Seven-year-old Dixie is thoroughly enjoying her happily-ever-after with her new mom, Barb, and Lab mix big brother, twelve-year-old Samson.  Dixie is a lovely little lowrider Lab who loves family outings but always insists on being the head trailblazer and setting the course.  While she may be a bit small in stature, Dixie comes with a super-sized personality and some firmly held opinions on how things should be done, and this sweet girl is looking forward to keeping her wonderful new family in line for many years to come.

Barb tells us:

Dixie is a dear little girl and extremely smart. So much so, that the first time I took her to the dog park with Samson, Dixie on a leash of course, remembered what we did….so  the next time we went, we HAD to take the same “route” we took the first time and she refused to budge until I acquiesced to what she wanted to do. She is powerful for a little critter and if she does not want to move, there is no moving her. One of my daughters said it is because she is low to the ground. We had to go across the bridge and then after a little walk to where the dogs have walk-in access to the water, instead of having to jump off of a bank, she still would not go near the water…so while we MUST go THAT way, she extended her 26-foot leash it’s full length and that is how far away she stayed from the water.  She watched other dogs go in, and was probably thinking, “What in the world and why are they doing that? I can’t see that it is fun!”  While at first she trembled all over riding in the car, now, she only trembles when her harness it put on, but then she is raring to go and sits on the front passenger seat by Samson. She is learning to wait until he gets on the seat before she hops up.

Dixie will pick up a ball or toy and drop it so that it makes a loud sound and then look at me…”Aren’t you going to play with me?” Once she even hit my foot with her paw to get my attention.  She likes to chew the fuzz off of a tennis ball, and then she wants a new tennis ball.  She loves to chew the stuffing out of stuffed animals. Then she will pick a toy of her choice out of the closet.

She has decided she is the watchdog and people better beware!!! Her barking is quite loud and scary to some people. I found out that if I keep a lightweight leash on her, she is less likely to bark at anyone entering the house. It might have something to do with her knowing that a leash is for the dog park and there you do not bark loudly at people.