Nora

My dog has the most unbelievably soft nose and ears. And she always bows to me in the morning, and then comes up to me with the most polite of junior-to-senior dog greetings. And she loves to run up to me in the driveway and explain to me how much she missed me and how nice it will be when I sit down and give her supper. And she is the best piece of exercise equipment I have ever owned - and probably the one I've actually achieved the most actual exercise with. And she is incredibly smart, picking up tricks and new obedience commands effortlessly. And she would LOVE to do agility training and competitions; she's already a huge fan of the tunnel and the ring.

But she's still biting. Tasha put a cup of hot chocolate down on the floor by her chair yesterday, and Nora tried to nip her when she reached for it. She cornered Rick in the kitchen two or three weeks ago and nipped him on both hands, one right after the other, for no reason. She lunged for Luc the last time he tried to put her leash on. She's developed a habit of stealing food from the pantry, and growling at anyone who tries to take it back. She even curled her lip at me this morning, again for no apparent reason. And it's getting worse.

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The dog trainer is strongly implying that she's just not safe to have around, and should probably be put down. Elizabeth agrees, and I suspect Noelle would as well (based on our last conversation). The fact is that after 4 months with us, if Nora is not safe in a quiet country home with patient adults, minimal disruption and lots of exercise, she's not going to be safe anywhere. I just hate to give up on her.