Noelle

Noelle is a buff girl, born 11/02/01. She is vet checked, getting her puppy shots, on heartworm preventative, and is spayed.

She had been sold by a pet store on the highway the weekend before Christmas - at the tender age of 7 weeks and 1 day - to a family with a pre-schooler. Predictably, with three strikes against the placement, it didn't work out and she was surrendered to Rescue a month later.

Noelle had her first haircut while in Rescue and she hated the entire procedure. Her second trim a week later was less traumatic, but definitely not easy. She doesn't have a lot of body coat, but her face and ears will need regular trimming.

Her former home was bothered by her mouthy behavior. We haven't seen anything that isn't typical of a sporting breed puppy - and it's not even excessive at that. She does tend to complain when put in situations which she deems stressful (but which most other dogs would consider "life") - but shows no aggressive behavior. We are working to desensitize her - and she's coming around rapidly.

She likes people and is friendly to strangers, but was somewhat worried when being petted by them at first. She's been to several sessions of puppy playgroup, where she has experienced the "pass the puppy" exercise. She is now much happier about being handled by strangers and even seems to enjoy being cuddled by them. She needs to go to a home who can continue to socialize her and hopefully take her to puppy kindergarten.

Noelle was taken away from her littermates at far too young an age and missed out on the doggy interactions which would have helped her live in a multi-dog household. The other cockers in her foster home are teaching her basic manners. Likewise, she has been playing with the unflappable cats in her foster home. We wouldn't rule out placing her with another dog (or cat), but it would depend upon that pet's personality and tolerance for a bratty puppy.

She loves to carry around tennis balls - and will run to grab one before she heads outdoors. She also thinks sticks are super toys - along with shoe laces. But she doesn't seem to be particularly destructive.

Noelle potties immediately when you take her outside. When she's running around and playing, she needs to be taken out on a frequent basis. She definitely has the idea of where she is supposed to go - but she is too young to reliably housebreak yet and would be best placed with someone who is not gone all day every day.