Darla
Retriever - Lab Mix | Female | 4 Months Old | 27 Lbs
QUICK FACTS: ✔️ Good with other dogs! ✔️ Crate trained! ✔️ Loves to explore! ✔️ Good for beginner dog owner!
Darla found her forever family 5/8/2023!
Video
Check out a video of how Darla starts her morning here!
Updates
Darla is in this world to explore! And snuggle! And fetch! And sniff! And learn: and Darla’s foster people have been delighted to learn right alongside her. She picks up on fetch games in a fun way and her most amazing nose means that games that involve hide-and-seek are a blast!
Darla’s a nose-to-the-ground sort of gal, and, like a voracious reader, she is very much ready to immerse herself in worlds that take her places. Her foster plays lots of nose-minded games with her, and most of Darla’s exercise takes the form of bonding games and training (instead of long linear walks) to indulge Darla’s love of wriggling and working out puzzles in her brain. Given the glimpse that her foster family has seen in her successful & playful training, there is all the possibility in the world that this dog - in her adult future - could really enjoy nose work, tracking, bikejoring….you name it! Given Wisconsin’s weather, Darla has not yet been camping, but given the opportunity, she is pretty sure that this would be AMAZING!
Also, like book-loving humans, Darla absolutely loves a snuggly spot to relax. Her crate is this place of calm. There is another foster dog that has been living with Darla for the past few weeks and if that dog starts to bark, it’s true that Darla will start to sing along. That said, Darla has not uttered a peep at night in her crate, she gives signs of being content, and loves various chew things like pig snouts and other Kong-like toys where she can work at licking out any goopy goodness that her foster mom has put in them!
Darla joined in a few “puppy classes” so her foster mom could see how she interacts in a calm, controlled environment with pups around her own age. She plays well and can easily be redirected if there is any other dog that is a bit more timid. In fact, there was a participant in the puppy class who said that it was with Darla that she had first seen playfulness in her own pup, which speaks for how Darla’s energy is in an environment set up for success.
Darla’s foster family has two adult male cats who are fairly used to things their humans do (such as bringing home foster dogs without consulting them first). The cats and Darla have not interacted that much. She seems interested, eager to play, and if Darla will be living with cats, her adoptive family will need to help her learn what appropriate interactions look like.
While in foster care, all observations with children have been positive with adult supervision.
Darla's foster works a lot from home and so Darla spends her day with short bursts of intense play, as well as romping with the fellow foster dog in the household. Any time she is unsupervised she is crated.
If reading this has you feeling excited to meet Darla, she would love to meet you too! If you’ve been dreaming about the possibilities of living life with a dog, Darla is a young pup where you can really revel in that “this is my puppy” feeling, while having basics such as potty and crate training already taught. If you are fascinated by how Darla is taking in and making sense of this huge world around us, she is equally willing to learn your language.