How I picked this shelter dog

Little surprises. I love happy little surprises. As I'm getting to know Radar better I'm noticing so many things about this guy that make me happy. Some make me smile, some make me laugh outright, and some deepen my appreciation for him. The first present he gave me was actually upon our first meeting, what an obviously special dog (to me anyway) he was. Sitting on his little blue bed in his kennel trying for all he was worth to interact with me. Such a sharp mind! He was an astute observer of me and drew me in by his amazing ability to notice what behavior he was doing that got me to look at him. He would then offer that behavior again to see if it worked a second time -- just genius! He had total clarity of mind and a single purpose, to interact with me. He was not distracted from his task by the noise, the other dogs and activity in the shelter, nor was he discouraged in his attempts if I retreated. Such clarity of mind is just amazing to me, we see it often in well trained dogs who have learned to focus their minds to a single purpose, but to see this ability in this young pound puppy was amazing. I still smile to think of him there, working just like a pro. What a present -- unexpected and just wonderful.

Our dogs give us free access to them, unlike people, they don't alter who they are or offer any pretext: they show themselves to us unabashedly. Our job is to see, truly see, who they are and to focus on those strengths.  Learn more about how to do this for yourself.