Have you seen Magnolia's profile on the DDR site?
I'm afraid when potential adopters see her "dog friendly" status, they will be deterred. Please let me explain....
When we first fostered Magnolia, we noticed some stress while on walks. When Magnolia saw or heard another dog, even from a few houses away, she would become very agitated. Barking, screeching, lunging, pulling. When returning for round two of fostering, we noticed some of these behaviors unfortunately were more intense. When she was in this agitated mode, there was no amount of sweet talk or treats to lure her attention back to us. Other stressors not helping her with this situation is that our neighbors have dogs that she does not like and they show aggression toward one another through the fence. We also had two walks in our neighborhood where people's dogs escaped their yards and came after us (not fun at all). All of this combined with who knows what she endured before arriving at DDR as a stray on the street, and the result is a very nice dog who reacts to other dogs in not pleasant ways. Is she scared? Frustrated? We aren't really sure.
We quickly reached out to DDR when Magnolia returned to our care and weekly we have had a trainer come to the house to help us improve our training techniques so we can help Magnolia with some of these behaviors we were seeing. We have been working on LOTS of positive treat training and basic command training. We've brainstormed ways to drain her energy and give her enrichment opportunities.
The good news is that we HAVE seen improvements. We have made big gains in her simply being able to take treats on walks. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but I can actually get her attention on walks! When she sees a dog now, she may still get worked up, but it isn't with the same intensity as it was before. She can hear a dog and instead of freaking out, she can turn to me and accept a treat. We work a lot in the yard or on short walks, just desensitizing her to the sounds and sights of other dogs. If she is too agitated, we move her away if we can. We've been keeping the training short and positive.
I don't believe Magnolia will ever be that little puppy that walks up calmly to another dog with a wagging tail. She isn't even a year old yet and has had a rough start that no amount of training may ever be able to fully erase. We will keep working on her training because we are dedicated to finding her the best home and presenting to her new family the best version of Magnolia that we can. We love this spunky pup so much.
The good news is, we know that Magnolia CAN exist with another dog, as she has been living with our dog, Jackie for about three months. Their first meeting wasn't perfect, and to be honest, most times when new fosters come, the initial meeting isn't smooth. There is a slow introduction process and some testing of boundaries. When Magnolia first came to our home, it took a good half hour walk just to get the girls to be somewhat calm near each other where they could walk on the side walk together.
When Magnolia returned for round two of fostering, when we reintroduced the girls, there was some barking, a quick growl and some butt sniffs, but then they remembered each other, and they were fine.
Below is a picture from Memorial Day weekend when we brought Magnolia to the family cabin. Prior to the visit, she was introduced to each dog. Initial meetings did not go smooth. Magnolia plays too rough for this crew of old gals, and she doesn't always pick up on social cues they give her to give them some space, so we kept a harness and leash on her for the weekend so if she did play too rough, we could safely get her away.
I don't think Maggie is a perfect fit for every dog, but she has shown signs that she CAN get along with other dogs. Magnolia is going to be a dog who requires SLOW introductions, maybe even slow introductions over time. We love fostering Magnolia, but we know she isn't our furever dog because her energy level doesn't match that of our resident diva, Jackie. Jackie is VERY tolerant, and we have had other high energy fosters, but she is often annoyed with Magnolia's puppy antics. I would be curious to see how Magnolia does with another younger dog who can match her energy level.
If you have another dog and are interested in Magnolia, I would encourage you still to reach out to DDR. They are always so helpful and can assist in a meeting to determine if Magnolia and your dog could be a good fit.
I also think Magnolia would be ok her own. She loves loves loves people!!! She has lots of energy and without a furry playmate, she would need a dedicated owner to continue her training, give her walks, games of fetch, and other enrichment opportunities. She is so smart and quick to learn and she has a silly personality.