• Leash Manners -  Can walk well on a leash with minor distractions. She is beginning to understand the "don't pull" command and I have been teaching her to "wait and sit" while on walks which helps to focus her attention. That being said, when she sees cats or other dogs, she does pull quite a bit. Since she's a Hound, she often walks with her nose to the ground and will sometimes try to follow a scent. Off leash in a fenced area, she will walk right alongside me, never strays more than about 10 feet, and comes right back when I call her.
• Crate/House Training - Nellie is completely house trained and has never had an accident in our home. She doesn't like the crate and will cry a bit when she goes in, but will settle down and sleep or chew a bone after a few minutes. We are working on helping her to enjoy her crate more.  
• Socialization - When we first started fostering Nellie, she seemed to have very few doggie "social skills". When my dog Bonnie tried to play with her, she would become scared and confused. But she is coming around and now they run and play together ALL the time. She is quite reactive with most other dogs and will raise her hackles, bark, growl and snap, but seems to feel less threatened by smaller dogs and older/calmer dogs. We are working diligently on socializing her and building her confidence. I would not recommend her living with cats since, as a Hound, she has a high prey drive.  Nellie is fantastic with ALL humans! She loves men, women, and children and gets super excited every time she meets someone new! She shows this excitement by wagging her nub, jumping, boxing, and flailing around, so she should be watched carefully around very small children. That being said, she has been very gentle with every child she has met and seems to understand that she has to be careful with the small humans.
• Energy Level and Exercise - Moderate energy level. She enjoys running around the yard with Bonnie and chasing squirrels and the laser pointer. She LOVES the laser pointer! When she runs, she stretches out her whole body and leaps like a gazelle! She's very athletic, but has never even tried to jump our 4 foot fence. She enjoys walks, especially out around the lake and in the woods but is frightened by busy roads. For most of the day, she likes cuddling with us and our dog Bonnie or working on a good bone. 
• Daily Structure and Schedule - Nellie sleeps through the night in bed with us, but sometimes will choose to sleep in the doggie bed on the floor. She is let out to go potty in the morning, eats breakfast, and spends some time with the humans. She is crated for the 4-6 hours when no one is home and goes potty before and after we leave. In the afternoon, she spends some time in the yard playing with Bonnie, then goes for a walk in the neighborhood or around the park, and then has dinner. After that, she often settles down to chew a bone or cuddles with us on the couch, and then goes potty before bed. She eats 1.5 cups of Purina One 2x daily.
• Temperament - She is submissive towards my dog Bonnie and has never challenged her place in the home. Towards other dogs, she is usually fearful and will lunge and bark out of fear. 
• Obedience Training - When we started fostering her, Nellie knew no commands, but she learns very quickly! She learned "sit" the first day, then learned "down", "off", "don't pull", "leave it", and "watch me". She is very eager to please and really REALLY wants to make you happy! She is very motivated by both treats and praise, and takes treats very gently.
• Behaviors - Nellie is a good watch dog and will bark (she has a HUGE bark!) if she hears or sees something suspicious but doesn't bark excessively. She does have quite a vocal range and will "talk" to us sometimes using all sorts of little noises. We have fun trying to figure out what she's trying to tell us. She will sometimes try to steal things from the kitchen, but is easily corrected and does not chew on things that do not belong to her. She does jump up on people (but is getting better) and also "boxes" with her front paws when she gets excited. So cute! 
• Personality Quirks - Nellie just really LOVES people! She wants to cuddle and be near you all the time and her big brown, hound-dog eyes will just melt your heart! When she sleeps with us at night, she likes to have as much of her body touching us as possible. It's like having a very clingy, warm body pillow. She loves the laser pointer and has a favorite de-stuffed elephant that she likes carrying around. 
• Ideal Home - Nellie would LOVE to be a family dog! She would love to live a human-oriented life where she doesn't have to interact with many other animals and can just spend time with her humans. She is very good in the car and would make a great traveling/camping/hiking/hunting companion.

Like many dogs in the South, Nellie is heartworm positive, but don't let that stop you from adopting a great dog. We are treating her with monthly heartworm preventative, our preferred method. Many heartworm positive dogs go on to lead long and healthy lives.