Adopt Darla the darling Poodle Mix!

DARLA HAS BEEN ADOPTED! HOORAY!


Darla is a small Poodle or Poodle mix whom we think is about 18 months old. She was found in on the street in terrible condition and has been in foster care getting a bit of training. She is affectionate and smart and very playful!



She is learning her basic commands well-- sit, down, come. She is crate-trained* and sleeps happily in her crate* each night (we recommend this in her new home, too). She rides in the car in a crate happily, too (and in the car, she is also well-behaved out of a crate, we just happen to have a crate in our car). She walks well on leash (we use a Gentle Leader* with a thin nylon leash) and she gets along well with most dogs. She would be delighted to join a home that already had at least one dog.

She is very affectionate and enjoys snuggling in your lap each night. In the morning her routine is to be let out, go out to eliminate, eat breakfast, and then go running at full speed to leap up into our tall bed to greet and snuggle whomever is still in bed. She sleeps in her crate at night, but if she had her way she'd be in bed with us.

She is being trained using the positive-reinforcement method of clicker training. She loves this method and responds to it beautifully! For more information about this wonderful method please see http://www.clickertraining.com/ . I'm offering free training coaching to her adopters as well (I'm a dog training instructor).





PHOTOS of Darla are available at http://www.tinyurl.com/adopt-darla

Darla is NOT good with cats (or squirrels for that matter!). She has a moderately strong prey drive and enjoys hanging out on the patio and watching the birds and squirrels (but she doesn't bark at them or go nuts). She walks well on leash unless she sees a squirrel or cat, at which point she pulls and lunges, wanting to chase. She's getting better about this with practice, but it's clear to us that she'll be more successful in a home without a cat.

She is good with well-behaved children over 8 and has not been tested with younger children, though I suspect that with a mellow (well supervised) introduction involving a tasty treat, she'd do just fine. Small children should always be closely supervised around Darla-- until she knows you well she doesn't like you to take toys out of her mouth. (Instead, we click, she willingly drops the ball, and receives her treat. At that point, we can pick the ball up and toss it for her again, and she loves this game. So you would get the ball and let the child toss it again for her.)

Darla does not shed (hooray!), but her poodle hair grows quickly and grows into her eyes so she does require grooming every 6 weeks, and I recommend that you have it done professionally.

Darla is in great health and had her most recent vet exam on April 14th, 2009. She is current on her shots and flea control. She is a small/medium dog-- weighs about 22 pounds and is 14 inches high at the shoulder. She is already spayed and is ready to go to her new home.


She's a delightful dog and she's been easy and fun to foster (we'd keep her but we're at our city's dog limit of 3 already). She's easy to love. Please apply for Darla if you fit this profile:


1. Don't have kids under 10 in your household (it's OK to have them visit occasionally because you can either supervise closely, or park Darla in her crate during the visit).

2. Don't have a cat or small animals

3. Are willing to have her groomed regularly

4. Are willing to take her through training classes and learn about clicker training (the training classes at the Lomita Dog Training Club use clicker training). She's doing extremely well in her training and will be the star in your class.

5. Are looking for a sweet, playful, affectionate dog who will love you deeply


To apply to adopt Darla, please fill out an application and specify that you're interested in DARLA. If you have specific questions and would like to talk with her foster mom, please call 650.619.9910.


Darla is being fostered in Palos Verdes. If (after reviewing your application) we think you might be a fit, we'll arrange for you to come meet her to see if an adoption should move forward.


*The crate, dog training coaching and her Gentle Leader all come with her as part of her adoption-- such a deal! We love her and want her and you to be very happy.