Also, I've been keeping an eye on her and watching her settle in. Her first week her stools were loose...common for a dog that's just undergone a big life change...but they are looking good now. We've noticed that she tends to drink a lot of water at times. I took her to the vet thinking maybe she had a urinary tract infection. They did a urinalysis and a full range of blood tests and according to the vet the results were all "boring." In other words, normal. The urine was diluted...but likely related likely to all the drinking. So, we just keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't get too much at once.
Gosh, she is a wonderful dog! She is smart, happy, playful and loving. She is doing great with my two dogs. She is much bigger than both of them and I think my male, Miles, is a little frightened of playing with her...so he'll "tell" her to back-off and she does with no problem. She SOOO wants to play with him though but is good about respecting his wishes. She does a cute play bow in front of him and barks a single bark and then another. She does nibble on him a little too which he's fine with. You know, a cute nibble on the ears or on the back to entice him to play.
She is also good with my daughters and their friends (7-11). She loves belly rubs from them and greets them enthusiastically when they come home from school. She does jump up when she gets excited but is a good listener and good about not jumping a second time when we tell her "off." She can be a little mouthy when she starts to get excited and play with us but we tell her "no" and she listens. In my mind these are training issues and while she can do some really neat "tricks" like "shake" she needs some schooling on proper manners and she seems to me like she's so eager to learn which should make training fairly easy.
I'd say her energy is medium. She sleeps most of the day either next to my desk or on the couch behind my desk. We take a one mile walk once a day and occasionally two times a day. I have also taken her to the tennis courts on some of our walks and let her run around a bit. That said, I would prefer to see her go to a home where someone is home at least some of the day. My understanding is that she came from a home where they just didn't have time for her because of work and kids activities. I do see her get a little anxious when I leave. If I'm gone less than 1 hour I have been leaving her out of the crate and all has been well. When I'm gone more than that I put her in the crate. She will get in the crate reluctantly and she barks a little at first. At night, she's been sleeping on a blanket next to my bed. She sleeps soundly all night and doesn't get up until I get up.
She is getting more confident on our walks and does pull more. Again, in my mind this is a training issue and with the right "instructor" she'll be a better walker. I am fine walking her (at 135 pounds) but she would pull one of my girls off their feet I'm sure. She does whine a little when we see other dogs walking by but my interpretation of that is that she wants to greet them. She has been great with all our neighbor dogs through the fence.
She did quickly learn to ring the bell to go outside. That said, she has had two #1 accidents in the house in the last two weeks. The first was right after we got home with her and she drank a big bowl of water. The second was when I ran some errands and my husband was home with her. He was upstairs and if she rang the bell in the kitchen he didn't hear it. Again, keeping an eye on her water intake will help.
I've found that the gate to the back yard has been open twice this week. My first thought was that my cleaning lady left it open. I found Missy out in the front yard just sniffing around. In my mind I panicked but I knew I needed to keep it cool on the outside. She sniffed a few trees in the front yard and I called her to me and she came and we safely went back into the back yard. I found the gate open a second time but she was still in the back yard. I'm thinking now that maybe she puts her feet up on the gate and it pushes it just enough that the old latch opens. So, I now have a rope around the gate as an extra measure of safety. Now, she didn't run away but I think that if a bunny had run into view while that gate was open it might have been a different story. Her nature seems to stay near to the one she's bonded to but heck she's still a dog and if a bunny was going to play a game of chase I think she would gladly join in the race. Again, some training issues for her.
We just love this girl and will miss her greatly.