Six months after losing Cinnamon I went to the city shelter and picked up the blue heeler mix, about 3-4 years old. I have another very old blue heeler mix - it is a decision you don't make lightly because they are smart, fast, and intense but extremely devoted to their humans and that's what I was looking for. She's also a good companion for the old Labrador retriever who hadn't given up play and fetch (he's about 10 now) but the old heeler doesn't play much these days. I'm working on behavior with the youngest one - she jumps and bounces off of people as she attempts to herd them to her wishes (think "feed me faster!" when I'm feeding all three - and they all have to wait until I put their bowls on the floor and then tell them the magic word - "eat!"). I learned this from Cesar. It's a great parlor trick and the dogs love it because when they do it right they get to eat. And they do it right every time. But having Pepper bouncing off of me in the process could cause a stumble, so I'm working on making her sit while I measure out food.

From the start she walked very well, beside me and with the other dogs, not pulling out in front, so I think in her past life someone worked with her. She is also passionate about fetching, making me wonder how she came to the low point of ending up at the city shelter? Lost or relinquished? She had puppies sometime in the last 12 months. She was at the shelter for a couple of months and managed not to lose her mind - I looked at the animals online the night before I went down and of those I met at the shelter, when we did the introductory walk to a small outside enclosure she was the only one who didn't pull on her leash, and when I sat down on a small wall, she was much more interested in getting to know me than sniffing around and other dogs in surrounding areas. She offered a polite kiss, and I wondered how many people did she meet who didn't choose her?

She goes ballistic when she hears the motor of the postal carrier's million-mile vehicle (it is as distinctive as the "ringing" tone that accompanied all Volkswagen beetles of a certain age - you know what's coming before you see it just by the noise it makes.) I'll leave dog treats by the door and make her sit instead of bark and race around out the back dog door and to bark at the side fence. The goal is, as always, to train her and not have her train me. :)