Dottie!

I've had Dottie (or Miss Dot, as I like to call her) for over a month now...I can't believe I've managed to keep her that long (she's amazing), and I can't believe I never did an introduction post on her yet.

Dottie cozying up to my dad and brother after knowing them for about 30 seconds.
Please note the tennis ball in my dad's hands.  Tennis balls are mandatory for any family that adopts her.

Dottie is such a sweetheart.  She has 2 modes: fetch and nap.  She spends most of her waking time trying to get me to play fetch.  She likes to start out with a tennis ball.  If I bite and toss it, we play for at least 30 minutes.  If I ignore her, she drops the ball at my feet and brings me another toy...and another and another until suddenly I'm buried in a pile of toys and have no choice but to throw them!  Yesterday I was getting ready in the bathroom, and I when I left I noticed there were 3 tennis balls and 1 stuffed camera in there. 

LOVE this picture and that face!

In the evenings, after a good round of fetch, Dottie likes to jump up on the couch (quite a feat, considering how short her legs are!) and take a cozy nap.  Sometimes she snores a little bit.  She doesn't bark a lot, mostly just when one of the other dogs start barking she'll join in.  The only time she really barks on her own is when my curtains open or close (loud motors), but I was happy to notice this morning she didn't make a peep!

Prepping for a nap.

Dottie is 100% housebroken.  She has never (yes, never!) had an accident in my house.  She's not obvious about needing to go outside, but I'm starting to notice she gets a little antsy when she wants to.  Occasionally when I'm heading to the door to let the dogs out, she will ring the bells.  But I'm fairly certain she's just bumping them unintentionally, not that she actually knows to ring them yet.  But I'm holding out hope that she's starting to figure it out!

Dottie likes to choose her own toys from the bin.

Dottie is crate trained.  I crate her during the day while I'm at work, purely because I don't want three loose dogs running around.  If it was just Dottie I'd absolutely trust her to free-roam during the day.  I let her sleep with me at night, and she does just fine.  I have to help her up onto the bed (again, short legs), but she jumps down just fine in the morning.  She either likes to lay at the foot of the bed away from me completely or on the pillow right next to my face.  Lately, she seems to prefer the foot of the bed (I do too 😊).

Fetch, you say?

Dottie does get along with other dogs.  She likes to establish dominance right away, so just be aware that if you currently have a dog who also likes to establish dominance, there may be an initial adjustment period.  Dottie and my Bella do just fine together...Bella isn't really the play type, so they don't clash much.  Dottie and Zuzu mostly got along but clashed a little bit when Dottie would try to play and Zuzu wasn't in the mood.  I'm currently dogsitting for a friend, and Dottie and Dexter mostly get along as well.  They actually play together quite a bit more than Dottie and Zuzu did, but he also likes to play with toys, so occasionally they'll growl when one wants the toy the other one has.  No fights yet though!