My name is Toni!

For more pictures please see http://furtherphotos.blogspot.com



THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR US TO FIND A WONDERFUL HOME FOR THIS PUP ASAP! Please read her description and feel free to pass it along to anyone you know who may be interested. For pictures please see http://furtherphotos.blogspot.com



Toni is a 40 pound, one-year-old lab mix gal whom we have found to be a true delight in our foster home. Although still very much a ‘work-in-progress’, her house manners are impeccable even down to the point where she will patiently wait in her crate (without barking) to go out until after all the other dogs have had their turn. She has never chewed up anything in our home and does not show any signs of separation anxiety when we need to leave her alone in her crate.



When required to, Toni will also sit and wait at the door until given permission to go out in the yard. She has never had an accident in the house. And, while she would probably prefer to lay around on the couch next to you or wait expectantly under the table for a tasty morsel to fall, she readily moves away if asked to. She is reliable on most of her basic commands inside the house including ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘leave-it’, ‘off’, ‘come’ and ‘down’. Out in the yard, her reliability goes down a bit, but we are working on it.



As we mentioned above, please know that Toni did come to our rescue as a stray, very possibly after having escaped an abusive or neglectful situation. Because of this, she tends to be very fearful and cautious of new people the first few times she meets them. This usually manifests as barking and lunging towards the new person. We have been working with Toni exhaustively on this issue and she has made remarkable progress since we first took her into our home back in June of this year.



Today, even though Toni will still initially bark and lunge at new folks, she is easily re-directed back into a sit/stay. She will also eagerly (although still fearfully) approach new people to investigate their hands to see what sots of treats they have brought for her. Generally, after just a few minutes of being given treats but otherwise ignored, she visibly relaxes enough to just ‘hang out’.



Toni’s reactions are the most intense around some men (but not all). And they, in particular, will need to be ready to be patient, approach slowly and work with Toni gently in order to build her trust and confidence in them. Most women (and kids), however, will find that if they kneel down, offer treats and give her time to approach on her own terms then Toni will generally warm up fairly quickly. (It also helps if they speak gently and avoid initial eye contact while getting acquainted.)



We are going to bet that if you are willing to put in the time, love and patience required than Toni really has the potential to be the most awesome friend and dog that you will ever have. Please believe that we don’t make this claim lightly. When comfortable, this happy girl is playful and full of spirit and goofy enthusiasm (as young lab-ish dogs tend to be). She loves car rides (although she does have a tendency for being car-sick) and thoroughly enjoys chasing tennis balls of all sizes. She may bark an alarm when someone approaches the house, but she is easily quieted back down.



But Toni’s higher energy level and exuberance for life is balanced very nicely with a gentle and laid-back temperament. In fact, when we are unable to take her for long walks, a good fifteen or twenty minutes of ball throwing in the back yard is usually enough to knock most of the extra energy right out of her. She comes back in the house breathing hard and ready for a good long nap. This makes for a great companion who’s ready for action whenever you are but who will also be happy ‘just chilling out’.



When it comes to kids Toni is (overall) very tolerant of the younger ones. While preferring to avoid it if possible, she will endure a rough hug or over enthusiastic pat on the back very well. We suggest, however, that she would fit easiest into a home where the children understand how to treat dogs kindly and will not try to deliberately frighten or play roughly her. Her ideal companions would probably be older kids or teenagers who are really just looking for a good hiking companion or ‘ball buddy’.



Despite our earlier opinion, we have recently come to believe that Toni should probably not be trusted around cats or other smaller animals (including smaller dogs or even other dogs that are older and may have health issues). Experience has shown us that she is much too likely to view them as ‘prey’ rather then ‘friend’.



This is not to say that Toni needs to be an ‘only dog’. If you have another young pup who is around her size or larger than Toni could really do very well. She loves to wrestle with a 1-year-old buddy who often comes over to play. We have also, in the past, taken her to the local off leash dog park and not had any problems with her interactions there.



Toni would definitely enjoy a fenced-in-yard if you have one. However, if you do not, she would have an equally good time going for a long walk or a good jog or hike through the woods (the boggier, the better in her opinion). Sometimes, we have even attached her to a very long rope (50 feet or so) and gone to an empty field in order to play ball. We have found that, while being fearful and nervous around buildings, pet stores or very crowded urban areas, Toni has absolutely no fear of the ‘wild’.



Do you need a fishing companion? Take long car rides? Live by a lake? Spend time at the shore or have a boat you enjoy? Our girl will be the kind of dog who’d be more then happy to accompany you on an adventure for an hour, a morning or the whole day.



But if a day in the backwoods is not in your plans, you will still find Toni to be a very well mannered house pet. She is a smart dog who is very food and ball motivated and easy to train (with positive reinforcement).




Our family has fostered many dogs and we really believe that Toni is something very special. She may not be the dog for everyone. But we still believe that this sweet girl is the perfect dog for someone. She’s just waiting for them to come and get her.



Toni is in great physical shape and current and up-to-date on all required vaccines including rabies. She is also negative for heartworm and is on flea/tick prevention. She had also been spayed.