The wife and I have been fostering Hammy (aka Miss Hambone - the shelter names a LOT of dogs...) on and off for going on 6 months now. We recently found a home for 5 month old beagle/shepherd mix, "Rocket," and as soon as he was gone, Hammy came back into our lives. she's a sweet dog. Probably about 3 yrs old. Very active, but also not afraid to nap (a lot). She's just driving us nuts by wanting so much attention when we already have a dog at home. Honestly, I think she'd be a FANTASTIC hunting/tracking dog. she's definitely got some guard dog instinct (our neighbor nearly swallowed his cigarette the other day when he tried to sneak a smoke in his back yard and Hammy caught him), but is good with kids, and other dogs. I wouldn't trust her with a cat. She is totally house-trained, and has never chewed anything in our home. She knows some basic commands, and we're doing our best to reinforce sit, lay, stay, and come while we have her at our house. the only 'weird' thing about this dog is that she's afraid of tile/laminate floors. She slips, and gets nervous. Again, we're working with her on that by drawing her into our kitchen with food and attention. she does pull pretty badly on a leash, so we have her using a 'control collar,' which has helped. a "gentle leader" that corrects by pulling her snout might be even better, but we haven't had a chance to pick one up for her yet. www.secondhandmutts.org for more info, or PM me.