My name is Jada!

Status: Available for adoption
Current Age: 3 years
Good with kids: Yes, older kids
Good with dogs: Yes, males her size
Good with cats: Yes

April 30, 2015 Update:

This dog is absolutely marvelous! Her only imperfections are in her legs. Everything else about her is absolutely beautiful. She has a grade 4, medial luxating patella in her right rear leg that could be corrected with surgery. She has advanced hip dysplasia in both rear hips, (the right is worse than the left). And she has an old fracture in the lower right rear leg that never healed properly. She is currently taking Phycox daily and it seems to keep the spring in her step. She bounces and plays and romps and runs, but only for short periods of time before she chooses to lay down and rest her legs for a while. She does well on stairs and as long as she isn’t tired from play, she is able to get up and down into the truck on her own. If she has been playing all day, she requires some assistance to get in a vehicle or onto the bed. This problem could easily be solved by a portable set of steps or something similar.

Jada can be cautious with strangers. When company comes over, she typically barks at the arrival of a vehicle and any knock on the door or doorbell. Once company enters the home or yard, she approaches cautiously and prefers people who are firm with her upon introduction and not talking baby talk or acting silly. She very easily remembers visitors, too. She quickly becomes fond of our regular visitors and approaches them with wiggle butt and nose pushes after just a couple of visits.

Jada keeps her crate very clean and quiet and prefers to have a blankie and an antler in her resting space. If you leave her cage door open, she will go inside and rest on her own when she is tired. She leaves her antler inside and almost never brings it out into the room, but chews on it often when resting in her crate space. Her favorite space is on the couch. She goes there immediately and at every opportunity and lays there watching the world from her soft spot. She loves a pile of blankets to snuggle into.

Jada plays well with other dogs as long as they are friendly. She does not like dogs who jump on her back end, but is very tolerant of puppy silliness. She allows other dogs to approach her toys and enter her crate as well. Her and her foster home's male chocolate lab regularly chase each other around the yard with a rubber ball going back and forth between the two of them.

Jada and the cat have become pals and sleep next to each other on the couch regularly. She has also been tested with chickens on leash. If given the chance, she will lay in the sun near the chickens and watch them do their thing for hours. She can see the neighbors’ horses from the yard and pays no attention to them unless they are out riding them on the road, in front of our house. When they are riding, Jada barks at them. However, when told to “leave it”, she reluctantly obeys. Horses are apparently very interesting!

Jada has been working on the following obedience things: sit, stay, wait, leave it, down, come, turn around, roll over, shake, and heel. She is good at most all of these things and is very food motivated. Just her normal kibble is enough of a treat to motivate her to learn something new. Jada is super smart and while she still needs some work on the perfect heel, she is coming along nicely, and her recall is perfect.

On outings to PetSmart and such, she is cautious with strangers, interested in the other dogs, and polite about browsing the shelves. She usually chooses an antler or a buffalo horn to bring home from her trip. She doesn’t really care much about any other toys unless I call her attention to them specifically. The cashier usually gives her a cookie, which she always accepts politely and slowly and gently.

Overall, Miss Jada is an absolutely wonderful girl!

March 23, 2015 Update:

Jada absolutely is a lap dog extraordinaire, she ADORES snuggle time and carrying a toy around the back yard! She wants to be on the couch all the time. She will do anything for a treat and has already learned sit, down, wait, stay, and is working on leash training.

She has a vet appointment coming up regarding her leg. She uses it and runs and bounces around, but it is obviously tender. She does not like it to be touched at all.

Jada seems fine with cats and is playful with large male dogs. We have not tested her yet with females or small dogs. She shows some interest in sniffing the cat but when the cat hisses and bats, she quickly retreats. We don't recommend Jada with small children at this time. She is great with older kids, but the small ones seem to stress her out when they get a little crazy.

March 3, 2015 Update:

So far, Jada is a perfect princess. She has obvious discomfort in her rear legs and we will be working to determine a medical plan going forward. She lays down as often as possible, but romps and bounds like a crazy dog when she is feeling like a spunky monkey. She wiggles like crazy when approached in her crate and is quiet and clean through the night.

Jada seems somewhat interested in the cat, but no intensely. There is also an injured chicken right now who is in a hospital crate in her foster home. Jada finds her interesting as well, but will ignore her when firmly asked to "leave it".

Jada is highly food motivated and either already knew or has learned in one day what " sit", and "come" mean. We will work on "down" next. It should be easy since she prefers to lay down anyway.