7/10/08 - Update from Julia's foster mom:

"Julia is settling in very nicely.  She loves having a canine playmate, although she also appreciates her alone time. 

I have to retract my initial statement about cats being okay.  Once Julia became more comfortable in her new surroundings she noticed the furry creatures.  The chase was on.  The cats are now separated from her all the time.  Somehow Julia seems to understand (with a "no" thrown in now and again…..) that the cat's room is off limits to her.  Mostly I keep the door shut to cut down on the temptation.

Julia will be a year old on July 21st.  She is still just a pup but will listen when asked to "sit" and  "shake". Julia is also learning to "come" when called...  (we have a consistent result when there is a treat involved) Her house-breaking has come a long way.  I think she might have lived outside a lot because she initially had numerous accidents.   I would say she is 75% housebroken, however,  she will need someone to keep after her.  It would be best for Julia if she had someone that was home a good part of the day to help her with this. 

Julia does like to have something to chew on if she is bored; a marrow bone is ideal (absolutely NO RAWHIDE).  Actually, Julia needs something acceptable to chew on or she will get in trouble.  IE: my sofa arm……….

Julia likes to sleep in the bed with me.  She stretches out along side me and buries her head either in my neck or on top of my head.  She is a great cuddler. She has gotten over her shyness with new people.  She still barks when someone comes to the house but she is happy to see everyone.  She still gets excited and needs to be reminded not to jump .  If someone is going to greet her excitably she needs to greet outside because she will have a accident in her happiness.  I do not make a big deal when I first walk in the door. I give her time to settle in and she is accident free for me. 

We ran a car show last Sunday and I brought both Julia and my boxer girl Sydney with us. I wanted to see how Julia reacted with a crowd of strangers.  She was wonderful.  Everyone wanted to pet and walk her around.  She did not jump on people while we were away from home.  She walked nice on a leash even in the excitement and just seemed to take it all in.  A typical Boxer- loving all the attention. 

Julia likes to go in the car.  Recently it has been too hot to take her but she is always trying.  If I am getting stuff out of my car she jumps into the back seat and does not want to get back out.

She can swim but would rather not.   She drinks a lot of water and gets hot quickly when running around.  She has a tendency to dig  in the yard. It has been raining a lot so Julia and Sydney have discovered the fun of digging and laying in mud puddles from where they have holes dug.  Julia does not mind getting a bath once you get her in the tub. 

Julia is a typical young boxer that craves attention and love. She must be placed in a home with a fence yard and another canine companion would be ideal to help her burn off some puppy energy " 

6/30/08 - Here is the foster mom’s first report:

“My twenty year old daughter and I picked up Julia yesterday.  She was in the back of a jeep in a crate with someone she had just met that morning. When they opened the back Julia was shaking and looked terrified.  I spoke to her for a few minutes and then realized that I needed to get a leash on her to move her over to my car.  Understandably, Julia was not happy about me reaching into the crate for her.  We decided to move the crate over against my open door and coaxed her out.  I got a leash on her and took her for a quick walk in the grass.  She was too nervous to pee or drink or take a treat.

We had to encourage her a little bit to get into the car for the trip home; this was not surprising since she had no idea who we were and what we wanted with her.  Within 15 minutes she had decided that we were good people and that she was going to make us her people.  I stopped the car once on the way home after she had settled down.  My daughter went into a store to buy Julia a bottle of water and get a cup.  She whined as Jacquie walked away from her until she was back in her sight.  Julia was then relaxed enough to have a drink and relieve herself.  She was happy and playful the rest of the trip home.  She wanted to sit on my lap but that is difficult to do while driving so she mostly laid across my daughter for love and attention.

We we got home, we brought my female puppy out for introductions and that went well.  Julia seemed happy to have a playmate.  Julia completely ignored the cats, so cats in a household should not be a problem.  She is rambunctious and jumps up on people so small children would be an issue. We will be working on that but I am just trying to make sure she feels safe right now.  The shelter experience was difficult for her and she needs some time to adjust.  My boyfriend came home to meet her and Julia barked and seemed apprehensive.  Once he knelt down and talked to her she came to him and accepted him within a few minutes.