Polaris was adopted several years ago as a puppy. Due to recent changes in the home Polaris (now Penny) is looking for her forever home. Below is what her owners had to say about her personality:

Update 6/14: Penny has a very low-key personality, but yet needs to be exercised as she is very athletic and will become antsy if kept inactive for an extended period of time.

She is potty trained and has not had an accident inside for over 2 years. She is trained to ring a bell at the back door when she needs to go outside.

Penny has never really ‘played’ even as a puppy. She is what we describe as a timid and somewhat aloof dog. She does not like loud sounds that startle her (thunder, the doorbell and she will bark very loud). We have given her many toys, but she is not interested in them, though she does enjoy chewing any type of bones and chewing the squeaker out of squeaky toys.

When indoors, she lies around in her bed and hangs out. She is not destructive to property. She does sleep in the bed with us, but knows that the foot of the bed is her area.

Important: Penny does NOT like crates. Obviously we tried crate training her when we got her, but the first few times we would leave and return she was out of the crate with scratches on her. We think she just hated it so much that she escaped without thinking. The good news is that although she is not crated when we leave the house, she remains in the house without chewing anything or making a mess. We simply give her a Kong filled with wet dog food when we exit the house and when we return we notice she just has been sleeping on the sofa or bed.

When we board her or take her to dog day care we take her to a facility that does not crate her and she has been fine, no destruction.

She really enjoys running at the dog park (she is the fastest there every time), and enjoys other dogs when she attends dog day care. She pulls on the leash a bit when she is walked only if you let her, but she just loves being outside.

Penny is a great watch dog and is very protective of the home. She will alert us if someone is at the front door, or if she hears a noise outside the house. When she does bark, we do not let her continue to bark, so it is not a constant bark inside the house.

She is a very intelligent dog. Besides telling us when she has to go out to use the bathroom, she knows commands such as:

sit (just say sit and pull your hand up from your side to your chest)

shake (say shake and reach our your hand)

high five (say high five and hold your hand up higher)

up (say up to get into vehicles or onto furniture)

down (say down)

 
According to www.dogbreedinfo.com, the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog is believed to have originated from Nordic Wolfhound being introduced some three to five hundred years before the Spanish arrived - However, no one will really know for sure. The state of Louisiana is cited as the point of origin, particularly the area of Catahoula. In 1979, the breed was designated the state dog of Louisiana. The Catahoula was named after a Parish in Northeastern Louisiana and after the mottled spots on its coat. At one time this breed was used to round up feral pigs and cattle -- livestock that had escaped, and was living in woods and swamps. It involved team effort that is highly coordinated and organized, fast paced, dangerous, and a marvel to watch. The ideal dog team usually numbers three, and they must work together. Otherwise, the one pig can kill all three in a matter of minutes. Each dog has to be aware of what the pig and the other two dogs are doing and react accordingly. Hunters sometimes used the Catahoula to trail and tree raccoons, but this dominant breed is more at home acting the thug with obstinate boars. This dog is used particularly on the difficult task of driving and rounding hogs and unruly cattle. The Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog is independent, protective, and territorial. Loving with their family and all people they know well and reserved with strangers (this would include strange children). They need to make up to a person, not a person make up to them. Of course there are temperaments on both sides of this, but this is for the average dog. They mature right around 2 and it is as if a light goes on and they say to themselves "I am an adult now and I need to act grown up." This breed's reservation with strangers should not be noticed in a pup, but will show as the dog matures. Although affectionate with his master, the Catahoula is not recommended for the casual pet owner who is uninterested in allowing the dog to function in his intended capacity. For the right owner, this is a protective yet dominating canine. Signs of timidly on a leash should not be taken as cowardness, but the intolerance for strangers. This breed needs a dominant owner who shows strong leadership. They have of life expectancy of 12-13 years.