Phoenix

At just 10:30 on a Thursday morning all but two dogs had been out for volunteer walks. A sweet and timid little Pomeranian named Stacey; though nothing would budge her from her kennel she was adopted later that day and,... energy, enthusiasm, and excitement in a black coat - Phoenix. She is a six month old, lab/shepherd mix puppy who is more than a handful at this early stage in her life. At her back door I was greeted by a wildly happy bouncing puppy who promptly broke out of her plastic collar and made a dash for the exit. I really must start getting here earlier. When I told her to sit she slowed down enough for me to get her collar on. I quickly learned that one of her favorite things is to bark at the other dogs; she is big and has a "big dog" bark thus, this is not well received. In a less regulated setting, this pup would get some very harsh lessons in manners from some of these adult dogs.

We made it through doggy gauntlet and careened down the hallway. The Volunteer Coordinator saw/heard us coming and met us with a "no pull" harness. The magic of doggy treats got Phoenix past other dogs near the entry area and we were finally outside. The exercise yard visit was our mandatory first stop, I was intent on burning off as much of her energy as possible before beginning our walk. Fortunately Phoenix likes to fetch. For a puppy she is pretty good at it, she stayed interested for about 15 minutes. I was also happy to find that she sits for treats very consistently. She seems to understand a little of the 'down' command but definitely needs work. "Come" is also a little inconsistent since, as a puppy she is so easily distracted, though she does it about 80% of the time. Interesting note, the shelter was out of soft treats, just thick hard Milkbones were available. Even though Phoenix did not like them (spit them out) she still performed all I asked of her for Milkbone rewards.

I'm not sure how Phoenix would have been without a special harness but on our walk she was just fine. No pulling, very cooperative, and happy to go whichever way I wanted to go. About midway through our walk I made her sit while I struggled to remove a really cumbersome wind breaker. It got caught on my hat, etc and Phoenix sat patiently beside me the whole time. On our return she once again got excited seeing other dogs so we stopped at the front desk to pick some really good treats and staff belly rubs for Phoenix. I used the treats to keep her distracted from the other dogs as I got her back into her kennel. She is a big boisterous puppy but considering her age and surroundings doing remarkably well. Her future family will probably need to give her obedience training but she is smart and learns quickly.