Hey everyone, and welcome back to the blog! I'm so excited to tell you more about our dog adoption story. Although this has not been an easy journey, I'm beyond excited to see where this goes!
This is our dog Bella! The shelter says she is a lab/husky mix. We plan to do a DNA test to find out more, because we think she has some other breed's in her. She sure is a cutie though! If you know us, you know we have a German Shepherd, we've had him since he was a puppy and he's such a good boy. My husband and I have been wanting to add a dog to our family, but little did my husband know was that I would be surprising him with another dog. I wanted a lab or a golden retriever for their breed qualities. However, I was open to others as with adoption you never know what you'll find.
I found Bella and I knew I had to meet her. I drove out to Ocean Shores the next day after seeing her posted knowing I'd likely adopt her. Her profile listed these qualities: good with kids, cats, and dogs; house-trained, and that she needed a fenced yard. It also said she was owner surrendered because they were unable to provide a fenced yard. Bella is about 2 years old. She is such a loving dog, and was so excited to play when I met her. I was ecstatic, and just had this feeling that she was the dog I've been looking for over the last couple of months. She still needed to be spayed, so I couldn't take her home Monday. So I called Sean and told him about our newest family member! Not only was he honestly surprised, he was so excited about her.
I was able to take Bella home a couple days later, and she's been a sweetheart. However, with a new dog comes learning curves. Training a dog who was previously owned has not been easy and we've only had her for about about a month now. Bella is treat motivated which helps greatly with training. Bella hates her crate, so crate training has not been easy but we are sticking to it. Bella is also a digger, so we've had to reinforce our fence a few times to keep in our yard.
Things we are learning about adoption, is that you must be patient. Although Bella is not trained, or a good listener, doesn't mean that she can't be. Part of me thinks that she is just excited to run around in a yard, and not be chained up. We are planning to enroll her into obedience classes to help her be the good girl we know she can be.
Our next steps in this journey are obedience/training classes. We also are considering enrolling her into doggy daycare because she does need more social interaction. However she does fight occasionally and gets very defensive toward other dogs occasionally. So far her and Apollo haven't had any major issues, and we hope it stays this way. Crate training is also ongoing. She is doing better than when we initially got her, but when we leave during the day she refuses the kennel, but bedtime she doesn't mind it. Baby steps for sure, but we are getting better.
I believe some people look to adopt dogs with the thought that they come perfect, that they're house-trained, that they will know sit, down, stay. Unfortunately these dogs often don't but that doesn't mean they can't learn. You CAN teach old dogs new tricks, if you're patient and put in the time and effort that is. Sometimes people only portray the good side of adoption, but it is a lot of work that many people don't often see especially when you are adding an adopted dog to an established dog home.
We will continue to update more about Bella as this journey continues. We are so excited to have this cutie in our home and give her the happy life she deserves.
xo
The Casbarro's
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