Melody Joy Labrador Retriever Mix Waunakee, WI

Melody Joy (aka Melly Belly) is a 10 month old, excitable and playful, lab mix, that has settled beautifully into her foster home. She traveled to Wisconsin all the way from Texas. She was undersocialized and nervous when she first arrived but she has made an incredible amount of progress since her arrival. She is still a little timid but warms up quickly with a little space and is SO affectionate once she is comfortable.

She has been working hard on training and she is totally killing it. We have been training each day and she already has learned sit, down (with implied down-stay), touch, leave it, wait, spin and place. We just started working on recall as well. She is very food motivated and is a willing participant in learning each day! Star student!

Leash skills: We have been working on leash manners daily in the neighborhood and she is doing so well. Still a little hesitant to leave the porch sometimes but after a little coaxing, she is off and doesn't look back. She has seen lots of dogs and had many bark at her from inside houses and she hasn't reacted back. She has met a few neighborhood dogs on leash and she was appropriate with them and wanted to play. She is gaining confidence around the scary holiday decorations and in different dog friendly stores along the way. She does have a strong prey drive so she will pull towards all the critters. She would love a fenced yard where she could chase them to her hearts content.

Kids: Zooming kids still cause her some worry so she would probably do best with kids that are a little older (12+) and are able to take direction on how to interact with her. She does still get.mouthy here and there (typically when excited) so she will need help learning those boundaries.

Dogs: She has done well with other dogs to model behavior from. She would love to have a doggy sibling in her forever home (as long as they love to play rough too!) but would also do fine as a solo dog. She still loves to give lots of kisses in the face with our adult dogs so will need guidance if the other dog isn't receptive. She will occasionally resource guard with food, filled kongs, bones/chews. We just monitor closely or just give these things in the crate. This is mostly with new dogs. She has done ok sharing toys.

Cats: She loves to chase the kitties and stares (plotting her strategy). She has a high prey drive with outside critters. Would do best without kitties in her forever home.

Potty training: Potty trained and holds potty all night in her crate.

Crate training: She does well in the crate. She gets good snacks (frozen kong/greenies/chew stick) in the crate so she is building positive associations. She can be vocal when unsure and will bark when she is crated if she hears things around her so would do best in a home without shared walls.

Size: She is around 48 lbs at 10 months. Best guess would be around 55 lbs full grown.

Favorite things: Right now, Melody's favorite things are playing chase with the bigger dogs, watching the kitty and snuggling in near foster momma. She loves her training time and getting to show off for her foster momma.

Melody is a sweet and loving doggo who would love a patient family that will continue to help her gain confidence and take her on fun adventures!

Melody has $175 in sponsorships towards her adoption fee so it's currently $250 which also includes $100 in training credit (to be reimbursed after the training/class is completed) so her adoptor can continue to train with her.

Melody is an incredibly sweet and affectionate pup if given just a little bit of time to settle in. She is smart as a whip and can't wait to please her people. She is an amazing doggo that will have so much fun with an active family that will take her on adventures.

**Dog breeds listed are best guesses from veterinary professionals, they are never a guarantee.