Muddy Waters Rex Shepherd & Labrador Retriever Mix South Bend, IN

Muddy as he is called, or sometimes Rex which he is also called, is an active, quick learning, high energy, conks out when tired, plays well with others fun dog. He is just a year old and would do great with someone who is looking for a four legged companion to take on adventures, participate in doggy obedience and spend a lot of time playing outside followed by a nice nap!
Notes from his foster mom:
12/26/2021
Some things to share about Rex:
-he likes to be outside
-he has tons of energy and it takes a lot right now to tire him although he does slow down and lay still
-he gets along well with his foster brothers and has learned to titrate himself down a bit when playing with Jax (with Jax’s vocalization) our older dog
-his body is slight and he is very fast; we would not recommend a non-fenced yard
-I let him out one afternoon not realizing there was a squirrel on the bird feeder;
Rex was faster than the squirrel; he cornered it on the ground where two sections of the fence meet and tussled with it until it managed to get away and run up the tree;
it took a lot of doing to redirect him from jumping up on the tree trunk; a home with small animals may not be a good fit -he is very smart and friendly and learns quickly; he also is sensitive to a stern voice -he does well in the crate and does signal when he needs to go out (sometimes he will ring the bells we have hanging on the door handle) -his relationship with food is complicated; he eats to quickly (I have ordered a slow feeding bowl); he is not food aggressive but does hover very closely over the other two while they are eating; we feed the dogs twice a day and Rex seems to be continuously hungry (nosing at the food bag, pushing the empty bowl on the floor); not sure if he’s still not comfortable here or perhaps he didn’t know where his next meal was coming from in whatever environment he came out of) -Sam and Rex will drink out of the water bowl at the same time -Sam and Jax are good role models for him and he pays attention to both of them

1/7/2021
Rex is doing well with his foster brothers and learning how to take turns.
Did you know that he is very active? ? Oh my goodness!
He is smart and learns new things pretty quickly including letting me try to wipe some of the mud off his paws before he comes in the house.
He lifts his feet for me now. The slow feeder bowl has helped with his eating.
He does have a bad habit of being very persistent with begging/surfing for people food.
That correction will take a bit of time. He loves to be outside and does not seem to be bothered by any element he has come into contact with so far. Cold, ice, rain, puddles, mud - he takes it all in stride. Rex and Sam like to play chase. Rex is faster so he is usually the chasee. One afternoon Rex ran full blast toward the side of the deck and at the last moment dove under and army crawled the length of the deck underneath exiting the other side covered in mud. Yikes! He had a blast and just kept going.

The one attached photo is a rare moment of complete conk out for Rex.