudy, we were definitely for the adequan and decided to give it a try. Cloudy did run into 2 small dogs at the vet's office and barked at them, but he is doing well with the dogs at his foster home. Now that he's settling in, we're going to try a nose-to-nose dog introduction, as well as reintroducing him to the resident cat. Please check back for updates.
UPDATE 4/15: Cloudy saw the vet again today (he hopped up into the back of his foster mom's van all by himself) and the good news is that he is down to 97.9 pounds -- a loss of 2.6 pounds! He now has the run of his foster home and has proven himself to be very reliably housetrained. He loves his daily walks and has settled in beautifully. He seems to be "upset" by house noises (the icemaker making ice, the hot water heater clicking on), which puzzles us since Cloudy has always been an indoor dog. But, he's been sleeping in his foster mom's office at night with a baby gate at the door and is very comfortable with that arrangement. He has been allowed to sleep in her bedroom as well, with no problems at all. UPDATE 4/19: Another visit to the vet today for another Adequan shot, and another weight loss. Cloudy is down to 96 pounds! He jumps up easily into his foster mom's van and loves the staff at the vet. He starts whining as soon as the vehicle turns into the parking lot, and he greets everyone with a big smile and a wag of his tail.
It is our goal to integrate Cloudy into the resident pack (which we did not do before as Cloudy was being placed as an only dog) and to deal with or at least manage his reaction to other dogs--a visit with Leah at The Dog House will probably be in his future. Cloudy has dropped a considerable amount of weight since leaving us and we're now faced with the prospect of putting on a few pounds to put him at optimum weight. This should prove to be no problem, as Cloudy's foster mom says that everything and everyone gains weight at her house! Cloudy seems to be in good health otherwise and very happy to be "home" with his foster mom. We'll continue to search for the right home for this deserving senior to live out his days in love, joy and peace. UPDATE 6/17: Cloudy continues to ease back into the routine at his foster home. He spends his time sacked out on his favorite blanket in his foster mom's office. His previous home had reported that he whines and disturbs their sleep, but we have not seen anything like that since Cloudy has been here. If a car pulls into the driveway, Cloudy will bark an alert and stand his ground, but he's definitely a people person and is always happy to see whoever comes to visit. A stranger would never venture forward when being greeted by Cloudy, but everyone who knows him (even for just a minute) can see past the bluff. He craves attention and a scratch behind his ears.
Cloudy does react to household noises (e.g., the icemaker dispensing ice, or the hot water heater timer clicking on); however, his "reaction" is to get up and move to another position just a few feet away and go back to sleep. He does not whine or pace or be disruptive in any way, except when he has to go outside to relieve himself and even then, his signals are subtle, but plain to read. Cloudy is in a home with 6 other dogs. He has seen the other dogs (with a fence separating them) and has also gotten close over the top of the baby gate that confines Cloudy to his foster mom's office--a baby gate that Cloudy could easily push aside if he chose to do so. Cloudy has done nothing more than bark at the other dogs and readily retreats to his blanket when corrected. It is our plan to introduce Cloudy to some of the female pack members in the coming weeks to see if he can live comfortably with a 4-footed companion. Please check back for details. UPDATE 6/21: Cloudy started Boot Camp today. Under the close supervision of our trainer, Bert, Cloudy successfully completed the "flooding" exercise where he was surrounded by strange dogs who slowly moved closer and closer to him. He did surprising well and his tail rarely stopped wagging.
UPDATE 7/1: Cloudy is a "noise sensitive" shepherd. He will lie quietly in his crate or on his bed for hours, until he hears a noise--it can be anything as simple as a toilet flushing, or the icemaker dropping ice. If he is with his person, he simply gets up, changes position and goes back to sleep again. If he is crated or outside alone, he panics. Strangely enough, he had no reaction at all to the Fourth of July fireworks that were being set off on the patio, within yards of where he was crated. He simply slept through them. On the bright side, Cloudy is now able to be crated in the midst of the pack at his foster home. He can and will react negatively if one of the boys gets too close to his crate or his food dish, but that's to be expected. He's even learned to ignore the household cat as she makes her multiple daily forays through the dog area to her food dish. Huge steps for Cloudy. He still is not a dog who is going to able to tolerate being crated for any amount of time (and this is really not necessary since he is 100% trustworthy in the house), but it was our goal to get him comfortable being in the presence of other dogs, not to crate train him. We will be searching for ways to desensitize him and help him lead a more calmer life. UPDATE 7/15: We seem to have reached a breakthrough. Cloudy has now earned full house privileges and has even met the resident cat on his wanderings through the house. She knows enough not to run, so Cloudy just sniffs her and walks a few feet away to lie down. He is not as alarmed about household noises if he is free in the house (as opposed to being confined to a crate). He is learning to either ignore the noise(s), or he simply gets up and moves to a new spot and lies down again. He still prefers his foster mom's office, where he can spend hours lounging quietly during the day listening to the TV, and is content to sleep in there at night (uncrated). We're going to continue to see where Cloudy is the most comfortable so that any potential adopter will be able to make Cloudy comfortable in their home as well. UPDATE 7/25: Cloudy continues to settle in and is now comfortable coming into the kitchen where the other dogs are on his own. He spends most of his day asleep in his foster mom's office but is quick to let her know when a strange car drives into the driveway or someone knocks at the door. We are trying a suggestion from our trainer and giving Cloudy a treat whenever he hears once of the noises that bother him to see if that will redirect his brain to hearing the noise and expecting a treat rather than being disturbed by the noise each time. He has chased the cat once or twice these past couple of weeks, but doesn't quite know what to do if he happens to catch her and he just backs right off and decides that this hissing ball of fur is not something he wants to deal with. We'll be working on total avoidance in the coming weeks, as well as getting Cloudy up close and personal with the other dogs in the household. He is comfortable being in the same room with the other dogs when they are crated, but we're hoping for a one-on-one relationship as soon as a suitable (female) foster furkid shows up for him. This is probably the first time in his life that Cloudy will ever have had a "gal pal." We have high hopes, considering the wonderful progress he has made and how comfortable he is in his current environment. We will also go back and do some additional crate training, just so that Cloudy can ultimately be comfortable in a crate, but it's not a high priority. We are hopeful that there is a home out there with an adopter who is willing to take the time and make the commitment to allow this senior boy to settle in and enjoy life. Please check back for updates. Adoption fee is a freewill donation to our rescue.
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According to his current owner, Cloudy is a beautiful boy who would make a great family pet and protector. This BIG beautiful boy would do great with a yard to go out in or someone who is strong and could work with him on his walks. He is VERY loving, smart and loyal but has never been socialized around other dogs.
UPDATE 6/12: Several weeks ago, Cloudy was placed with what we hoped would become his forever family, However, it was not to be and, thanks to Becky & Phil, Cloudy is now back with one of our staff members and doing beautifully. Becky & Phil were completely captivated by this regal senior and were sorely tempted to take him home, at least for a little while.
