02-26-2014: I've had Clarissa for five months. In this time, I've found that she is sweet and affectionate. In fact, she won't let you out of her sight. She is like a shadow. Therefore, our first round of training involved learning patience and space boundaries. Clarissa caught on quickly that patience is virtue. She'll now sit quietly and stare at me for attention. She'll follow me everywhere, but now she calmly lays down where I stop. Due to her attention requirements, she would do best as an only dog.

Clarissa is not very confident and therefore will require a strong leader to give her direction. Recently, I've discovered she is afraid of tall (over six feet) people and smokers. I'm not sure what the history is, but she'll hide in her crate and avoid contact. We're working on that and she is making good progress on the height related fear.

Clarissa has completed her Heartworm treatment and received her first negative Heartworm microfilaria result! She'll be tested for Heartworm again in six months. Clarissa has been restricted to complete rest for over four months now. Not surpisingly, she is acting a bit depressed and out of character. Luckily, the treatment is over and she is allowed to gradually increase her activity. We're walking a block at this point and will steadily increase it over time. We hope the test comes back clear so she can put this behind her.

She has mastered "sit", "down" and "shake". She has learned "wait", and will now sit and wait on command. She has also learned to "wait" at stairs and doors. Before going inside/outside or up/down stairs, I'll tell her to "wait" and have her waiting for me. Once I clear the stairs or door, I give her the "come" command and then she crosses. She has also learned to lay on her back for belly rubs with the "go to bed" command. She now knows "go crate" and does great in the crate. She also knows "go pee outside" and quickly gets her business done. She is intelligent and willing to please so she picks up commands quickly!

Clarissa and my cat get along great. Initially she wanted all my attention for herself, but she was informed otherwise. Now they both hang out together on their own. With training and direction she has turned into a very well behaved girl. You can see how good she is by checking out the video. She is readily adjusting to my work schedule. She sleeps the whole time I'm away. I return to her calmly greeting me with a case of wiggles. 

Clarissa is great with crowds. She loves all the attention she gets and is a real charmer. She'll let anyone love on her and gives kisses to everyone. She's great with kids too - calm and gentle! We attended an event where she waited nicely in line for an hour to have her caricature done. She was surrounded by people and got lots of petting while waiting - her bliss. Check out her professional photo and caricature picture from the event.

You may inquire about Clarissa at elpix@outlook.com.