Size
(when grown) Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg)
Details
Good with dogs,
Spayed or Neutered,
Story
Willa will be part of our Pop Up Program (followyourheartanimalrescue.org/pop-up-pups) and available to adopt ONLINE ONLY on Thursday, July 11th at 5:00pm. You must be able to finalize his adoption on Saturday, July 13th. Willa will be available to MEET ONLY on Saturday, July 6th at our Petsmart location (857 N Val Vista #106 , Gilbert, AZ 85234) from noon to 3:00PM.Meet WillaWilla is a black, almost 3 month old Standard Poodle. She initially came into the rescue after she was surrendered (with 12 other puppies and 3 adults) from a breeder who decided they were no longer going to continue breeding.Willa has the most youngest-sibling energy of the three girls in her litter. She starts out by tricking people into thinking she is a super sweet, shy girl when really she is probably the spunkiest of the bunch. She loves to dart into situations, stir up trouble, then dart out so she isn't the one to deal with the fallout of her actions. Willa likes to play with other dogs but can also be content entertaining herself off away from the chaos. She can often be found happily running around with a stuffy in her mouth: not chewing, just holding.Willa adapts to new situations rather well: she is not one to get scared or timid (unless it's fireworks going off while she is trying to go potty outside). She is a very smart girl who likes to ignore when she is being told to do something. She learns new routines pretty quickly but can be stubborn if she does not want to follow directions. Her and her sisters can be early risers but luckily not obnoxiously early.Willa has been around a cat for about a week when she was on a housesitting excursion with her sisters and foster mom. Her being about to co-exist with a cat probably depends on the cat(s)'s personality. She and her sisters seemed to like to follow, paw at, and try to play with the cat they met. They would take the cues when the cat told them to back off with a hiss and a swipe but would come back 5-10 minutes later and would do it all again. They didn't seem to chase with any intent, just wanted to try and get them to play. It took the cat disappearing or jumping to a place they couldn't get them until they finally stopped. With dogs, she can be a bit of a bulldozer with dogs who are similar or smaller in size. With her sisters, she can be all rough and tumble when playing. With dogs who are smaller, Willa doesn't always seem to understand her size and can be a bit much. With dogs who are older and bigger, she tries to climb all over them and get in their faces. Depending on the dog, this is tolerated up to a point but she doesn't always understand the cues on when to stop.Her manners are still a little rough around the edges. Due to her liking to jump at people and her puppy mouthiness, she would probably do best in a home with children who aren't going to get easily knocked over and will understand that her puppy biting isn't meant to harm. She also has a tendency to try and climb into laps when sitting down so she can get in someone's face for attention. She's small and somewhat manageable now but she won't always be this small. Like with most puppies, it is highly recommended that boundaries are set pretty quickly and obedience training is started at a young age.It was a bit of a learning curve at first but now she is doing really well with going potty on puppy pads. She seems to prefer to go outside when she can. However, due to the weather that's not always a possibility so she's been great about using pee pads. In the mornings when everyone is just starting to move around, she likes to make the rounds on the way out the back door to greet the other dogs and sometimes pee on the carpet. It's a work in progress. Food and water seem to be some of her favorite things currently. Breakfast and dinner are when the house is the noisiest as Willa and her sisters like to demand that they get fed immediately. They don't seem to understand that that's not how it works and that being bossy typically makes things go a lot slower. Despite over two weeks of practice, Willa has not gotten down how to nicely take a treat from someone's hand. It's almost like in her excitement, she doesn't realize where her mouth is and tries to headbutt the treat from someone's hand. She has almost lost many treats like that but still hasn't learned. It might be due to the heat and her coat but water is something that she is always on the hunt for.Willa is a sweet, spunky girl who is content to play with the other dogs in the house or by herself. She is curious and likes to know what's going on around her. Willa will be an amazing addition to whoever is lucky enough to adopt her.
