ex·co·ri·ate
\ek-ˈskȯr-ē-ˌāt\ transitive verb
[Middle English, from Late Latin excoriatus, past participle of excoriare, from Latin ex- + corium skin, hide]
1: to wear off the skin of: abrade
2: to censure scathingly

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ob·tru·sive
\-ˈtrü-siv, -ziv\ adjective
1a: forward in manner or conduct (obtrusive behavior)
1b: undesirably prominent
2: thrust out: protruding (a sharp obtrusive edge)

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prax·is
\ˈprak-səs\ noun
[Medieval Latin, from Greek, doing, action, from prassein to do, practice]
1: action, practice: as a: exercise or practice of an art, science, or skill b: customary practice or conduct
2: practical application of a theory

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or·thog·ra·phy
\ȯr-ˈthä-grə-fē\ noun
[Middle English ortografie, from Anglo-French, from Latin orthographia, from Greek, from orth- + graphein to write]
1a: the art of writing words with the proper letters according to standard usage
1b: the representation of the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
2: a part of language study that deals with letters and spelling

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sur·cease
\(ˌ)sər-ˈsēs, ˈsər-ˌ\
[Middle English sursesen, surcesen, from Anglo-French surceser, alteration of surseer, surseoir, from Latin supersedēre]

intransitive verb
1: to desist from action; also: to come to an end, cease

transitive verb
1: to put an end to: discontinue

noun
1: cessation; especially: a temporary respite or end (to borrow from my books surcease of sorrow — E. A. Poe)

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vi·car·i·ous
\vī-ˈker-ē-əs, və-\ adjective
[Latin vicarius, from vicis change, alternation, stead]
1a: serving instead of someone or something else
1b: that has been delegated (vicarious authority)
2: performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to the benefit or advantage of another: substitutionary (a vicarious sacrifice)
3: experienced or realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another
4: occurring in an unexpected or abnormal part of the body instead of the usual one (vicarious menstruation manifested by bleeding from the nose)

That last one? Do Not Want!

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at·tune
\ə-ˈtün, -ˈtyün\ transitive verb
1: to bring into harmony : tune
2: to make aware or responsive (attune businesses to changing trends)

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adroit
\ə-ˈdrȯit\ adjective
[French, from Old French, from a- (from Latin ad-) + droit right, droit]
1: having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations (an adroit leader) (adroit maneuvers)

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pre·science
\ˈpre-sh(ē-)ən(t)s, ˈprē-, -s(ē-)ən(t)s\ noun
[Middle English, from Late Latin praescientia, from Latin praescient-, praesciens, present participle of praescire to know beforehand, from prae- + scire to know]
1: foreknowledge of events
1a: divine omniscience
1b: human anticipation of the course of events

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I swear, she's the oddest little thing

We don't know how she'd do with children or other pets (obviously since we know next to nothing about her), and we don't know how she'd be with being left alone for long periods of time.

She hasn't done a lot of barking, but some of that may be due to her still feeling a little unsure as to what's going on.