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She's Big!
Josie is our 75-pound English Shepherd and the newest member of our family. She is known to bowl over small children with a single bound (not intentionally, she just wants to play), hog the bed, and eat rabbits from the backyard. Josie is extremely friendly and wants to meet anyone she sees, including neighbors, other dogs, cats and squirrels.
We've taught Josie many tricks. She is good at following directions unless there is someone she wants to meet nearby, in which case it takes almost all of my arm strength to hold her back. Josie can sit, stay, lay down, speak, shake hands, hold an object and drop it on command, and we're currently working on "cover," where she covers her nose with her paw (like all the trained dogs do on TV). She understands that the paw must swipe the air, but hasn't yet figured out that we want her to touch her nose with it while sitting.
She's Bad!
Josie gets into trouble sometimes. She likes to pick up forbidden objects in her mouth, especially stuff from the trash can. Josie has a special affinity for used Kleenex, no matter who used it last. She also loves to eat old cigarette butts on our morning walk. She barks a lot in the backyard, tends to knock stuff over with her tail, and she likes to pick up shoes, socks and other clothing and carry them from room to room. Josie also loves to annoy the cats by coming close to them and batting at them with one of her paws. Roscoe will usually run away, but Abby absolutely hates Josie and will hiss, spit, growl, and when really angry, will "pop" Josie with a claw-extended paw. This behavior doesn't deter the dog, however, she just thinks it's all a big game.
She's Bodacious!
Josie is definitely one of the most exuberant, happy-go-lucky and loving animals we've ever had the pleasure to know. She gets extremely jealous when Brooks and Steve kiss or otherwise cuddle, and she demands to get in the middle of the action. She sleeps by (or on) our bed every night, and absolutely loves the morning walk. Josie has the complete run of the backyard (save the raised flower bed) and has her own wading pool, which she loves on hot days. She likes her own modified version of "fetch," which involves a human throwing one of her favorite toys into the backyard, her apparent retrieval of the item, but her refusal to give it back on close proximity to said human. Her idea of fun is for the human to chase her around and try to wrestle the item from her mouth, when she expects an immediate re-throw of the toy. Josie especially likes to play this game with one of two deflated basketballs.
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