Ashlyn --ADOPTED!!!!!!!!

Ashlyn is yet another reason to fall in love with black labs -- as if there weren't already enough reasons! She has so many of the great doggie characteristics that you would want in a dog. Let me tell you about a few of them.

Look at those gorgeous eyes, floppy ears, and silly smile :-).

First, she's very loving. She loves having her head scratched, and two of my favourite things about scratching her head are:

1. She squints her eyes to show how much she enjoys it!!!
2. She's quite soft and feels awesome to pet!!!

I've always found labs to be incredibly loyal and loving and she definitely seems to have these traits. It's clear she loves her time around humans regardless of what you are doing together.

Hey there, cutie.

Another thing I love about Ashlyn is her energy. She's very energetic, but not too over the top. Some dogs have no idea what to do with all their energy and they jump a lot, spin circles etc...but Ashlyn has a fun kind of energy that she knows how to channel. 

Yay running!!!

She LOVES her toys -- any toys really. She loves big orange plastic balls. She loves Kongs. She loves tennis balls. She loves any toy you are holding and want to throw! In fact, she loves toys sooo much that often in the middle of carrying back one toy that I've thrown, she will find another and come to the doggie dilema of: "Which toy do I want more?!" 

"My favourite toy. Except for the other ball. And the Kong. And the stuffed toy. And ALL toys!!!"

Ashlyn does well on her leash, and even though she definitely has the capability to pull me off my feet, she kindly did not do such a thing. She tends to like to walk with her human, unless she sees something exciting, in which case she likes to start to run after it. However, I found that only one correction was all that was needed before she remembered that I was there and she wanted to walk with me! Based on these sorts of things, I think she will be highly trainable.

"I'm training humans to give me treats when I sit. It's working!"

Speaking of trainable, she has a VERY nice sit as you can see from the picture. She is very food motivated and just loved showing me how good she was at sitting for hot dogs! In fact, its hard to get her not to sit when I sat down on the bench -- even when I didn't have the hot dog out. She just sat down, and looked at me expectantly. Somehow I got the feeling she was the one training me :-). Clever girl!

"Come meet me in Kennel 44! I will be so happy to see you!"

Such a beautiful girl!!!

Cody -- ADOPTED!!!!!!!!!

Cody is an awesome little puppy (dog). He's about 6 months old but came to the shelter when he was a younger puppy. He still has a lot of fun puppy energy, but is learning manners and tricks like an adult!

He loves toys, but even without them he always has that smile :-)

Cody loves his toys and loves playing! He runs and pounces on his soft toys especially and although he doesn't know "fetch" as a command, he loves chasing whatever toy you throw and will bring them back so he can play more! He has so much fun running around, exploring, sniffing, and finding toys that its super contagious and I find myself having so much fun when we are out in the yard playing.

The little athlete!

One of my favourite things about Cody is that even though he loves playing and he's really fun, he's also a big love bug who loves crawling up on your lap, giving kisses, and getting pats. He is so very sweet when he rolls over to get his belly rubs. He just seems to be this friendly and loving with everyone he meets!

Just can't get enough affection!

Cody gets along well with all the dogs he meets as well. He loves play wrestling with them and will play bow and roll over sometimes to get them to play with him. It also doesn't even seem to matter how big or small they are, he still asks them to play!

Joy.

Now, let's talk about how awesome Cody is at "sit". (Please see pictures below for proof!) He is very food motivated and will sit preemptively if he even thinks there is a hot dog present. His sit is very patient and he will wait until you are ready to give him his reward. Very nice manners for a young dog!

Perfect "sit" form. 10/10

He also has a gentle mouth which is awesome when training. In my opinion it also speaks to his gentle nature. Playful as he is, he also has this endearingly gentle and sweet side to him that just makes me love him so much.

Note the hot dog in the hand on the side. Also note Cody's focus. A very trainable boy.

Cody is such a happy dog and his smile is just the greatest. It's hard not to be happy when you're around him. Being able to be both fun & playful and calm & cuddly is why "awesome" is the word I liked to describe him.

Come meet me!!!

Cody is an incredibly handsome, energetic, loving dog who would love a family of his own.

How handsome.

Cody lives in Kennel 3 and he would be so happy for a visit!!!

Ava -- ADOPTED!!!

Ava is a pure joy to be around. She's the type of dog you want to come home to after a long day because she's exactly what will cheer you up. She is just so full of happiness and fun-loving energy its contagious. She actually makes me laugh. I've actually caught myself laughing out loud when I take her for walks or to play in the playpen because she's just so funny.

Ava laying in the grassy pen...after lots of playing of course!

We got to spend some time in the playpen together so I took a bit of video of her doing her play bows and happy sprints. She really likes running after toys and she really likes being played with. She is respectful and doesn't jump at her toys when you hold them, but patiently waits for you to throw. Here is a cute video of her playing!

Ava does well with other dogs and LOVES to play with them. When she was recently at an adoption event at Petsmart, she wanted to play with all the dogs that were there -- she simply likes all of them, and from what I can tell, they like her! She also has a big soft spot for people -- even more so than doggies :-).

Just look at that sweet face!!!

Ava does pretty well on a leash, although she is very energetic, meaning she loves to run while on the leash. She would make an awesome running or hiking partner.

Behaving beautifully on our walk!

Her favourite game is when we get to a big puddle, to use her jaws to scoop the water, throw it in the air, and then playfully bite at it and try to "get it". So. Adorable!

"I love running around!!!"

Who can resist that sweet face and heart of gold? I sure can't!!!

Ava lives in Kennel 9. She would love a visit!!!!

For more questions about Ava or adoptions from APS, email doginfo@apsofdurham.org.

Claire -- ADOPTED!

Claire is a sweetheart. That's probably the first word I think of when I think of her. There are so many things about her besides her sweet nature though that draw me to her. She's honestly one of my favourite dogs to spend time with and walk at the shelter.

How pretty!!!

Claire is awesome on the leash whether we're walking or running (she loves when we run!). She's very attentive to where my body is and never trips me, pulls me, or runs into me. Honestly, they don't get any easier to walk than Claire.

I always have a happy smiley face!

She also enjoys running, whether on leash or in the exercise pen. She really just likes running (see the video at the end of the blog for proof!)

Good sits = hot dogs, and I love hot dogs!

One of my other favourite things about Claire is her ability to learn and eagerness to please. In terms of training, these are just so important in a dog. She has a really solid "sit", even sitting before I ask her (she reads my body language, knows I'm about to ask her, and preemptively does it...how's that for intelligence?!?) We are also working on "come" and she's doing well with that.

Spotting some human or canine friends

Claire does very well with other dogs, and seems to like being around them as well as people. She's very dog-savvy in the sense that she reads other dogs' body language very well and responds in kind.

I love exploring and running around!

Last weekend I got to play with her in the grassy pen at APS, where we both had a lot of fun. Here is a video of her running around with me and loving every second of it!!!

Claire is currently in Kennel 4 at APS of Durham! She would love for you to visit!!!