I picked up the "potential new dog" last night and had her with me at my boyfriend's...which was an adventure. Even though she is a sweet, well tempered dog I apparently didn't get it through my thick skull that she is a.) six months old and b.) has never left her own house before, even for walks. So needless to say, she is a wee bit under-socialized to new surroundings! She gets spooked by the smallest things that normally wouldn't phase a dog. She recovers fast and is curious, but very, very skittish. Which irks me, because to see how awesome she is in her comfort zone, if the family had just taken even a small amount of time with her this wouldn't be a problem at all. But, I digress.
She got along really well with my BF's dog, although Cora wanted to play and Cynder did not, which got old really quick. No horrible misbehavior out of her, just some spooked/freaked out behaviors. She would tuck tail and try to run when I had her outside at night to pee if she heard a noise in the woods, she FLIPPED OUT when she saw his gerbil in its bin (she was terrified of it), and when the college aged next door neighbors were out talking at 2:30 in the morning she paced worryingly the entire time. She also doesn't like the noise of fireworks.
Super happy and bouncy and playful, though, and she goes potty and poop outside like a champ. Mike couldn't get over how much energy she had, and when I told him she's just a typical puppy he said, "I don't ever want a puppy." LOL
She went in to work with me this morning and stayed in a grooming crate the entire time. Not a peep out of her all morning. When I was cleaning up and let her run loose in the back with me, she was very unsure of the place and was spooking at the cage driers/things hanging on the walls, but with some encouragement she perked up (although she still doesn't like the noise the cage driers make). By the time I left with her to come home I noticed a huge improvement with her just walking around outside the building - she was much more confident.
I was kind of hesitant with how she would be at the house...I mean, if a gerbil can send her in to a tizzy, what are seven cats going to do to her? As soon as I got her out of the car, though, she acted like she had been here all her life. She didn't spook at anything and had a BLAST exploring the yard and sniffing at everything. She loves the cats (chases them when they run, but it is all in play) and she gets along with the dogs, too. Chloe isn't 100% fond of her (which I think is odd - typically she wants to PLAY and she just kind of ignored Cora), but Rose took to her right off the bat, which I was shocked by.
Although I don't think she's going to have the right temperament for me personally as a next dog (too submissive/skittish - I like spunky, confident, goober dogs), I think she'll fit in very well as a family dog.
The final verdict isn't in yet (still need the definite "yes" from my parents), but I'm pretty sure she'll be staying.
Now, the pictures! ^^ Until we get her trained on the electric fence (need to get flags and a collar...), we set up a dog run for her for when she's in the yard.
Poor girl has never had any toys other than a tennis ball before, so I remedied that situation last night. She didn't really know how to play tug or fetch, either, so we worked on that today as well. She's getting the hang of it.
"Give me treat."
"Treat, I say!!!"
"I sit pretty for treat?"
Playing with her road kill squirrel:
*more*
She got along really well with my BF's dog, although Cora wanted to play and Cynder did not, which got old really quick. No horrible misbehavior out of her, just some spooked/freaked out behaviors. She would tuck tail and try to run when I had her outside at night to pee if she heard a noise in the woods, she FLIPPED OUT when she saw his gerbil in its bin (she was terrified of it), and when the college aged next door neighbors were out talking at 2:30 in the morning she paced worryingly the entire time. She also doesn't like the noise of fireworks.
Super happy and bouncy and playful, though, and she goes potty and poop outside like a champ. Mike couldn't get over how much energy she had, and when I told him she's just a typical puppy he said, "I don't ever want a puppy." LOL
She went in to work with me this morning and stayed in a grooming crate the entire time. Not a peep out of her all morning. When I was cleaning up and let her run loose in the back with me, she was very unsure of the place and was spooking at the cage driers/things hanging on the walls, but with some encouragement she perked up (although she still doesn't like the noise the cage driers make). By the time I left with her to come home I noticed a huge improvement with her just walking around outside the building - she was much more confident.
I was kind of hesitant with how she would be at the house...I mean, if a gerbil can send her in to a tizzy, what are seven cats going to do to her? As soon as I got her out of the car, though, she acted like she had been here all her life. She didn't spook at anything and had a BLAST exploring the yard and sniffing at everything. She loves the cats (chases them when they run, but it is all in play) and she gets along with the dogs, too. Chloe isn't 100% fond of her (which I think is odd - typically she wants to PLAY and she just kind of ignored Cora), but Rose took to her right off the bat, which I was shocked by.
Although I don't think she's going to have the right temperament for me personally as a next dog (too submissive/skittish - I like spunky, confident, goober dogs), I think she'll fit in very well as a family dog.
The final verdict isn't in yet (still need the definite "yes" from my parents), but I'm pretty sure she'll be staying.
Now, the pictures! ^^ Until we get her trained on the electric fence (need to get flags and a collar...), we set up a dog run for her for when she's in the yard.
Poor girl has never had any toys other than a tennis ball before, so I remedied that situation last night. She didn't really know how to play tug or fetch, either, so we worked on that today as well. She's getting the hang of it.
"Give me treat."
"Treat, I say!!!"
"I sit pretty for treat?"
Playing with her road kill squirrel:
*more*
She looks like a sweetie. 
