Bennett (we call her Bennie) is a gorgeous dark sable puppy with expressive eyes who, with patience, lots of love and consistent training, will become the wonderful companion she is meant to be. She has been making consistent progress since she joined us in December. We hate to admit it, but she is much smarter than our male GSD (don’t tell him!); it only took her a couple of days to figure out the routine in our household, but it took her a while longer to trust us not to abandon her when taking her on car rides or walking her in unfamiliar surroundings. She is now starting to enjoy the rides and her daily walks! She walks well on the leash and is learning to heel. Bennie is not the “I want to meet every person and dog I see” type. It takes several meetings for her to become comfortable with you, but then she will greet you with tail wags and affection. Our dog and Bennie love each other, but Bennie can play very rough when she gets hyper-excited and does not seem to understand the signals the other dog sends her. We have not yet observed her around children, cats or small dogs, hopefully we can give an update on this soon. She barks when she encounters or hears something out of the ordinary, but is getting better at calming down. Ideally, we would like to see her go to an adopter who can continue her socialization, does not have to leave her alone for more than a few hours at a time and can give her plenty of mental stimulation and physical exercise. Having another active and social dog, or going on doggie playdates, would be great for her. She is house and crate-trained, but at this point still requires potty breaks about every 5 hours. She is being fostered in Virginia Beach and will be available for adoption after her spay surgery in February. Approved adopters can contact her foster at rumpf.vgsr@gmail.com. If you are not yet an approved adopter, you can start the process by visiting vgsr.org and submitting an on-line application.