About Dakota

Dakota's story starts when she was only a few months old. I found her, howling for her mom in my grandparents backyard at 4am. I've been caring for her ever since. However, due to a change of life situation (I'm moving to another country) I now have to rehome her. She's about 1 years old and her vet believes that she is a Mal/GSD mix (however no testing has been done to confirm this). Her energy level is between average-high and although she enjoys her walks and exploring outside, she also loves being in the house playing with her toys. She can be a bit shy and nervous at first when in a new environment, but is a sweet girl and her curiosity eventually wins over. Because she is a Mal, she can be a bit mouthy at times. I unfortunately did not have the resources to properly train her but did what I could and was able to tone down her mouthiness quite a bit. I can only imagine her potential if she belonged to someone that had the resources and the know-how to have her properly trained. She is not food aggressive or toy aggressive, however she will show some aggression towards attempting to keep things that she knows she's not suppose to have (like my scrunchies or a full roll of paper towels lol). Her vet and I discussed this and she says that it is a form of 'resource hoarding'. She's treat/food/toy driven so the minute she sees a treat, she'll drop whatever it is (like my scrunchie) and go straight for the food. I believe she's behaving this way because she was a stray and has a fear that this thing she loves will be taken away from her forever but I also think that she can be trained to not behave that way. Her vet is also aware that she will be rehomed and we discussed what type of environment would be best for her. Dakota would be best suited in a home with a person/people that are familiar with Belgian Mals, Mal mixes or working dogs in general and have the resources/ability to train her. And speaking of, I also think there's potential for her to be trained to do some kind of light 'scent work'. If you have experience with strays/rescues of any kind, that's a bonus. I wouldn't recommend her being an outside dog. She seems to enjoy being in the house so that she can be around her person/people. She is protective and loyal of the ones around her. She's also quite the cuddle bug and loves hugs and kisses. We do not get a lot of visitors so I do not know how she would react around strangers. Her compatibility with cats or kids is unknown. However our vet does not recommend that she's placed in a home with children (especially small children). I do not recommend that she's placed in a home with small animals. My family has an older female shepherd dog that's about her size that she ADORES (and also takes cues from) so the compatibility with her and another female dog (that is around her size) is very promising. She is kennel and wee wee pad trained. She has prey drive for frogs and bugs (yes, you read that correctly lol). She is up to date on all of her shots/vaccines, is in good health, has her rabies certificate, is heart worm negative (and is currently on the preventative chewable). She has not been spayed. If you are interested in adopting Dakota or would just like to know more about her or have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for taking the time to read this, Brittney

Shelby County
Memphis, Tennessee