Meet Betsy!

Housebroken

Good with Children 5 years and older

Crate Trained

Affectionate and eager to please

Smart!

Does well with Dogs and Cats

Betsy is wonderful with other dogs. I don't think that there is a dog that she doesn't want to be friends with. Though her energy sometimes overwhelms other dogs, she is non-aggressive and handles rejection with indifference. She is always submissive, so a dominant dog will have an easy time with her.

Cats bring out the sniffing, seeking behavior in Betsy. She IS cat friendly.
 
Betsy is full of energy and occasionally jumps up. Though she wouldn't harm a fly, I think that she may be a bit too excited for toddlers. Taller children, ages 5 and up should not be a problem. In fact, they may be her best friend. She becomes extremely submissive and rolls on her back when she is touched. Though she plays rough with other dogs, she does not bite on a human hand. She plays more gently. We are working on this as well, however, to ensure that she has the proper playing behavior in general.
 
Betsy enjoys having one of us there and loves having other dogs around. However, she is fine by herself and with toys will entertain herself as needed. She has found great joy in her stuffed cat and a tug-a-jug.
 
She is housebroken and non-destructive in the home.
 
Betsy is in a crate at night and during the day, if we are away. Sometimes she protests and sometimes she doesn't. However, protests don't last more than 1-2 minutes and with a toy and a blanket, she will entertain herself until she falls asleep. Sometimes she does not willingly go into the crate, but we working on this as well. In a couple days, it shouldn't be an issue. However, she can easily be led into it by her collar. She can be left alone during the day in a crate for sure.


Walking Betsy can be a strain as she tends to pull. However, we walk her regularly and are practicing heal, stay, and sit. She learned to heal in one day and with a few more days of practice, she should rarely pull. When she sees something that excites her, she will head toward it, but it listens to commands to get her focus back.
 
She does not mind car rides at all. She is rather quiet.
 
Betsy came to us not knowing any commands, except "come". Since then, she has learned to come, sit, stay (only for a short time, but we are extending that daily), and Bah (our command when the dogs do something that we don't agree with). When she comes, she will come over and sit in the spot where your finger points, so it's important to point to where you want her to come. Typically, this is on the side, by your foot, indicating her level of respect. She is a very respectful pack member. We are hoping to extend her stay time and to teach her to shake.

 If a dog barks at her, she will bark back a couple times, but there is not much barking that comes from her. Her first bark was yesterday when she was protesting her kennel. After three barks, she was done.
 
Betsy will need a lot of exercise and/or mental stimulation. She is extremely smart and eager to please, but has a lot of energy. Regular walks or runs mixed with brain intensive games and learning commands helps to mellow her out. Though eager to please, she is a high energy dog and should be treated as such.
 
Betsy is extremely affectionate and loves to cuddle and be massaged. When being petted, she will roll on her back and close her eyes. When she is not being pet, she loves to play with toys and explore the world. She is very curious in finding new friends and enjoys checking out every inch of her surrounding, inside and outside.
 
After 1 hour with Betsy, we realized that she has the potential to be every dog owner's dream. She is the most non-aggressive, submissive dog I have ever met. Not to mention her friendly nature and eagerness to please. She is extremely affectionate and loyal. Betsy's other strong quality is her quick ability to learn. She learned to sit in a matter of three tries and now does it like she's never known any different. With a little time, even her pacing behavior will go away (it's already dwindling) and she will be anyone's dream dog. Cute, sweet, loyal, trainable, non-aggressive...even Ceasar Milan would be jealous.