Gracie

Gracie

Location: Rose Bay, Eastern Suburbs
Breed: English Staffy
DOB: 3 March 2019
Microchip: 900113000766721

Gracie is a very, very sweet English Staffy girl who is absolutely obsessed with her people. She is a classic Staffy in so many ways – affectionate, funny, enthusiastic and full of personality. She has a big happy smile for the people she loves and is happiest when she is included in whatever her humans are doing.

Gracie is also a little bit stubborn, a little bit chaotic and very much turbo! She has plenty of enthusiasm for life and is looking for a home that will embrace her larger-than-life personality while helping her learn how to channel all that energy in the right direction.

She is currently working hard on her training and, importantly, she absolutely lives for it. Gracie is both food and play motivated, so training is a fantastic way to engage her busy brain and help her learn to settle. Her new family will need to continue this work, particularly around impulse control, learning to relax and managing her intensity. She is a clever girl who genuinely enjoys having a job to do.

Gracie is good on lead and loves her walks, hikes and adventures. She is also comfortable in a crate, although she is currently still working on her crate training and is actually more settled when she has the freedom to be out. She is perfectly fine when left alone and does not suffer from separation anxiety.

Like many Staffies, Gracie can be wonderfully enthusiastic – sometimes a little too enthusiastic! She can become very excited in the car and is currently learning that car trips don't need to be quite so exciting. She also has a very distinctive demand-barking noise which is less of a traditional bark and more of a rather impressive dinosaur impression! Thankfully, it is very specific and not constant, and her foster family is working hard on helping her learn that she doesn't need to use her voice to get what she wants.

When it comes to other dogs, Gracie is selective. She is currently living alongside other dogs and happily tolerates them, but she hasn't shown any particular desire to engage with them. She is not comfortable with unfamiliar dogs approaching her, so her new family will need to be mindful of this and continue working on her reactivity and her tendency to want to control situations. She would likely be happiest as the only dog, or with a carefully matched canine companion following appropriate introductions.

Gracie appears to be quite good with cats and has lots of feline neighbours in her building, which she generally ignores. She has not been tested with other animals.

Gracie is best suited to a home with older children or adults. She doesn't cope particularly well with the unpredictable movements of very young children when she is confined or inside the home. She is completely fine around older, calmer children and has been very good with her foster family's nephew, who gives her plenty of space.

What Gracie really wants is a person or family who wants their dog to be part of their life. She would love an active home with people who enjoy walking, hiking and getting outdoors, but who also understand that physical exercise needs to be balanced with training and teaching her how to switch off. A home with some land or a property where she has plenty of room to explore could be wonderful, although the most important thing is having people who are committed to continuing her training and spending plenty of time with her.

She loves food, play, training, walks, hiking, soaking up the sunshine and simply being with her humans. She is happy to be bathed and has no issues with grooming.

And then there's that beautiful face. Gracie's gorgeous colouring is already showing some wise grey around her muzzle, giving her a wonderfully distinguished look – although her personality is anything but distinguished when she's in full Staffy mode!

Gracie is a loving, funny, energetic girl who has so much to offer the right family. She needs someone who will appreciate her big personality, give her boundaries and guidance, and enjoy watching her continue to grow into the wonderful companion she is capable of becoming.

Gracie is ready for a family who wants a loyal, loving and slightly chaotic Staffy by their side – preferably one who is prepared for plenty of adventures, training sessions, sunshine and Staffy smiles.