Adopt a Shepherd / Mixed

Talia is a laid-back, loving shepherd who is eager to please and just wants to be loved and hugged. She gets overly excited when you return from being gone or first wake up in the morning. She jumps up to express her love and excitement. Perhaps because of her shepherd mix (or her love for her people), she corrects easily. Like most dogs, she will need consistency and repetition, but a stern “Talia, NO” makes her stop instantly.

With time and patience, Talia will fit well in any home where there is someone to pet and love her. Initially, she may be frightened and revert back to fear peeing. She simply needs patience and love to continue to progress into the awesome dog she is. She may not do well with small children because she does jump on people and doesn’t know her size. She could be easily taught not to jump and be more gentle but will need consistent training to do so.

Talia doesn’t like dogs that immediately jump in her face. She will growl at them but she’s never snapped or bitten. She simply growls to let them know she doesn’t like them.I

n our home, Talia experienced a laid-back dog (Shiloh) and a more in-your-face dog (Hope). She was tested at the shelter and we knew we might have issues with her and Hope. As such, we did slow intros and had no problems. Talia does a bit of resource guarding with food and toys (a slight growl to warn others to stay away). We corrected her when we heard the growl and she stopped immediately. The growl, however, is very low and we often didn’t hear it. Talia immediately took to Shiloh and there was never any growling between those two. I will say, however, if there is bacon involved, all bets are off. We made bacon once while Talia was with us and nothing furry (cats or dogs) were allowed in the kitchen. Anyone who tried, Talia barked at (sending them out or running). Not even the cats were allowed in the kitchen. And Talia planted herself in front of the stove. Note, Talia didn’t get any of the bacon (she just guarded it). She didn’t “guard” any of our other food.

For the most part, she simply ignores the cats. She knows they are there but doesn’t interact with them. On occasion, she barked at them but ours simply turned and went the other way.

Since she does jump on her people, I would caution around small children. Talia doesn’t know her size and is very eager to express her love and affection. She doesn’t jump on strangers, just her people. Note: we do not have children and couldn't actually test her.

We simply tell Talia to get in her crate or go night-night and she walks in without any problem. During the day, the crate door is shut and she settles down with her Nylabones. At night, we leave the crate door open and she goes in and out as she pleases. Talia rarely barks - if she does, there is something you need to pay attention to.

As for potty training, it took a bit for us to learn Talia’s signals. First, Talia stays with her peeps, pretty much at their feet. When she starts to wander away from her people, she’s looking for a place to potty and needs to go out. She doesn’t go to the door or whine.

Talia LOVES Nylabones! She chews them down to nothing. It’s not uncommon to find her with more than one in her mouth (while she lays on several others). If another dog (Hope) took a toy, Talia would wait patiently for Hope to drop it or walk away. At that point, Talia would take it back. Hope never took a toy out of her mouth, just ones that were lying next to Talia. On occasion, Talia would growl if Hope got too close. We attempted to correct and Talia has shown a lot of improvement in sharing.

When Talia first came to us, she fear peed when we tried to put a leash on her. However, she has grown to love and gets excited when she sees the leash. We used a harness with her and it worked perfect! She’s even better on a leash than our residents. For most of the walk, she is slightly ahead of me with quite a bit of slack in the leash. Towards the end of the walk, she is by my side. Note, there is always a resident next to her (who is often pulling me one way or another). On occasion, Talia started to lunge after a squirrel. However, if I said NO, she stopped and redirected immediately. If she started to dawdle or sniff too long, all I have to say is “Talia, come” and she redirects.

Talia is a love bug. She absolutely loves it when people give her hugs and kisses on the head. Many fearful and timid dogs, don’t want to be approached, much less hugged or kissed. However, Talia is eager for love and affection. She is also eager to please, which is why she corrects so easily.

Age: 1 year
Weight: 65 lbs

If you are interested in adopting, please fill out an application on our website at http://www.lasthopek9.org/ 

Questions? Please email [email protected].  For more photos, or information on upcoming adoption events where you can meet her, please go to www.lasthopek9.org or go to our Facebook page. Thank you for your interest in saving a life!