Madeline

Super friendly and playful, Madeline would be a perfect addition to any active family.  She’s got a typical puppy’s enthusiasm for everyone she encounters—immediately, “I love you! Let’s play!”  Of course, she loves to run around, and will run after sticks and balls and Frisbees, and if the rest of the world is not too distracting, she’ll bring them right back!  Mostly she chases the ball, and then on the way back forgets what she was doing and goes off after a good smell or a butterfly.  When you work to keep her attention, she’s perfectly happy to bring the ball right back to you again and again.

She’s submissive to other dogs and people without being shy or skittish in the least.  She loves to chase and be chased by other dogs, but when she’s nose to nose, her strategy is to go belly up and try to continue the game on her back.  She’s not toy possessive, and will immediately give up her ball or toy to another dog just so she can have the pleasure of chasing them to get it back. When you start to play with her on the ground, she immediately goes belly up and tries to use all four paws to get your hand into her mouth (she’s also teething right now).  She does mouth your hand (or whatever she can reach) which might be scary for small children, so she will need supervision and a cautious introduction to small children.  Otherwise, she’s great with kids, or anyone, and likes roughhousing and playing on the ground or with all sorts of toys.

Madeline is very athletic—she runs really fast and jumps high both from standing still and taking a running jump.  She’s not allowed on the furniture inside, but outside she loves to vault herself up and sit next to us on top of the picnic table.  In fact, all of the outdoor furniture is her playground, and when she gets going, she does hurdles over the lawn chairs!  She’s still quite little, but she can jump up and grab her rubber bone when I’m holding it as high as I can.  She doesn’t seem interested in trying to get out of the fence, but she would probably be able to jump over a low fence.  If you would like a dog who can learn some really cool tricks or work on agility training, Madeline’s your girl.

We are working on basic training with Madeline.  She comes when called, but I’m not sure we taught her that… she's just so excited to be with her people, she picks up on any tiny hint that you want her, and comes running!  She knows sit, and is working on dowbut often has to calm down first.  She works better on training when she’s tired after a long walk or play session. She is eager to please, and has been fun to train.  Right now she’s a member of the “clean crate” club—completely crate trained, comfortable living in her crate, and never messes in her crate.  She goes in the crate on command, and sometimes just because she feels like it or hopes we’ll give her a cookie for doing it!  She’s not had an accident or chewed anything in our house, but we keep her in the crate when we can’t supervise her.  I wouldn’t advise leaving her unsupervised just yet.  She likes leash walks and visiting with neighbors, dogs, and kids. She doesn’t pull on the leash, but she does walk a pretty erratic line, following every enticing smell and noise. 

And finally, you can see from the pictures that Madeline is a beautiful puppy who is growing into a gorgeous dog.  Her coat is shiny and healthy looking, and reflects the sun with a warm honey color.  She’s got kohl lined eyes and just a touch of black shadowing her mouth and tail.  She’s also got a little bit of black above both eyes that makes her face especially expressive—like she has eyebrows!  Come and meet Madeline, and you’ll fall in love!  She is an excess of joy in a perfect puppy package that you’ll be happy to add to your family.  Just imagine coming home to that enthusiasm every day!