Danali Has Been Adopted!

Just before her new family arrived.




Danali and her new forever family!

After playing in the snow...

All pooped out!

Okay, now she really LOVES running in the snow!!

**The big crash you hear towards the end is Thatcher running into the house, sliding across the tile floor, and sliding into his food and water bowls. Don't worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this video!**

Our First Snow!

Checking out all the new white stuff that wasn't there when she went to bed last night!



Starting to enjoy the snow with brother Harley!

Worn Out After Thanksgiving...

Snuggle Time

Thatcher and Danali cuddled up on the couch...

Danali Update

Now that Danali has been with us for a few days, we have gotten to know her better. She is such a sweet little girl. She loves to give kisses and cuddle on the couch before bedtime. She gets along great with our big Labby boys and loves to run around the yard with them. She is doing VERY well with crate training. She knows that bedtime means crate time and will walk right in with no problems at all. She sleeps through the night (although she is an early riser) and hasn't had any accidents in the crate so far. She is pretty good about letting you know when she needs to go out. Sometimes she will whine at the door and other times she will walk around looking a bit suspicious. She has no problems going potty outside (even on the really cold mornings). We are working on her basic commands, and she seems to be picking them up well. She is very food motivated and that is always helpful with training. She has such a sweet little face, it's hard to resist scooping her up and just cuddling with her 24-7. :)

Meet Danali!

Next up...Danali! Danali just arrived and we are excited to get to know her better so we can update you all on this sweet little pup. Until then, enjoy a few pictures provided by Julie.

Maci Has Been Adopted!

I'm very, very happy to announce that Maci has found her forever home! She met her new family on Saturday and it was such a special moment. I couldn't tell who was happier: Maci when she ran out the door to meet her new family, The Petersons when Maci jumped into her new Dad's lap and wouldn't leave his side, or me, to finally see Maci connected with her new family and know it was a perfect match!! In other words, it was a GREAT weekend!

I've already been updated on Maci's long ride home and her first few days with her new family, and she is fitting in perfectly. I'm excited to hear more and to keep in touch with the Petersons as this story continues.

It's dogs like Maci and families like the Petersons that remind us why we do what we do and how special it is to help a family find the missing piece to their puzzle.

Lazy Saturday Afternoon

Maci, Maci, Maci. What can I say? We absolutely LOVE this little girl! She is such a sweet and loving puppy. She gets along great with her big Labby foster brothers. Even though Thatcher (silver lab) outweighs her by a good 80lbs, she still holds her own when they are playing in the yard. She chases him, he chases her, they stop to wrestle, get back up and do it all over again.

Even though Maci still has a lot of puppy energy, she is not excessively hyper or obnoxious. When the house is calm and the other dogs are just lying around, she does the same. Her favorite spot to take a nap is on the back of the couch next to the window (like the picture above). She will get up there and sleep the day away (until we, or one of the dogs, wake her up to play!).

She is a FANTASTIC passenger in the car. We haven’t had the need to put her in the crate during a car ride. She just sits in the back seat and goes right to sleep no matter how long the car ride is. She doesn’t bark or whine or try to get in your lap at all. She is a very special pup with a great personality. If we could keep her, we would!

A Day At The Park...

Maci & Thatcher

Ms. Maci Has Arrived!

We are pleased to introduce the newest edition to Give A Dog A Home!, Maci!

Maci is an approximately 16 week old Yellow Lab mix. She is still very tiny (although it is hard to tell from this picture) and just as sweet as can be. She loves to lay on her back and have her belly rubbed and cuddle as much as possible.

Last night was her first night with us and she slept perfectly in the crate all through the night. Not a peep! This morning I let all the pups out, fed them when they came back in, and then Maci went into our room and right back to sleep. She takes being a "lazy puppy" to a whole new level!

Maci is so sweet and loving and, from what we have seen so far, has a wonderful disposition. I will post more pics later this week and add new pics and info to the Fluffy Dog website as well.

Colt Found a Forever Home!

We are VERY happy to announce that Colt has found a forever home! He is now a proud resident of Grayslake, IL and living quite comfortably with his new dad, Jason. He also has a new name. He now goes by, Draper (named after Jason's favorite hockey player). We were sad to see our little Colt go, but extremely happy to know he is in good hands and will be loved very, very much. It's a good thing Jason came along when he did. Colt definitely had the potential to make us foster failures. Below is a picture of Draper and his new Dad.

Fetch!

Playing Outside!

Colt and the Boys Haning Around the House...

Meet Colt!!

Please allow me to introduce the newest member of the Give A Dog A Home! blog...Colt!!

Colt is a 5 month old purebred Chocolate Labrador Retriever. He recently made his way to Madison via Clanton, Alabama. This little guy is 100% puppy!! He is full of energy and love and has plenty to share with everyone he meets. So far, he has fit in with our family wonderfully. He LOVES his two lab foster brothers and truly can't get enough of them. He loves people just as much as his four legged friends and is very eager to please. As with most labs, Colt is VERY food motivated. So far we have been able to teach him to sit and are working on down, wait, stay, etc. He sleeps in a crate at night and also stays in there during the day while we are at work. His first experience with the crate went as expected. He barked for about the first 5 minutes then made the usual lab groan and went to sleep. Now, after 4 days, he seems to understand that when he goes in the crate, it's time to sleep. No more barking at night! Also, no accidents in the house or crate! I can't say that he is completely potty trained (yet), but he is well on his way. I will report back soon with more info as we get to know Mr. Colt better!

This is Porter after a bath! He is so fluffy and furry, you can't even see his eyes! He was so good while we gave him a bath. He just sat there and drank out of the faucet every so often. He didn't whine or try to get out until we told him he was all done. We didn't know what to expect since this was his first bath with us, we were pleasantly surprised! He even let me blow dry him (my labs refuse to let me do that to them!).

Porter has been with us a month now, and doing wonderful. He is such a good puppy. I really can't say it enough. Still no accidents, rides great in the car, sleeps soundly next to our bed (he's no longer in a crate at night), hangs out in the crate when we aren't home, plays great with our dogs, LOVES my sister's daughters and all of the other children he meets, walks nicely on a leash, comes right away when you call his name no matter what he is doing or where he is...I could go on like this forever.

He truly is a wonderful dog. It will be very difficult for us to see him go, but we know he will be happy in his future forever home (hopefully soon!).

DNA Results Are In!

After much anticipation, the DNA results for the Disney Pups are finally in! ::Drum Roll Please::

• 37-74% Chow Chow
• 20-36% Golden Retriever
• 10-19% Lab

For the most part, the results come at no surprise to us. With the purple and pink tongue and fluffy coat, we new some part of Porter had to be Chow Chow. He definitely has Golden Retriever characteristics in his longer coat and triangle shaped ears. And lastly, his large webbed paws, wavy top coat (along the top of his back) and those big brown eyes definitely shows the Labrador in him. But there is one GLARING omission to this list...SCHNAUZER! We were shocked to see this missing from the DNA results. To us, his face screams Schnauzer (as well as to all of our friends/family and strangers we have met since having Porter).

When Porter first arrived, we did a little internet searching for Lab/Schnauzer mixes, Golden Retriever/Schnauzer mixes, first generation Labradoodle, to name a few. Below is a picture of a young Lab/Schnauzer mix next to a picture of our very own Mr. Porter...let us know what you think...


3 Month Old Lab/Schnauzer mix


5 Month old Porter!

Regardless of what Mr. Porter's genealogy may or may not be, he is a sweet and loving puppy who makes us laugh everyday, curls up with us on the couch, sleeps soundly next to our bed at night, rides perfectly in the car, and is an all-in-all WONDERFUL pup anyone would be lucky to adopt!

New Pictures of Mr. Porter!

Porter (48lbs) with Harley (95lb Choc Lab)
and Thatcher (105lb Silver Lab)!












Showing off his Purple and Pink tongue!













He sure does like showing that thing off!













Such a sweet face!

Running With The Labs!

Porter

This picture cracks me up! It's hard to tell if Porter is trying to give Thatcher a little kiss, or if he is sticking his tounge out saying "neener-neener, you can't catch me!"

Porter is probably the most content puppy I have ever met. He loves to play, but even more, he LOVES to sleep! His new favorite place to nap is in the living room in our Papasan chair. If we leave a blanket in the chair for him, he will curl up underneath it and snooze the day away. But, of course, when he is in the backyard with our other pups, he will just run and run and run until he can’t run anymore. Then he will sit in the middle of the yard and watch the other dogs run. He lets out a few barks when he is really excited, other than that, he isn’t much of a barker at all.

He no longer sleeps in the crate at night. He has gained our trust and now sleeps with his foster brothers next to our bed. He rarely gets up in the middle of the night and when/if he does, it’s just to reposition himself and he falls right back to sleep. He does stay in his crate while we are away from the house, and although he has started to give a little push back when it’s time to go in (nothing a few treats can’t fix!), he still hasn’t had any accidents or chewed up his bedding. Actually, he hasn’t chewed up anything at all. Sometimes you will catch him carrying around a sock or shoe, but he never chews on them…just carries them from one room to another. He is even very gentle with toys and doesn’t rip them apart like some puppies do.

He is a true sweetheart and when the day comes, we will be sad to see him go, but happy to know he has finally found his forever home!

Loving Life!

His favorite sleeping position!

Showing off his purple and pink tongue!

Looking for his treat!

Too tired to worry about treats...but his Lab brothers are more than willing to split his share!

Porter

Porter (aka Pummba) is an absolute doll! So far he has adapted very well to his new life and loves to run and play with his two lab foster brothers. He is getting used to the idea of staying in his crate while we are gone and sleeping in there at night. So far, he hasn’t had any accidents. The first night in the crate he barked for about 5 minutes, but once he realized he wasn’t alone, and we were right there next to him, he calmed down and went right to sleep. In the morning we found him laying on his back snoring!

He has been picking up on basic commands very well and has very good manners. He rarely jumps up on people or furniture at all, and if he does, he responds well to our quick corrections. He has not been aggressive with us or our other dogs in any way whatsoever. We can take things right out of his mouth (including treats and toys) and he isn’t fazed in the slightest. He rides very well in the car and usually just curls up and falls asleep.

Our morning walks have been great. He doesn’t pay much attention at all to the cars that drive by or other walkers (unless they have a dog with them, then he wants to play!). He pulls a little, but that nothing that can't be fixed with some training. He hasn't chewed on any of our furniture, shoes, etc., but every once in a while he might run off with a slipper or sock left on the ground. We're pretty sure that is more about the chase than the chewing anyway. After all, he is still a puppy!

He loves to curl up in your lap (if you let him) and give lots and lots of puppy kisses! All in all he is a great dog and will make a wonderful addition to any family.