Shantel is a beautiful looking dog with a soft, shiny black coat. She is very sweet, calm and friendly with everyone. She loves to be around people and would make a wonderful family companion. Shantel is approximately 3 years old and currently weighs 50 lbs.
Here is what her foster family had to say:
Shantel (we call her Shanty) has been a lovely dog to foster. She is friendly, eager to please, wants to be around her people and has a nice energy level where she loves her walks but is also happy to nap on the floor in front of the tv at night. We've found her to be highly entertaining with some of her quirks - she is a bit of a hoarder at heart and will often wander around the house to find shoes, toys, and other items she can get her nose on to bring back and pile in the living room for us. Her primary focus is not chewing she just seems to enjoy creating a pile to sleep by. She walks nicely on a leash and does not pull, and will also run with you and adjust to your pace.
When she came to us she seemed to understand no verbal commands (other than she was very quick to stop when told NO) but has learned to SIT and is getting much better at coming when called as well. She also will fetch a ball or toy and bring it back and give it right up. She is highly motivated by love and attention and less so by treats.
She appears to be house trained and seems to have no problem holding her bladder in between her daily walks, including when we leave her for a 9 hour work day. We believe she would do very well with some obedience training as she is a quick learner and very eager to please.
Shanty does not like her crate at all. We put in her at night the first couple of nights which was met with some whining and resistance when the crate was not in close proximity to where we were sleeping. We have since let her sleep out on her blanket at night and she is very happy with that arrangement. During the day we've been using the crate for approx. 9 hours while we are at work which she is not enjoying.
She is also very gentle when taking toys or treats from us and is very light on her feet and quiet in the house. For a 50 lb dog when she first arrived we could not hear her coming to tell where she was in the house so we had to tie a key onto her collar so we could hear the jingling to keep track of her. Shanty has warmed up to us very quickly and we believe she would be a great addition to any family.
We believe that Shanty would be a wonderful pet for anyone - single, couple or family. She is very gentle and loving and would love to be with someone who was around part of the day, but she could also be trusted to be left on her own as she does not have a destructive streak and is fully house trained. She would not do well in a situation where she has to be crated from 9-5pm and would prefer to be shut in a laundry room or spare room where she can't hurt anything and can relax with her bed and her toys and some room to move around. Her energy level is very balanced and she will walk or nap depending on what you feel like doing. She is very gentle and although we have not had her around children we believe she would do fine with them. We've found her to be a very loving, friendly dog who would make an excellent companion.
If you would like to make Shantel part of your family, please submit an application for consideration.
