Nicole is a Blenheim, female who was a breed mama from Ohio.  Nicole had a dental and has been spayed and is up to date with her vaccines.  Nicole is microchipped.  Her weight is: 13.2 pounds. 

Nicole is a girl with a very high level of anxiety.  She will, at times, come when called and will accept a few scratches under her chin, before turning to walk away.  She will wag her tail at times to display happiness.  She is extremely driven by "treats".  Many times, she is very reluctant to come out of her crate to come into the kitchen for meals or even to go outside.  She definitely knows her name, when it is called and she definitely  can hear us.  The most common display of her anxiety is  her wetting the floor when we were trying to get her to come outside.  She cowers to the floor and is so afraid.  We always see her behind a few other dogs {trying to hide/seek protection}.  She relies on her dog friend, Bridget, all day long. Nicole seeks her out to lay next to, to run with, to eat next to, etc.  Nicole does not choose to sit on the couch, ever.  We have tried to instruct her how to use the foam doggie steps so she can be independent.  Her place of choice,  is on the floor on a dog pad or rug.  She places her back against the cabinet , wall or furniture and wants to be able to watch us.  The other dogs will gather around us and want to be petted and hugged and give us kisses. Nicole cannot relax enough to join in.  She has not ever displayed a desire to play with toys, despite the wide variety of choices given to her.  We've never heard Nicole bark, either.

Nicole loves to run on the grass, once she is outside. It's a joyful time for her when she can relax and forget her fears. Nicole will run and run with the wind blowing her ears!! 

Her house-training abilities have made great strides since she arrived, once we started her on the OTC tablets.  Nicole cannot tell us when she needs to go to the bathroom, however. We take her outside, frequently and for extended periods of time.  We're always with her and she gets "treats" and praise for going to the bathroom outside. Her frequent "accidents' are simply cleaned up and we move on. 
Whenever we have tried to pick her up in our arms to kiss her and hold her, she is rigid and holds her breath in fear. Often, she misreads the cues and urinates on us because of her anxiety. 

We began to use a Thunder shirt for comfort and ease of anxiety. Nicole actually loves wearing it and readily comes over to have it put on her.  We have been giving Nicole OTC chewable tablets to help her high levels of anxiety, as well.  It seems to help her to be able to relax a bit.  

This girl is a little gentle lamb.  When you tell her she's a good girl she absolutely loves hearing those words and will wag her tail.

Nicole seems to like children and demonstrates a level of caution about being around them.  Nicole is comfortable with the other dogs that live in this house.  Nicole never growls or barks at other dogs that she has been exposed to.  Nicole will run to the far side of our yard if the neighbors barking dogs should visit up against our fence line  .Nicole never barks back at them. 

Nicole is walking on a leach, reluctantly,,,and needs to be tethered to Bridget for it to be successful.  

We feel she is doing the very best that she can with her issues of anxiety. The "issues" may not ever disappear.  However, we strive to manage them and help her have as happy a life as is possible.