Sage is sweet, biddable and resilient.  She's always been a "thinker," considering new situations and people, but not fearing new experiences.  Give her a moment to absorb, and she's good to go!  She learns things amazingly quickly, and shows natural herding instincts.  She is always close at hand, but is not afraid to work independently.

Officially, she is an Emotional Support Dog who provides grounding and Asperger's support, but she is being given the full training and socialization required to function as a service dog, and has done well through doctor, therapist, and dentist appointments, blood draws, sitting quietly under the table at outdoor seating at Starbucks, and shopping in various dog-friendly retail establishments.

She can be sassy and has a mischievous puppy-streak, but is "soft" and responds to gentle correction easily, intuitively understanding most of your desires.  She can be a little shy and unsure of new training if she's not sure she's doing it right (because she wants to please!) but she learns very quickly when training is marked with a clicker, and shows she can "figure out" the next step of the trick/behavior without overstepping the mark or being too anticipatory.

In her nose work class, she takes a moment to settle and get her head into the "game," but then goes straight to the locations with scent.  While hiking, she even led me to a duffle-bag full of clothing in the woods!  She definitely has S.A.R. potential, if it weren't as much about the handler being outdoorsy and suited for S.A.R. work... ;-)

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