Pollyanna

You could not help but notice Pollyanna, a beautiful yellow lab, about three and with that  happy lab smile.  This time I decided to prepare myself by reading her profile before taking her out.  I always read the staff notes in the volunteer room, they were also cautionary regarding her enthusiasm.
This was her second time at the shelter as a stray with no one claiming her  (not good).  Her energy level is very high (at least I can prepare) and she gets along well with kids, dogs and cats.

I approached the back door of her kennel determined that, despite her obvious eagerness, we would exit smoothly. I told her to go back, she did after just a few seconds, then to sit, she did; I got her harnessed and we were off.  At 2:00 this was her first volunteer outing so she was very eager to get outside.  My plan was a nice long energy-burning romp in the exercise yard before starting our walk.  I shuddered to see that both yards were occupied.   For the first few minutes she was breathing hard, trembling and pulling; I continued walking at a slow pace and talking to her.  After a reasonably short time she began to slow down and sniff things.  I did the first video below about 20 minutes into our walk.  As you can see she is quietly walking with a nearly slack leash, she turns around when I say her name and, though not in the video, she walked back and laid down beside me as I was putting my phone away.  This pretty much described the rest of our walk - very nice.

On our return an exercise yard was vacant.  She still had plenty of energy and was so happy to play.  Pollyanna loves running for a ball and after just 3 or 4 times was beginning to get the fetch concept.  She is already good at sitting for treats and coming when she is called.  I could tell that she had not yet learned "down", but she is so smart and eager to please, she started doing it after just a few prompts although not consistently. 

On our way back to her kennel, she did well walking quietly down the hall, but was surprised when two staff members came out of a hall door.  She practically jumped out of her harness trying to greet them.  She can go from a 1 to 10 on excitability in a heartbeat.  Pollyanna is a sweet, smart beautiful dog but I really hope she finds her way to the right family this time.  She needs not only daily exercise but also the daily quiet structure of obedience drills.  Although with her sweet nature she gets along with other animals and people, she will not be at her best in a busy active family that does not have time for her.