SammySammySammy

So far so good; limited destruction, no open wounds, not a single shoe or piece of furniture in the path of the hurricane. A large amount of dirt dug, plants eaten, messes cleaned, toys chewed and patience tried. All in just a few short weeks Samantha’s proving to be about right down the middle for high-energy, big puppy growing pains. 

Goofy to the core and frankly a little goofy looking she seems to be adopting most (ok, many) of the best characteristics of her major breeds–German Shepard and Black Lab. Retrieving, loyal, energetic, attentive, affectionate, protective, playful, athletic and water loving. A list of  areas upon which to improve exists has been drawn up as well. Overly reactive/nervous energy, jumping and aggressive greetings and overly possessiveness with treats are really the only negative behaviors that need molding. Those and the drinking. Instead of drinking water Samantha face-dives into the bowl, comes up for air, paces around a few feet (dripping from her entire face) then jams her head back into the bowl to repeat. That one might be tough to change, the rest are coming along slowly.  On a good-to-bad continuum we’ll take that considering her background the first six months of her life. Bounced around between (we pretty sure) three-four families before acquaintances snatched her from neighbors who could not handle her. They were the ones who first called to see if we would be interested in adopting their newly fostered pup resulting in our weekend trip west to pick up the bundle of boundless energy. 

With her goofy face, hunched, slinky GSD-like walk, beady eyes and droopy tongue it’s actually pretty easy to forgive her and keep plowing forward with training. She tries so hard to please and be part of the action, with a few more months of attention she’ll get it–or most of it. We’re through four sessions of beginner training class and we’ve learned (can’t yet say mastered) about 1/2 dozen commands. Get her up a couple more then have them consistently followed we’ll be set.