Murphy is one year old, estimated to be born around March 22, 2005. He weighs 56 pounds and stands 36 inches from floor to top of his head. He is a "people" dog, loves lots of attention, and will be a big lap dog if allowed to do so. He will follow me around the house to be in the same room with me. He is now is laying on the floor beside me as I work. He likes to lean against me when I am standing.
He will give a hug when greeting people. I am 5' 11" and he stands on his rear paws with his front paws on my shoulders. We are working to teach him not to jump on people.
He is getting along very nicely with the cats. The two young ones are scared of him. The older one, Charlie, has already let Murphy know not to mess with him. A couple well-placed paws to the nose were apparently quite convincing!
He is high energy and wants to play all the time. Because of his size, he can knock you off your feet while playing. He is all legs right now, but with time and proper nutrition, he will fill out nicely.
The vet said he appeared to be in good health, but did have an ear infection which we are treating. Thankfully, he tested negative for heartworms! Fostered by Tammy in TX.
MURPHY's Foster Mom writes: He's a sweetheart. He is a baby boy in a big boy body. That, of course, can't be forgotten, when you see how big he is you want to assume he already knows better. We are working with him on the leash. I don't think he was walked much. He does get very, very excited when he sees the leash and goes all over the place when you get him out. We have been keeping him on a short leash so he gets used to walking with us. He's doing better already. He still loves to hug me while standing on his hind feet. Today he stood up against the hot tub on his hind legs and leaned his body back against me and put his head on my shoulder.
He has not slept in his crate since the 1st night (Ralph's soft side is showing through). MURPHY sleeps on the floor beside our bed. He didn't wander at all the first or second night. Last night, he went in and slept for a bit on the dog bed, then came back.
He loves to play with his toys and wants me to throw them - all the time. When he is not playing outside, he is definitely indoors with me. He wants to be with his people all the time and leans on them whenever he's not playing. When he first comes in from outside it takes about 5 minutes for him to find his toys or go eat and settle down.
He has a puppy bark when he plays, and a huge bad boy bark when he is spooked. EMMA was in the garage the other night and he didn't know it. She wanted in and scratched on the door and MURPHY let go with his ferocious dog act. He is likely to be protective.
He does counter surf (what dog doesn't), so don't leave food out. He will need someone willing to train him and be with him and not leave him in a crate. He loves to untie my shoe laces, steal my socks off my feet and, when playing, will try to get my arm and or pants leg or bare ankle in his mouth. He does not bite down at all. We have had no problems with chewing because, he has lots of toys here. He seems to always have his toy or a bone in his mouth.
He and EMMA are getting along just great. They played together this morning. EMMA has this "dog on fire" race that she runs in the yard every morning. This morning, MURPHY was right there with her! It was great fun to watch.
