Willa and her 2 babies came to us from animal control. She was still nursing the puppies and they would not be able to keep her so we agreed to rescue her and find wonderful homes for this family!

6/30 Foster update:

As you can see from the attached pictures, Willa is a super cuddler!!  She's a very sweet dog who wants to be by your side and be loved. She follows me around that house and licks my hand every now and then to remind me she's there.  We have tried to reinforce a few commands with her and she has been doing very well.  She knows "sit", "lay down", "crate", and "bed".  When you say "crate" it helps if you tap on the crate or point to it to reinforce this but she never gives us any trouble, she just walks right in.  She knows the drill!

The first couple of days when we fostered her, my smaller dog had some trouble accepting her into the house since she was new and MUCH bigger than her.  So Willa just showered her with kisses every day until Shelby came around.  It took about 4 days for them to finally start playing and liking each other and now you can hear Shelby running and Willa galloping behind her back and forth in the house playing all day until they get so tired they drink a lot of water and fall asleep in their beds and sometimes even together!!!  Willa caught on very quickly that she needed to be gentle with Shelby since she is a smaller dog.  She's good with big and small dogs, but it does take her some time to get used to them.  And she will do ANYTHING for a belly rub!!!

 With people, WILLA seems to take a little more time to get comfortable.  We took her to an event at our local PetSupermarket and she was fine with all the dogs (even birds!) but with people she was very scared.  She would tuck her tail and hide behind me, poor thing.  Everyone there loooves dogs and they were all very friendly, I think she was just overwhelmed.  I have a friend that comes over around 3-4 times a week and Willa still runs away from her even though she's a dog lover and a very friendly person.  She's really close with me and my boyfriend Zack since we have been taking care of her together and I'm sure she will be YOUR best friend in no time!

  When we took her on walks, we did notice that she pulled quite a bit on the leash so she could use some training in that area.  It just seems like she wants to run ALL the time so if you can take her rollerblading or biking or running with you, she would be in heaven!    Also, at times, quick movements or loud noises can scare her.  She likes to hear some expression in your voice and if you talk to her in a monotone voice, sometimes she gets a little scared and walks away until she realizes you're not mad at her.

   We've been feeding her twice daily at 8am and 7pm so I'm sorry if she wakes you up early because she's hungry! The daily routine has been to go outside first thing in the morning and then come inside for breakfast and she learned this routine well in only 5 days!  She's a smart dog and will catch on quick to anything you want to teach her!  She will also sit by the back door when she wants to go outside and chase the squirrels :-)

 One thing I would DEFINITELY do right away is give her things she can chew on.  She loves LOVES to chew on things all day long.   I think chewing is her way of getting rid of that some of the energy she's got.  When she's not playing with my other dog or taking a nap, she's chewing on her toys.  She did try chewing on my shoe once but only once.  I told her "No" firmly and gave her 3 different toys she could play with and she NEVER chewed on anything else but her toys again.  She's a smart girl!

 I would definitely recommend putting her food in an area where she can't reach it (don't forget she's tall when she stands up too!) as it seems like she's always hungry!  I mistakenly left her bag of food on the floor in the kitchen and I woke up to crunching in the middle of the night and found her with her head in the bag eating her heart out! We then learned to keep her food in the laundry room where she couldn't get it.  Willa is a really GREAT dog and she's very loyal and loving. She's a great companion and a wonderful friend!  Her only mission in life is to love those around her and she's very good at it!  I'm sure you will love to have her in your home but probably not as much as she's going to love being there. :-) 

*** 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.