Windy

We picked up Windy with her 9 tiny puppies in Mid-April. Since the day she arrived, she has been nothing but sweet. She was a great mother and she was friendly to us and allowed us to handle the pups from the start. She is very intelligent-learning our doggy doors within minutes of arriving at our home without the benefit of watching my dog, and she quickly picked up on all the routines in the household. In our home, she is a very easy, friendly, happy, loving dog. She is a bit of a bull in a china shop, so when she gets excited, she bumps into things or steps on our feet. She rarely jumps on us or other people, but it does happen, and she is not graceful. She makes us laugh a lot. She is super alert, and never misses the dog in the mirror or window. She is a huge eye contact dog, and it feels like she's communicating and reading our mind at the same time. Her ears are ridiculously cute, and she moves them in all directions depending on her mood. It is a blast fostering her, and we are so excited for her future family. House Training /Crating She does not have accidents in my home. Like every other dog I've ever fostered, she'll need to learn the routine in her new home. She's a quick learner, so this won't be a problem. At my house, she is crated overnight and when we leave the house. She is cooperative about going in the crate (with a good treat), and she is quiet until we let her out in the morning or when we get home. If we stay up too late, she likes to be put to bed in her crate. She is much better about being crated than locked in a room, which we did a few times. That just made her anxious. She does not like being crated when we are home during the day (like if we have a worker in the house who doesn't like dogs), and sometimes she expresses her opinion by barking. The vast majority of the time we're home, she has the run of the house, but she chooses to be with us. Because she's always with us, she doesn't get in much trouble, When we correct her in the house she responds quickly. People She hasn't met tons of people. The ones she has met are guests in our home. She is super happy to meet new people, and she looks like she's going to tackle them with love, but then she's just sweet. She loves kids, but her unbridled affection might be too much for smaller kids. When we're out, most people cross the street, but if someone is willing to meet her, she makes it worth their while. Other dogs She loves my dog, who is about 20 pounds bigger than her. At first, she just followed my dog around, but gradually, she learned to play chase, roughhouse, play with toys, play tug of war, and snuggle. She also loves my granddog, a frequent visitor, who is a little bigger than she is. He can be a little grumpy, but he loves Windy. She passed an assessment with BTR's trainer with small dogs. On walks as she has become more confident, she pulls towards other dogs, but she does not growl or bark at them. I don't allow her to interact with other dogs, so I am not sure how those encounters would go. We have had a few scary encounters with off leash dogs who charged her, and she handled them well. But she has also had a bad encounter with another family dog whom she met by accident. That dog was aggressive toward her, and it did not go well. Although my expectation is that she will get along with friendly dogs, I would definitely want her to meet your dog just to be sure. We have dogs on 3 sides of our fenced in yards, and they are all barkers. If Windy is out at the same time as they are, she might ignore them, but she might bark back. When I call her in, she comes right away. Walks Although she initially was an easy dog to walk, she has become a puller as she has gained confidence. I've tried a lot of options, and what has worked the best is a front attach harness. When I am able to work on walking alone with her she makes progress, but when I walk her and my dog together, she can be quite the puller. She definitely pulls hard toward squirrels and other dogs. What Windy likes: Stuffed toys, tug-of-war toys, nylabones Car rides-you better not go out to put something in the car because she'll hop right in and refuse to get out without bribes. We have her tethered to the seat belt receptacle and she is a good passenger. Walks Food and treats-She has never shown aggression over toys or food. She begs with her eyes from across the room. All people-She hasn't gotten to meet a lot of people because so many people cross the street when they see her coming, but if someone is willing to meet her, she makes it worth their while.