We are a military family and are having to rehome our 1 year old lab mix, Abby, due to a move and some unexpected family health situations.
We have had Abby since she was 7 weeks old. Since she is potty trained and is through the worst of the destructive behaviors, house accidents and crate whining, she would be the perfect pet for a family that would like a young dog, but not the puppy stuff that comes with getting a very young pup. She is also a great choice because there is no unknown history -no history of abuse or anything and no aggression.
We were told that she was part Lab and part Great Dane, but she is only 55-60 lbs. so I don't know so much about the Dane (unless that parent was also a mix with a small lab). She was a breeze to teach to ring a bell to go potty. She is crate trained and can sit, stay, wait and shake. We have a cat that she gets along with (although she annoys him quite a bit because she likes to play a little rough -but she has never hurt him). She goes to doggy daycare 1 day a week and plays very nicely with all of the dogs that run free there. She tends to be submissive with them if they growl at her for being too playful.
Abby is very playful and has lots of energy. She LOVES to catch balls in mid-air or chase them and loves tug of war. Abby is also very loving and likes to be with the family. When we let her outside to potty, she doesn't want to stay out long. I am home all day for the most part and most of the time, she wants to be in the same room that I am in. She needs either a decent yard to run in, or someone to take her walking or running most days (or just another dog in the house to play with). There are a couple of parks that we take her to and she will stay in the area that we are in without running off as long as we are throwing the ball for her (we use a tennis ball shooter -and she LOVES that!). On rainy days, you can just throw the ball to her for a while in the house.
I don't think Abby is quite ready to be left out in the house all day by herself, but if she had another dog to entertain her, she may be ready soon. She does not chew on shoes or furniture, but sometimes chews random toys or items that are left out, or gets in the bathroom trash cans. She would definitely not be used to being in a crate all day (although I'm occasionally gone 5 to 6 hours and she is fine as long as we at least throw the ball for her a bit that night while we are watching t.v.). We have a 7 year old and kids that are 5-9 that come over. She is good with the kids, although she still gets a little excited for the 1st few minutes and may jump on them a couple of times (although that is starting to get much better). She barks when someone rings the doorbell or she sees people outside near the fence, but is not an excessive barker. We have a pretty short fence and she has never jumped it. (she can put her paws on the top of it and look over).
Abby is spayed and micro chipped. We are asking a $50 re-homing fee as she will come with her wire crate, a large bed, collar (and also a brand new rhinestone collar with the tag still on), leash, a couple of months of heartworm prevention, toys, bowls, whatever dog food (grain free) we have left and the tall container that we keep it in.
We also recently had a dog trainer draw up a blueprint for training of any issues that we have had with Abby (such as the jumping and trying to be bossy with us by barking or pawing at us to get us to throw the ball for her or not coming when she is called). I will pass this on to you as well as the guarantee that comes with it that we are able to call up the dog trainer for advice for the life of Abby (she knows that we are going to be re-homing her and is ok with us passing this on). If you have any issues or questions, you can call her. She will even meet with you in person if she thinks there is a need.
Feel free to call, text or e-mail and I will be happy to answer any.