Gabby is an incredibly fun, very enthusiastic pit mix puppy with a lot of joy, love, and eagerness. She is one of those dogs that just puts you in a good mood. There's no doubt about it: she just loves life.
Pretty Gabs
Gabby is young and still has a lot of puppy energy, although she's old enough that this energy is easy to direct. She walks pretty nicely on the leash and doesn't pull very much. She is constantly happy to be with people and loves both walking and running!
She loved being held!
One of the first things I noticed about Gabby besides her happiness and playfulness was how great she was with other dogs. I used he assistance in taking a shier dog for a walk and she made the whole time a blast. She did great with the other dog, inviting him to play, letting him chase her etc. She has very nice doggie manners and would probably do very well in dog parks or socializing with people and dogs.
Ears on full alert!
We took Gabby out to the grassy pen to play with her. Although she seemed interested in toys, she didn't want to chase them, so instead we just ran around the yard with her sans toy. She seemed to love that as she is quite athletic and bouncy and just likes to run.
Running back and forth between us!
We then sat down on the bench (Gabby beat us to it) and had some cuddle time. Even though she can barely sit still for very long, she really loves affection and she's so eager for it that it makes it really fun to snuggle with her.
Kisses <3
Gabby is quite smart and already knew sit before we took her on the walk. She sat nicely and waited patiently for her treat and seemed very food motivated.
A good sit with lots of focus!
She is a really fun dog and will fit right in with whomever meets her. She loves people, dogs, running, playing, hot dogs ... pretty much everything. Her excitement is contagious and we had so much fun hanging out with her. She's going to make a very lucky person very happy!
Come meet me!!!
If you'd like to meet Gabby, she lives in Kennel 8 and she'd love to make you smile and laugh!
Orlando is one of those dogs that exist in shelters all over where what you see is not what you get. Let me explain because this is somewhat of a different post from my usual profiles.
When I first met Orlando at the shelter he seemed very shy. He didn't seem very eager to walk or play at all because he seemed to me to be a bit fearful. I didn't know whether he had just come up to the front or not so I didn't pay much attention to it because many dogs who move kennels up to the front are a bit nervous for the first day or two until they adjust.
By the time I walked him a few weeks later Orlando had regressed. He now seemed scared of a lot of places. He only seemed ok to go on the walking trail a certain way. We couldn't walk to the grassy pen because he would freeze and lower his body to the ground and refuse to keep walking.
He seemed to do a little better if I could get another volunteer to walk a dog with us -- he seemed to be a bit more confident, but if he was alone every noise would worry him.
One week I decided to just carry him to the grassy pen to try to get him to play. Instead of playing, he just stood at the entrance/exit and tried to get out (no digging or jumping--just trying to nose at the gate). This was the first time I tried to write a profile on him and I was at a loss at how to do it. He seemed so nervous and worried at all the sounds and the place that I felt like I was almost hurting him to keep him there. So we went back inside.
Wanting to get out of the grassy pen.
What you see when you see Orlando in his kennel is sometimes an excited dog. He will jump or seem eager to get out and go for a walk with you. However, once he is in the visitation room or outside on his lead, he just gets really frightened. It seemed like anyone who would give him a chance and visit with him would see only this side of him and that would be really sad.
So this past weekend, Ryan and I brought him home for the day to play with our dogs and be part of our pack. We really wanted to see what he would be like away from the shelter, away from all the other dogs and noises and whatever else scares him.
What I saw when we brought him home simply amazed me. He transformed into a different dog entirely! I finally saw his playful carefree side roaming and running around with my dogs. I saw him finally start to take treats even though I could never even get him to sniff at a hot dog at the shelter. I saw him overcome fears of noises and large objects one by one --- all in one afternoon!
Happiness!!!!!!!
Orlando is an incredible dog. Within less than 30 seconds he'd won over our oldest dog, a 3 yr old Aussie who immediately started doing play bows with him and running around our backyard (see video below).
The next of our dogs to meet him is a rather shy dog who doesn't cherish canine attention and can get quite nervous -- well, he put her at ease entirely! I actually think he may have helped her overcome some of her fears (talk about doggie therapy!). He was incredibly well-mannered with her, and with all of our pack.
Q loves a good game of chase. Orlando obliged!
The third of our girls he met he also did amazing with. She is on the smaller side (much smaller than he is) and doesn't always understand typical canine cues and how to respond to them. Well, again, whatever he did was magic, because she didn't react to him at all -- just started playing with him. Usually it takes her an adjustment period to warm up to a dog, but not with him, she didn't need it since he was so non-confrontational and to put it in human terms, kind.
Chasing after a toy or the girls or BOTH!
He seemed to just LOVE running around with the three girls and us. They chased tennis balls and other toys we would throw. They wrestled. They chased us when we ran around but mostly each other, stopping every now and then to sniff at things.
Loving his new playmates :-)
They met our neighbor, even though he was fixing a fence with loud hammering. Although the noise startled Orlando at first, he actually walked up to the neighbor to sniff him through the fence. Such a drastic change from the dog I met at the shelter.
Play wrestling. This is a favourite at our house.!
Orlando was originally nervous about all of our outdoor furniture, especially the chairs and umbrella table. We simply sat down with the girls at our feet and let him work it out. In under 15 minutes he was laying with the girls right under the chairs and umbrella he was nervous about. It was truly remarkable how fast him mind seemed to just switch.
Focusing for treats
We discovered some added bonuses during the day with him as well. The first is that he is pretty smart and highly food motivated. As I mentioned, I had never been able to get him to take treats at the shelter while he was nervous. But at home, he loved them! We started have him sit and wait for them and he learned VERY quickly. He seemed incredibly eager to please us and we had him work through some of his apprehensions about various outdoor furniture with the aid of treats and our dogs. He did wonderfully.
A much needed sniff break.
He also has an incredibly soft mouth while taking treats and an incredibly soft nature in general. He really loves affection -- loves to be on a lap (although he doesn't know he's a bit big for the lap at all!). I love his cuddly side so much and it was so amazing to finally see it.
Gentle mouth and very smart!
He rides very well in the car -- on the way back to the shelter he just laid down and closed his eyes. No doubt he was tired from all the running with the girls, but also he seemed very calm. I was really sad to bring him back knowing how happy he was in a home.
Hey handsome!
Orlando definitely needs a home with another canine companion in my opinion. He really looks to them for guidance to see if a situation is ok and how to deal with it. He is an amazing companion and very athletic so he would be a great running partner or doggie play partner.
Hanging out with Emmy
He walks nicely on a lead as long as he's not trying to run away from something. He is very polite greeting both people and other dogs. Basically, he's amazing...it just took getting him away from the shelter for me to see it.
Such amazing eyes! Love them!
What I want to ask of you is that if you're reading this and you plan to visit him, please don't judge his behaviour based on how he is at the shelter. Sometimes what you see pales in comparison to what you get.
Amelia is a sweetheart. Every time I walk by her kennel she lays there and looks up at me with her big dark eyes and just melts me. She's always calm when I'm walking by -- never jumps around or gets out of control -- just silently asks me to take her out and spend some time with her.
Sweet face.
Amelia is a quiet lab mix who is on the shier side. She was very calm, although definitely excited, when I told her we were going out. She walks nicely on her leash and prefers quieter places where she can just be with her human.
Gorgeous girlie.
When we went out to the grassy pen, she was a bit unsure at first, but as soon as I got out the soft toys, I had her full attention. She absolutely loved running to get them and bringing them back. She would be an excellent dog to learn fetch because she seems to understand the need to both chase and then retrieve the toy.
She's a great runner, if you can tell!
She also enjoyed playing a little tug with me. I typically don't encourage this with dogs I don't know very well, but since she was on the shy side and seemed to warm up to me and enjoy it a lot, I figured it couldn't hurt. Well, she definitely loved it! Although she had no problem if I eventually won the toy and threw it again. It was all fun to her.
Games with the stuffed monkey!
Once Amelia and I had walked back we sat down on a bench to cuddle. She definitely likes being pet and I think she would enjoy it much more without distractions of other dogs, people, loud noises etc. She can be a bit worried about those things, but I know she wants to relax and enjoy her person's company -- she just needs a quieter place to do it.
I loved seeing her more carefree with her toys!
Amelia is a great size with a super soft coat and an adorable black tail and dark eyes. She seems to do well with other dogs, and especially if it's a dog she trusts, it could help her come out of her shell a bit.
Come meet me!
She also seems like she would be great to train. She does well with very positive reinforcement and she loves hot dogs and she seems smart.
If you would like to meet her, she would love to have visitors. Careful though, she's a heart-melter :-)
I approach Dinah's kennel for the first time knowing only that she seems sweet from the few times I've seen her and that she has huge ears. What I don't know is that I'm in for a big treat. The moment she sees me she starts a full body wiggle. Yes, wiggle. Her tail is wagging, but so is the whole back half of her body -- back and forth -- more vigorously the closer I get. And I realize: this dog is beyond thrilled to see me, and suddenly, I can't wait to meet her either.
Adorbale smiley girl :-)
I enter her kennel and the wiggling keeps going, and even though she is excited, she doesn't jump on me. She's perfectly content to wiggle her body around in circles around me and try to kiss me as I put on her leash. It's a perfect start to a perfect walk/play time with Dinah.
Loving her sweet eyes!!!
Dinah surprised me when I took her out because I was expecting a hound walk -- meaning that she would be pulling me any which way the best smell was with her nose to the ground. She actually didn't start sniffing until we got in the playpen. She just really liked walking and REALLY loved running with me. I'm pretty sure I've never walked a hound there that actually wanted to run with me to the grassy pen. I was, of course, thrilled at this.
The running hound!
When we got in the grassy pen, I discovered Dinah's love for soft toys. She loves running around with them in her mouth or waiting patiently for you to throw them before chasing them and running around again. She is just hilarious, of course, when she is running because of those long hound ears.
Ears in the wind
Dinah is also super soft and cuddly. She loves being petted because she clearly loves people so much and I love petting her super silky soft ears which are just perfect and adorable.
Yay my toy!!! I love it!!!
Dinah also seems like she really wants to please and she is definitely food motivated, meaning that she should be super fun to train.
"Hello hotdog, what must I do to get you?"
On the walk back to her kennel, she was worn out from all the playing and she walked nicely with me without pulling. She would definitely be a great girl for hikes or people who love being outdoors because she seems to really enjoy her walking.
Come play with me!
If you'd like to see an adorable hound wiggle around in happiness, come visit Dinah in kennel 38 at APS of Durham!
Viola is an adorable older puppy who is a volunteer favourite :-). She is both super cute and super sweet with big dark eyes and puppy happiness.
Sitting patiently and watching the treats!
She is on the smaller side (probably 20-25 lbs. or so) and since she's already 6 months old, she won't be a large dog. She has a soft coat and these adorable perky ears which flip at the very tip (see below!).
Such a great stance!!
Viola is very excited to be around people. She walked nicely with us to the grassy play pen and was super eager to get inside and play.
Yay running!!!
She was one of the tougher pups to photograph because she was so energetic and funny that as soon as I thought I had a good shot -- she would wiggle the other way. However she was so enthusiastic about it that I couldn't help but laugh and keep clicking the shutter hoping a few would come out non-blurry!
"Quick, take the picture, because I can hardly stay still! There's too much fun to be had!"
Viola, in addition to knowing how to walk well, also does well with "sit". She waits eagerly for her hot dog treats and she seems like she'd be super fun to train because she's so enthusiastic about life, hot dogs, people...everything!
Hey happy-face!
She liked being in our laps and getting petted as well as chasing her toys around. She is quite affectionate in terms of puppies -- a lot of puppies have so much energy that it seems like they could never be held for too long. Viola very much likes being held and can definitely sit still if it was for affection!
"Can I come join you?"
For a smaller dog she can really move! She loved playing chase with us around the yard. She has a beautiful athletic build and will probably do great with frisbee, running/hiking, fetch, etc...
Runnin around
Viola does well with other dogs and because she is so young, will most likely be able to adapt well and be very easy to train!
If you'd like to visit Viola, she would love to wiggle around and show you her dance moves :-).
It's very hard to describe in words or even pictures how sweet little Miss Rose is. Somehow neither does her justice. She is just absolutely full to the brim with love, affection, and total sweetness.
Such a gorgeous, kind face!
Rose is marked as a staffie/whippet mix as she is both smaller and thinner than the typical American Staffordshire terrier or pit bull terrier would be, although she has that remarkably friendly "pit" smile that just melts my heart. She has a beautiful brindle coat and is oh-so-soft. I could pet her for hours, and she would definitely enjoy it as much as I would.
Perfect doggie smile :-)
Rose LOVES people. She loves affection and she really likes the combination of affection and a lap -- this seems to be the best in her mind. She turns her head around for smooches whenever possible, which is just the cutest thing. She is definitely eager when it comes to getting affection and it seems like she never can get enough to leave.
Loving her cuddles time!
She walks very nicely on a leash the several times we've been out with her and doesn't pull much at all. She is definitely attentive to her person or people and tries to stay with them.
Watching with interest, but it's way more fun to be held!
She will sit very very nicely and patiently wait for hot dog treats or for a toy to be thrown on a leash to be put on. She is polite when taking treats -- such a gentle nature.
Taking treats nicely for sitting!
Although she is young-ish (year to year and a half) she has the perfect mix of energy during playtime, but calmness/happiness during down times. She especially loves picking up soft toys and running around with them. The white pillow-y bone pictured below was definitely her favourite!
Yay! Favourite toy!
She very much enjoyed chasing toys around the grassy pen and hopping/running after Ryan as they chased toys together. She's quite energetic and would be fun to play fetch with, or at least a good game of chase.
"Come and get it!"
Here is a cute video of her and Ryan playing :-)
Rose seems to do well with other dogs. The first time I met her actually was when I was walking a very nervous/scared dog who didn't really quite trust me yet. I saw Ryan walking Rose and asked if my dog and I could follow them in the hopes that her quiet, gentle nature and confidence would help it. It worked like magic. All of a sudden, he really wanted to walk -- faster than I did to keep up with her. She was very patient, like she knew he was nervous and was there to help. It's amazing what dogs like her can do for both canine and human souls :-).
Don't those eyes just melt you!?
Rose would love to meet her future humans, so please stop by and visit her!
Sweet Timothy is a very affectionate, exceptionally fun, smaller lab mix who is about a year old. Two things struck me about him when I met him on Saturday.
So handsome!!
1). He's really really affectionate and he loves being a lapdog :-). The first thing we did was take him out of his kennel and to the nearest bench to get to know him a bit. As soon as Ryan sat down, Timothy was literally in his lap. Less than 2 seconds.
His home: a lap
He loves kissing people, being held, being petted, being talked to: he simply loves people. He really doesn't seem like he could ever meet a stranger because he's so open and friendly with everyone he meets. This is the sort of dog you would take to gatherings and parties because he could enchant everyone there.
Happy boy.
2). He can jump REALLY high for his toys.
Eye on the ball!
When we went in the playpen with him we started tossing around soft toys and eventually moved to a tennis ball so he could jump even higher. He seems delighted to chase, run and jump for toys. See video below!!! (Note: please excuse the blurry middle section. Focusing was not correct!)
One of the most amazing things about playing with him though is that he never once jumped on us, even when we held onto the toy for a longer time -- he simply waited for us to release it like the patient, awesome boy he is.
Waiting patiently for Ryan to throw his toy :-)
He is very fun and very energetic, although after 15-20 minutes he definitely needed to start taking it easy. All the jumping is tiring!
All tired now!
Timothy does well with other dogs and fabulous with people. He loved running with us as well as walking, so my guess is he would be great to take on hikes or for runs. After playing with him, Ryan and I got to take him to Petsmart for an adoption event where he charmed absolutely everyone he met, both people and dogs alike!
Such a sweet, happy face!
He is working on some tricks and has a solid "sit" and would do "down" for me a couple times in the grass. He seems intelligent, but most of all, really eager to please, meaning he'll be very trainable. Basically Timothy is the perfect companion who is incredibly affectionate and exceptionally athletic.
Perfect lap dog!
If you would like to meet Timothy, he would love to happily curl up on your lap and show you how friendly and affectionate he is!
