Marina is a young dog so she exhibits the exuberance of a puppy, yet she is an intelligent and sensitive dog who can throttle it back and just chill out.  When you have quiet energy, she is calmly at your side.  But, when you crank it up, she will play as hard as you can, whether it is fetching or running. 

When she first arrived, she tugged at the leash.  Now she strolls quietly at your side going on walks.

In our household, we have Jax, a middle-aged male dog most likely pit bull  and retriever.  He has taught her respect with just a little growl.  She does not eat from his food bowl or take his treats.  They play tug together and hang out together.  She walks right under his belly then turns around to engage him in play.   

Our second dog, Nacho, is an 8-pound Yorkie who thinks he is the biggest dog in the house.  He is tough and opinionated.  She is great with him, too.  He referees when she and Jax are playing, usually right in the middle so they have to jump over him to avoid crushing him.   The other day she was lying on the couch and he was playing with her, sticking his head right in her mouth just like he does with Jax. 

She is very clean in the house.  Because we have an elderly person in our household, the pets have someone available to let them out in the yard or to walk them every few hours.  She has never had an accident in the house.  While she did pull the stuffing out of the first bed in her crate, she has not chewed on any furniture in the house. 

We do allow pets in bed and on furniture, so she is allowed the same privileges.  When I am here and have her out of her crate, she will go lie down on the couch after a few minutes.  She has not displayed any nervousness or insecurity.  She is great in the car.  The other day we took a 45+ minute road trip to the vet.  She went into the back seat, spent a couple of minutes with her front paws on the console, then curled up on my barn jacket and slept the rest of the day – no barking, panting, whining! 

She is crate trained and just lies down on her bed quietly.  She barks occasionally if she hears something outside.  Occasionally she sees the cattle in the barnyard and barks at them because she doesn’t understand what they are.  Our other two dogs do the same thing. 

We have three cats – Samantha Jean, a 17 year old female; Felicity, a 2 year old feral female; and a brand new household member, Rogue.  He is a barn cat but is currently in the house for his initiation period. Marina is respectful of the cats.  Being new to our house, they like to hiss and spit at her.  She sometimes moves a little fast, but they don’t run and she backs off. 

She just met the new cat who is exploring for the first time.  I am happy to report that it was without incident.  She approached cautiously and he rubbed against her and continued on his business.