Online Dog Adoption Application

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Foster Update 8/8/14: 

• Appearance Belle is somewhere between a medium and large-sized dog with a beautiful, tan coat and gorgeous eyes. 

• Energy Level She has a fairly low energy level in the house, and is quite calm and submissive (which surprises everyone she meets!). Outside she loves to run and play like the goofball she is.

• Food I feed her twice a day, and a little over a cup for each feeding. If we're going to be doing a lot of activities I give her a little bit more.

• Adaptability She's a very smart dog and understands what it means to be on good behavior around guests in the house, but outside she stays alert and makes sure nobody is a threat to me. 

• Behaviors That being said, she would do better with an owner that presents himself/herself as strong and in charge so that Belle doesn't feel the need to be on guard. She has been doing much better with this after many walks and exposure to strangers, but while she's on the leash, other dogs worry her. 

• Human Social Skills She loooooooves people! Whenever I have people visit she greets every one of them with a nudge of her head and a prompt request for a butt scratch. She hasn't been around many children, so because of her strong muscles I wouldn't recommend very small children that don't understand a dog's body language very well. 

• Animal Social Skills In the house, she plays well with the dogs and is able to hang out with them, but when she's on the leash, again, she seems to be cautious of them. This is being trained on currently, but it takes time to ease a dog into feeling comfortable in different situations.

• Obedience She knows sit and down very well now, and she's starting to get the hang of stay and "leave it." As I mentioned, she's a very fast learner and a big lover of treats, so she'd be willing to learn almost any command!

• Training She is perfectly house-trained and she has not had one single accident in the house (which is wonderful). When she needs to go outside, she'll walk up to you, sit down, and look at you with her puppy dog eyes. When I feed her, I make sure she gives me a sit/down, then I put her food on the ground. She waits for me to say "okay" before she starts eating. She does fine in the crate, but she has a big tail that whacks the sides when she gets excited, so I opted to just leave her bed next to mine in my room and at night she stays there until I wake up.

• Personality Quirks This is an area that Belle truly excels at. For starters, she's the biggest goofball I know. She'll roll around on the floor with her mouth open, trying to bite her tail. Other times she grabs her toy, throws it across the room, then runs after it as if someone has just thrown it. The only noise she makes are yawns, sneezes, and snoring. Ohhh yes the snoring... You can be in the living room having a conversation with someone when suddenly you hear "Zzzzzzz" from a few feet away--it's hilarious! 

• Ideal Home Idealy, she'd do well in a more mature home with people that understand dogs fairly well. She would be able to live with another dog, but she really likes the attention to herself, so an ideal case would be her as the only dog. Since she loves to run and play, a fenced in yard would really be wonderful, but an active owner that likes to go on walks and runs would be just as good. 

 

*** According to www.dogbreedinfo.com, the Labrador Retriever is a loving, affectionate, lovable, patient dog. Once known as the "St John's Dogs," the Labrador Retriever is one of the most popular breeds in the United States. Originally from Newfoundland, Canada the Labrador was trained to jump overboard into the icy waters to haul fisherman's nets to shore. Specimens were brought to England in the 1800's by English ships coming from Labrador, where the dog's fine retrieving instincts were honed and developed. One of the best family dogs and canine companions because of their gentle, loving disposition, the highly trainable Labrador also excels in drug detection, as a guide for the blind, and service dog for the disabled. The breed is also an outstanding obedience and field trial competitor. Highly intelligent, loyal, willing, and high-spirited. Lively and good-natured, they love to play, especially in water - for they love to swim. They have an excellent, reliable, temperament and are friendly, superb with children and equable with other dogs. They crave human attention and need to feel as though they are part of the family. Labs are easily trained. These dogs are watchdogs, not guard dogs, although some have been known to guard. They have a life expectancy of 10-12 years.

Good with Dogs, Not Good with Cats, Good with Kids