Jessie

Jessie is a sweet, quiet girl.
Shy to begin with, she is a quick learner and although she is being the puppy she is (loves stealing shoes and seems to have a fetish for Mike’s trainers!) she is not an overly excitable dog.

She hasn't been around young children while with us but as she is not overly boisterous she may well end up being a great companion for kids. We walk past a small park play area on our walks and it is often filled with kids. Though she is interested in them she isn’t anxious or distracted by them.

She loves to play fetch- quite funny really cause she doesn’t know her name (though we are getting there) and she didn’t seem to initially understand ‘no’ but somewhere along the line someone taught her to fetch! Short walks are the order of the day. We haven’t had too many encounters with other dogs on our walks, the first was only a few days after we got her, and she growled and was unhappy about another dog being around.

Since then we’ve come across a huge german shepherd on one walk, and two labradors on the other. Although both times we were still some distance from the dogs (one side of the road to the other) there was no growling or barking. She seemed more excited and wanted to go say hi. It took a bit of distracting to coax her on but I think with time closer encounters with other dogs might be possible. She is quite easy to control on the lead – I had no worries about her getting away from me.
I think that when she was attacked by her brother (giving her a nasty scar on her back hind quarter) he must have snuck up behind her – she seems to be a little anxious and wary about things coming up behind her. Yesterday on her walk she walked under a low hanging bush and let out a yelp – there was nothing obvious there that could have hurt her – I think it was actually the branch brushing her hind leg, near her scar and it was actually a yelp of fright. Even when I pat or rub her hindquarters she is a little wary. Not any hint of aggression though.

She does do a little snapping thing when she is excited or about to be served her dinner. Never actually trying to bite anyone – just kind of snapping at the air. Definitely an excitement thing. She is very very gentle when taking food from my hand.
We’ve left her home alone several times since she arrived. We keep her indoors and there have been no accidents. No destroyed shoes or evidence that she is unhappy at being left alone. Of course, I’m sure she would prefer not to be left behind!

In the mornings on weekends, after I feed her (she is an early riser, 6am on the dot!) I have started shutting her out of the bedroom so we can get a sleep in, and she has been really good with this. Goes back to her mat without much of a fuss.

All in all, she is a really sweet-tempered dog. With the right training she will be a very well-behaved young lady. Very low maintenance and a fast learner. My suggestion would be perhaps that she not go to a home with small children – based purely on the anxiety she still seems to have about being snuck up on.