Barney the Family Dog
Just wanted to follow up with you since it's been a few days and let you know. Charlie/Barney is doing VERY well! He hasn't been aggressive w/ the cat at all; I think he just wanted to play with her and he might need some guidance with how rough he can play with a cat, but he's been very sweet. He's very needy and wants all of our attention but he's young and I know that in a few years he will settle down more :)
He also has shown me that he will be an excellent family watch dog!--- I went strolling w/ my 19 month old and the dog a few days back and was talking with my neighbor when her husband came out of the woods dragging some kind of metal. (He's a landscaper) Charlie went NUTS! I don't remember him pulling at the lead, but he barked a REALLY deep, fierce bark that put me in shock!--- I didnt hear him bark once even at Petsmart when we adopted him so I was SO surprised! He must have felt threatened by him pulling the metal. We kept walking and he stopped, but when we returned I was surprised by his memory. My neighbor walked out of his garage toward us and Charlie started up again. One of the main reasons we wanted a dog was because of the crime and I wanted to feel safe at home w/ my children. So, he proved that he'd keep us safe! :)
Thanks for everything! :)
Kara
Bella the Sheltie
Hello, all,
As you know, I adopted Bella — I call her Belle - in May. She has proven to be almost the exact opposite of the negative parts of the description on your website.
I told EVERYONE that they had to be careful and quiet when they saw Belle for the first time. I said all the right stuff because I didn't want anyone to say they weren't warned!
The first day I had her, she met my best friend with her 3 teenage children at my front door. She barked when the doorbell rang — I opened it — she stopped barking, started wagging and licking and just loved on everybody. No jumping, but definite excitement and friendliness.
Two days later, she met my first student. (I have forty ranging in age from eight to seventy, plus parents and siblings). All but four come to my house every week. Without fail, she was friendly, showed no shyness, absolutely no aggressiveness, and was delighted to greet everyone with enthusiasm and much rapid tail wagging. (When she gets going, her tail goes in a circle like a helicopter~). I took her to church with me for a meeting and she sat calmly in the middle of a circle of excited children while they petted, kissed and talked to her. One of my choir members tried to talk me into giving her to him that night.
She goes with me from room to room in the house. I shut the door of my music room when I'm teaching a student, and she is always in there lying quietly. When my next student walks into my house, she goes out to greet them and then comes back in to sit in the next lesson.
She barks when the doorbell rings, but I think it really is just to let me know someone's coming. She stops when I get to the door and she is instantly the welcome wagon. Now that she knows everybody, she really gets excited.
She loves to ride in the car absolutely anywhere.
My great-niece is three and she kisses Belle, lies down next to her, and wraps her arms around her — no problem. My sisters bring their dogs, including two new puppies — no problem. My friend brings her HUGE golden for a week — no problem. I have a new kitten — Belle is being rather motherly. And my other five cats and she are completely at ease. She's met all the neighborhood dogs with no problem.
I can walk outside with Belle and she stays with me. I've taken her on long walks with the leash off and she has never once run away from me or not come when I've called her.
I can't tell you how many people have told me she is the sweetest, even-tempered, laid-back dog they've ever met. She is so happy to be loved on and sat by. One of my student's mothers spends her child's entire lesson petting Belle. If she does jump up, it's very carefully, and it's because she knows we're going WALKIES…! If you're petting her, she will softly put her paw on your arm or knee to let you know you shouldn't have stopped.
She has her quilt in the living room for her daytime naps and a soft fleece bed with a wool blanket and a pillow in my bedroom for her nights. She very carefully brings her chew bone to bed with her at night and then back out into the living room each morning.
What doesn't she like? BATHS! WATER! Walking in wet grass is not her thing, either. She's not nuts about the cats eating her food, but has no problem eating all of theirs. This is why the cats eat on the kitchen table…
I'm not being defensive at all, but I wish you would put some of this under your success stories. This dog loves all this attention and all these people greeting her and petting her all day. I couldn't ask for a better-behaved, sweeter dog. And she's just getting better and better.
Thank you so much for my baby! I think a lot of the credit goes to her foster mother, Jean — she made all the difference.
Beverly
Boots the Puppy
Hi there,
Just wanted to let you know Xander has stole the hearts of all our friends and us of course. He's an amazing puppy and VERY smart. He's the star of his puppy class. He's even managed to change the channels on our TV with the remote. Not that we are too happy about that but chew toys will be chew toys.
I've attached a few pics from the first month.
Thanks!!
Bryan and Greg