i had my date w/the dane last night, my first time ever, and...(drumroll please)
I LOOOOOVE HIM!
absolutely & completely! By the time we (my husband, 5 year old son and I) came home, I think I had said, "I really like that dog" 10 times (it was a 15 minute drive). I know I made the same statement five times before bed and this morning to my husband as we got ready for work. I even told him that when the owner calls him, he needs to make it VERY clear that I WANT DEXTER! That's his name...let me tell you about our wonderful date last night.
Here are his stats: Dexter's black with a white chest (tuxedo) w/some white on his paws. He's 2 and his last visit to the vet was about 4 months ago and everything looks good (the owners will provide vet records). He will be going to the groomers tomorrow. He is a full breed, but no papers (papers, shmapers, who cares!) and we can visit the breeder (about 20 mins away from our home) and ask questions about his parents. His momma's from San Diego and his pop is from here (Sacramento) because the breeders wanted to make an extra precaution of not inbreeding.
Anyhow, Linda repeatedly stated that Dexter is really Gary's dog but she knew his facial expressions to the T. She mentioned that he yawns when he gets stressed, he makes pouty faces when he gets scared and puts his head down the instant she raises her voice at him so she's careful of raising her voice even in general. He gives hugs & kisses on command only because Gary likes them, but Linda doesn't. He can rough house with Gary, but knows to stop anytime the second he's around Linda. They say he's very careful with his tail now, because at one point he had cut it on something, so even though he may still hit the wall, he will hit it once and move a little and aware of his surroundings. He grew up with kids (there was a little girl there that was about my son's age) and a small cockapoo; very friendly w/people, but still protective of "his" kids when they're out. He doesn't drool, mainly kept his mouth shut the whole time we were together, but of course he does shed.
NO DROOL!! He sleeps on a memory foam pad, loves stuffed animals and toys and as you've all mentioned already, will follow you EVERYWHERE. Linda & Gary are very similar to how my husband and I are - I think Dexter is perfect! My husband and I even took him out for a short walk last night, I was able to walk him a short distance and he was fine. I think we would have to leash train him a little better to my size and pace (he's used to Gary who is about 6' tall, I am 5' and very light) but right now I am also 5 months pregnant and he listened to my commands prefectly. I hope they choose us to be his next family. They are letting him go because they are moving and Gary has a neck injury and won't really be able to play with him as much as they normally do. They're very torn about giving him up, but they know it's not fair to keep him under these circumstances. My husband said he didn't even look at their kids coz he knows how hard it must be for them.
So, that's what happened last night. I'm already thinking of things to get him and where to put his bed and toys. Of course, still holding a little back in case we don't get to have him.....keep your fingers crossed!