Moving on up

This is me reaching into the car for a
farewell nose kiss.

Today was Duggan's adoption day. He has moved on to his new home and I'm sure he has had a happy and a busy day. The adopters are first-time shepherd owners, but Duggan is really pretty well suited for that. He doesn't seem to have any of the more difficult GSD behaviors that we often see. He's just a happy pup who loves everything and everyone. Very lab-like personality actually, and that's a good thing.

The adopters got themselves prepared this week and it's safe to say that Duggan will be spoiled. His limited vision will present some challenges for all of them, but I feel confident that everything will work out.

Duggan will have every material thing he needs, but more importantly,
he will have the time and attention that a young dog needs.

Carly is the rottie in the middle, Theo is the shepherd on the
left and Trooper is the shepherd on the right. Her response to
being surrounded is just to drop down, look up, and be sweet.

Any dog leaving or coming in usually means there's some rearranging to do. I had been keeping Max away from Duggan because Duggan didn't understand Max or how to deal with him. That meant that Max had been spending the day in a kennel by himself and in the shed at night because all the crates in my office were full with Duggan, Sherman, and Rex. Even Sparky was ousted from his crate at night. With Duggan gone I could move Max back into the dog yard. I needed to get Carly integrated with the pack, so I moved her over to the dog yard late in the afternoon where she met Theo, Trooper, and Max. My plan is for Carly and Max to share the shed at night and the dog yard during the day.

Carly was happy about the move, happy to have some friends to play with, happy to have room to run. She's a happy dog and she did a lot of running, which explains the blurry pictures. She was good with the three shepherd boys that she met today, dropping down submissively when one of them approached her. She's a good girl, but she's going to need some work on leash manners, house manners, and just controlling her level of enthusiasm.

Trooper, Guardian of the Manse

Carly on the run.

Trooper is so good with new dogs,
he's the one I let them meet first.
He's an ideal temperament test dog,
but he's so bad with people that I
can't take him places.