FRANKIE

Frankie (ADOPTED!) is a young, 37 lb., moderate energy female, around 1-2 years old, who is very sweet and super affectionate with people. More than anything, she wants her own person to bond with and follow everywhere. She will be an awesome companion and sidekick for her new person. Frankie is mellow in the house, loves snuggling up with people.  She stays close to her fosters when outside in the yard and when they have taken her to the beach. She is crate and house trained, and she is learning some basic obedience cues. Frankie is eager to please, and to learn, and will love training with her people. She is extremely intelligent and super observant. You can almost see her brain observing the things going on around her, and trying processing it all, to figure out what’s happening.

She would do best living in a calm household as the only dog, or with a polite, adult, male dog. At this time, she does not have a lot of experience meeting dogs, so her new owner would need to help her with her social skills. When first meeting new dogs, she is a bit hesitant, and cautious, especially around big ones. Once she has met another dog, she is fine hanging out with them, but she is not one to actively run and play with other dogs. She much prefers being with her people. Once she knows another dog, if it is a male, she is easy, polite and respectful. Sometimes with other females, Frankie can be a little bossy. Her pushy behavior with other females, includes invading their space with overly eager sniffing and wanting to stand over them. She has been known to poke other females with her nose to tell them to get away from a high value toy or treat that she wants. Her current fosters have been working with her on this, and Frankie is getting much better. Now, she will just walk away from a toy, rather than trying to insist something is hers.

Frankie needs slow exposure to new situations and environments, which will help her build up her confidence. She seems to become overwhelmed and stressed when going on outings to new, unknown places, especially if there may be fast movements happening around her. You can see the stress get to her and she shuts down.  

Frankie is afraid to get into a car, and will flatten herself on the ground, as if to say “Don’t make me go.” To her, a car ride means going to a strange new place, which is a very stressful thing for her. For this reason, it is very hard to get her in and out of a car. She will ride hunkered down, very quietly in the back seat.

If out in a new area, and she feels stressed, she will react poorly when meeting another dog. She doesn’t want to fight, but feels insecure and defensive and will be cranky around them. If she is in a place or situation where she feels calm and secure, she is mellow and friendly and meets new dogs well. Frankie walks very nicely/politely on leash and is not reactive while on leash. We suspect that being tethered to her person is a form of security for her. When attached to you by the leash, she knows she won’t lose you, and may feel more secure.

In her current situation, and still being a very young dog, if left alone loose and unsupervised, Frankie will chew on all manner of items (rugs, blankets, plastic items, etc.). We suspect that her current tendency to chew may be her way of dealing with stress and frustration. She is currently being fostered in a house with multiple dogs, in a very busy noisy area, where it has been difficult for her to relax. We believe that when she settles into a calm home environment, where she has more freedom, activity, and feels secure with her own person, that her chewing will subside. We also estimate that Frankie is between one and two years old, an age when many dogs are still in a chewing stage. She also tends to use her mouth to get your attention and try to communicate with you. She doesn’t bite, but just mouths your hand or arm playfully. For this reason, at this time, we don’t recommend her for households with small children.

Frankie loves to curl up on the sofa and gnaw on a chew toy. Her best days are when she can be in a quiet place and has access to go out to potty, and return to chill out and enjoy a chewy. Her ideal moment is probably laying on a couch with her person, and having a satisfying chewy to gnaw on. Frankie would greatly benefit from a home with less activity where she could chill out for a while, allowing her to relax her brain, and become more receptive to learning and improving her behavior.

If you are interested in meeting Frankie, please begin our pre-adoption approval process by completing our online adoption form.  Click on the "Adopt" bar near the top of this page. Please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have further questions.