Dakota

NJ -

Female -

3 years

This dog was adopted on 2011-12-29

Personal Information

Weight:50 lbs

Color:Brindle

Ears:Natural

Tail:Docked

Spayed/Neutered:Yes

Shots Up to Date:Yes

Other Dogs:No

Cats:No

Children:No

Crate Trained:Yes

House Trained:Yes

Microchipped:Unknown

Individual Needs:None

Adoption Donation:$375

My Story

03/21/2015

Dakota has been with us for over 3 years now and we can’t even remember what it was like without her in our lives.  To come home, even if we were gone for just a little while, and have her greet us with such excitement and happiness puts a smile on our faces.

Dakota loves people…..of any and all ages.  She is gentle and loves to cuddle with children and loves adults as well.  But, she doesn’t like other dogs, although she has a best friend beagle that she gets along great with.  She is very protective and territorial.

She loves to play with balls and will chase them all over the yard, but she isn’t too good at giving the ball back…she likes to be chased and she loves to play tug.

She has brought a lot of joy into our lives and we can only hope that she understands how much we love her.

02/16/2014

Dakota has been part of our family for over 2 years now, and we can’t remember what our life was like before she came into it.  She fit right in with our retired way of life.  She wakes up when we do and goes to sleep even before us.
 
She loves to play with tennis balls and sometimes manages to get two in her mouth….but she likes to tease us and doesn’t give her toys up easily, it’s a game she likes to play.
 
Dakota LOVES people, all people, especially children….but she does NOT like other dogs.  We have had some issues with her “dislike” of other dogs, but we are working on it.
 
She is a cuddle bug and sometimes forgets that she is not a lap dog.  If you happen to sit on the floor, be prepared to have Dakota somehow curling up on your lap.  She loves when our grand daughters are over, and on their lap is where you will find her.  
 
She is very smart and seems to understand everything we say. We even have to spell some words so she doesn’t get excited about going in the c-a-r before it’s time. 
 
 
We adore, enjoy and love her and feel that she feels the same about us.  All the people who are involved at NLBR with putting us and Dakota together did a fantastic job and we are forever thankful.

12/14/2011

The good news is that Dakota is playing with toys and having a ball!  She is learning "drop it" and she is even bringing the toy back!  Dakota also enjoys playing tug and is learning the scope of the game!  She is also so sweet, loves attention and people... for sure! 

So now for the bad news…I do not recommend Dakota be placed with a family that has children or another dog due to her guarding issues.  Although she is fine with handing over her prized possession to adults with no problem, she growls and guards the item from my dogs if she feels it is valuable to her.  It doesn't even have to be a bone or one of her toys.  For example, I have caught her counter surfing occasionally and so far she has taken a green pepper and a plastic butter dish into her crate and tried burying the items under her blankets.  It took a little persuading on my part for her to hand them over to me but had no issue doing so.  On the other hand, I do not feel it would fare well if one of my dogs decided to go see what she was so interested in!  She already growls at them from the crate if she has a bone or possession and they are behind a gate!  I am not so sure Dakota wouldn't take a child’s toy to her bed and decide it was hers.  I always err on the side of caution, so my recommendation would be no other dogs or kids living in the same house.  It is probably just as well, she would definitely enjoy having all the attention anyway!  On the other hand, Dakota does play nicely outside with Lee.  She is a little dominant with him and I can tell he does not always trust her but they do interact ok, since Lee is very submissive.  Outside is fine, inside is another story. 

There have been no accidents in the house and Dakota will bark to let you know she needs to potty if you forget.  Dakota is pretty calm in the house but when visitors arrive, you take her for a walk, or out to the farmers market, etc; she is over the top excited to see people and very jumpy.  Oh yes, that typical boxer!  She will need to be kept active and have some training on leash.  She does pull so I do use a front clip harness, which took her a while to get used to. 

Dakota is an awesome dog!  Super sweet, loves to just come over and put her head in your lap.  If I didn't have my two pups, I would give her a forever home with my husband and I!  So get your applications in and request Dakota if you think you may be her perfect furever home match!

12/05/2011

Well, Dakota is at the end of her kennel cough recovery but still struggling to shake it completely.  She is feeling much better and has finally started to show the true "Dakota" a couple of days ago.  She began playing with our boy Leroy and is already telling him that she is higher on the doggie heirarchy pyramid than he!  Poor Lee is not liking that - he always gets bumped down to the bottom!  He is that easy going happy boy.  I do not plan to have Dakota and our other pup Tootsie meet.  They are the same age, both females and that may not go well.  My Tootsie is "queen" and will not give up her thrown and I feel Dakota may definately challenge her.
Dakota LOVES people and is super friendly when we have visitors or when out for a walk.  In fact, she is a little "over the top" if she does in fact like you when you are a visitor at our home - she gets the "crazies"!  It is nice to see her so excited about meeting people since there are times when she is still unsure about things.  She also wants to say "hello" to everyone when out for a walk!  She does pull on the leash but is food motivated so I will be working on "walking nicely" and "self control". 

Dakota is literally in love with her crate!  She takes everything I give her into her crate and guards the item for a short time.  She is unsure as you approach the crate but so far she has been willing to give it up for a treat.  I have started treating for giving up the item and 
then giving it back to her, getting her to understand there is no reason to guard it.  She is also quite "bone crazy" and I have been offering her bones all the time, so she realizes she will actually get a better one filled with food when she gives up the empty one.  So far so good!

Dakota really hasn't played with any toys I have given her.  I have been switching out the toys to see if I could find something that would interest her but nothing til this morning.  I was on the computer and finally heard the snake toy that I had just given her start squeeking!  I am hoping she will realize it is fun to play with these things.  She doesn't understand tug and the rubber squeeky toys are picked up gingerly and carried back to her crate, never squeeking them.

I will be evaluating and working with Dakota more, now that she is beginning to feel better and be herself.  There are still times when Dakota acts a little leery and somewhat scared, as though she is not sure of you or what you are doing but I usually just bend down and she comes right over to be hugged and cuddled.  Although she is unsure, Dakota is very sweet and just taking a long time to get comfortable.  She has been through alot and not yet fully willing to let herself trust again.  I will find out more about her as each day passes so I will update again soon---stay tuned!

11/23/2011

Dakota is a beautiful brindle and white boxer with gorgeous markings.  Her markings are so perfectly even on either side of her body, very white accents with a dark brindle contrast.  She is a petite little gal who came to us just a few days ago.  We were told she was "melting down" in the shelter and does not seem to cope well with transition.  She is still coming out of her shell, since she totally shut down when she first arrived.  She is just starting to trust again, therefore; it is difficult at this point in time to evaluate her. 

I do know that she is a sweet baby who is beginning to come over to cuddle and is feeling a little under the weather due to a slight case of kennel cough.  She does "sit" on command and will gently "give paw" when you stoop and hold out your hand.  That is about all I can report right now other than she was brought to the shelter due to "owner allergies".   Stay tuned for more information but I am sure she will not be around long!

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