We’d like to introduce you to LEXI! The pretty red headed girl with the golden eyes.
She is a 1-year-old, 45 lb. female – perfect size & great age.
We don’t know much about Lexi’s past, except that she was a stray wandering the streets in South Carolina before she was picked up by our rescue partner.

Lexi loves people. She politely engages and hopes for some pets. She likes to be near you or on top of you (if you allow it) but she is not the type to have to be at your side 100% of the time. She is respectful of your space but if allowed she would like to lounge on the couch with you or sit at your feet.

We think Lexi had a home at some point. When her foster family received her, she was potty trained & very comfortable in her crate. She also knew the command- sit.

Lexi walks well on a leash. She is taken on daily walks and is good about respecting the leash. We are working on her recall, and she is doing well with that but is not ‘rock-solid’ yet.

Lexi likes other dogs. She seems eager to meet the neighborhood dogs and is polite and kind. She has a playful energy and will match playstyles.

Lexi is very trusting of people. She has never shied away or shown aggression or fear when approached by others. She enjoys human interaction. We have had several friends come over and she has greeted them all appropriately with lots of tail wags and body wiggles. She does not bark when she hears cars pulling in the yard nor when people enter the house. On the other hand, the resident dog does alert us when she hears something (excessive barking), but Lexi doesn’t react, just absorbs.

Lexi is very treat motivated which makes training fun and easy. She picks up on learning new tricks quickly. She has learned sit, down, paw/shake, twirl and is working on rolling over. She thrives during our training lessons. She is attentive and you can see her trying to understand what we are asking of her.

It is evident that she is trying to figure out what we ask of her and working hard to understand the rules & boundaries of our home. She picks up rules quickly/replies to correction and it has been fun to watch her REALLY try to be a good girl. Lexi has great house manners considering she has lived in a shelter for months prior to arriving to her foster home.

From the first day in her foster home Lexi she has had free roam of the house. She is very trustworthy when loose in the home. She does still have some ‘puppy play’ in her so we have a large basket of toys and chew things that she knows are hers. There are times where she picks up our belongings and carries them around, but she has never chewed up anything. We try to create an environment where she can succeed so we are careful about placing our belonging where she is not tempted for the time being. At night, we allow her to sleep in our bedroom.

Her energy level is medium. She will have bursts of play energy but settles down quickly. She will play and run outside but inside she relaxes easily. She will entertain herself with her toys. She enjoys her leash walks and her free time in the fenced in yard, but she will not require an abundance of daily exercise. We take her mountain hiking and she did great.

We have a fenced in yard that Lexi is allowed free roam in. She is good about going out to go to the bathroom and enjoys exploring the yard. When she needs to go out to go to the bathroom she will stand near the door and/or she gets a little restless.

At this point Lexi still has some puppy in her and the recommendations would be that she go with a family with children that are 6+ years old. She is not a big dog, but she does like to play so the concern would be about out her accidently knocking smaller children over.

We feed Lexi twice a day. Mealtime is VERY exciting to her. We feed her in her crate, and she literally dives in there. We close her in the crate and then leave her there for 15-20 minutes. She is very comfortable being closed in her crate and just lays down. She never barks, whines, or tries to get out. She views the crate as a positive safe place and just relaxes when she is in there. I have not seen any resource guarding with her food or toys.

We have a cat in our home. Lexi was very kitty-curious and interested in her at first. We discouraged her from trying to get the cat to play and rewarded her when she ignored the cat. After a week and a half Lexi and the cat are doing very well. Lexi has pretty much lost interest in the cat and leaves her alone. She accompanies me when I feed my horse. She likes to greet our horse and gives him kisses on his nose. She is gentle and has not shown any fear, only curiosity.

When we take Lexi for rides in the car, she is very calm and relaxed. She enjoys looking out the window or just lays down.

Just like any other rescue we foster; Lexi is working hard to figure out her place in our family and how she fits in. The first week was challenging only because Lexi wasn’t sure of herself and how she fit in- she just didn’t know our rules & boundaries. She jumped on our older dog, she poked the cat with her nose, she played too rough with us but within a couple weeks she learned her boundaries and tries super hard to be an awesome member of our family.

Lexi would love a family of her own. She would do well as the only dog in the house or with doggie friends. She seeks out our older dog and will lay next to her if allowed (our dog is grumpy). Lexi is good at entertaining herself with her toys and chews and does not need constant entertaining or supervision. Yes, we are smitten with her after only a few weeks. We have seen tremendous positive change in her and her understanding of family life/house living in such a short time. She is learning to be her best self.

Lexi is being fostered in Monkton, VT and ready to meet approved adopters!

Here is the link to our application:

https://longtraildogs.org/adoption-application/