UPDATE FROM FOSTER 1/1/2016:
 

Dillon is a great family dog.  He loves his people.  If you leave the room he will follow you as far as he can, and then wait for you on the other side of whatever door you pass through.  And when you come back through the door, whether it was a minute or an hour, he is thrilled to see you again.  He makes a noise between a whine and a bark and twists himself in circles of joy at every reunion.

When we met him at the shelter, I thought he was going to be super hyper and hard to handle.  He jumped up on me and the children, twisted himself in circles, and jumped up on all the furniture in the meeting room.  It turned out he was just ecstatic to see us!  It was a x10 version of how he greets us daily.  When he got home and settled, I was surprised to find he was really calm most of the time, and only erupted with puppy energy once in a rare while, or when the kids enticed him to play.

He spends most of his time snoozing on his dog bed in whatever room I am in, but occasionally he gets wound up and runs around like a puppy.  When he’s in the right mood, he will chase a ball and bring it right back to you, perfectly.  But more often you take the ball from his mouth and throw it, and he watches it roll away, and then looks at you, confused, like you’ve just grabbed his toy and thrown it away for no discernable reason. 

He always, always, comes running when I call him.  (just from the backyard or in the house—not off leash in public)  Seeing him come running, tail wagging, so happy to be called… it’s wonderful.

His irresistible addiction is stuffed animals.  He LOVES stuffed animals.  When he sees one, he goes a little crazy, crying and turning in circles and begging to have it.  Once he gets it, he tears it up in a fit of passion that lasts about a minute.  Then he will carry the shell of the stuffy around for a while.  He definitely loves stuffed animals more than treats or food.  We’ve tested this theory, and discovered that if he can see a stuffy in our hands, he won’t even eat a treat!  My daughter has a lot of stuffed animals, and she has to keep them hidden and inaccessible.  Even still, when he goes in her room, he sniffs and looks around fervently trying to find them.  It seems that stuffed animals are his only weakness, though.  We’ve got plenty of shoes and jackets and books lying around, and he never tries to chew on anything else.

Dillon is housebroken, crate trained, and very obedient.  He would love to take things from the trash, and occasionally he will stand at the trash and sniff, but I just tell him “no” and he leaves it alone.  If he gets invited up onto the furniture, he’s in heaven, but when you tell him he has to lay on his bed on the ground, he reluctantly complies.  I’ve never caught him sneaking onto the couch or a bed.  I think his only real reason to get on the furniture is to be next to the humans, anyway.  No reason for him to go up there by himself. 

Dillon is a big dog, but he doesn’t seem to need a lot of exercise.  We take him out in the yard and he chases lizards and squirrels for a few minutes before laying down in a patch of sunlight.  We walk him down the street once a day so he can smell all the pee-mail and leave his own messages.  He pulls on the leash when he wants to smell something or when he sees another animal.  My daughter (11) is working on leash manners with him.  It’s humorous to watch.  He will get distracted by a smell and start pulling, and then she scolds him and pulls him back.  He will be oblivious to her until she takes his face or makes just the right noise to get him out of his fixation, and then suddenly he remembers her, looks up at her, wagging his tail, and sits for her, so eager to please.  Then two minutes later , they do it all again.  Every time, he just looks so happy and eager when he looks up at her.  He just got distracted… just forgot about leash manners, oops!

He barks in a commanding, big dog voice when someone is in the yard or at the door.  He doesn’t have any aggression, though.  He just wants to get to the new person and get petted!  Other than that, he doesn’t bark much.  He barks when he has to go outside, but that has only happened once, because we just naturally take him out often enough that he never needs to tell us.  When we first got him, he whined in his crate when someone left the room, or when we got home and he wanted to get out.  But we ignored him and only let him out when he quieted down, and now he has stopped that behavior.

Dillon is a really great, family ready dog.  A fenced yard would be best for him, since he’s still learning leash manners.  He would fit perfectly into a family with children big enough to not be bowled over by his excited greetings.  He would also be a wonderful loyal companion to a single person who is home a lot.  He would be your best buddy, stick to you like glue and cheer you up whenever you are down.  

Dillon came to us when another rescue had to close and we helped them and took Dillon and a few other of his friends. Dillon is heartworm positive and is being treated by the slow kill method, when done correctly is found to be 100% effective. He is a sweet boy that loves to play!!

FOSTER UPDATE:  Dillon has been with us for a few days.  He is a sweet sweet dog.  My first impression of him was the thought that he may never have been in a home setting before.  He seemed truly suprised and confused when the T.V. got turned on.  When he heard a bark come from it, he really was mystified.  He is now in a home with a 7 year-old dog, and they get along very well.  He loves to go on walks, but he is strong and will pull you suddenly.  We are working on how to be a well-behaved walker.  I was concerned because of his young age that he would be more puppy like in the home; but he shows no puppy "jumping."  He is very calm in the home setting.  Will update more information as I learn more about this delightful dog.  For now, all you need to know, he is so sweet, responds to correction very well, and loves to be loved.