Baby is a sweet & gentle yellow lab/shepherd mix with a very soft coat. She is a low key gal who loves to be with people and does not mind cats or other low key dogs. She's solidly housebroken and has not had any accidents at all in foster care. She's just an easygoing dog in general and we are really enjoying having her in foster care with us. She is fostered with a cat, 3 small dogs <20 lbs each (female) and a husky (male) and she gets along fine with all of them. She is friendly to humans and greeted recent visitors to our home with gentle tail wags and all 4 feet on the floor. Baby is tolerant of people and animals around her food bowl and will simply walk away if anyone else shows interest in her food. Seems to enjoy overall handling, did fine in a bath and doesn't really mind having her ears cleaned. We haven't noticed her barking unless the pack gets all riled up about wildlife out in the yard, and even then it's minor. She does not bark when she hears the neighbors outside. We've only noticed one minor issue with her and it's that she will counter surf if we've just made a batch of home made dog biscuits. If you have other pets in your home, Baby would prefer that they not be high energy/in-your-face dogs. She likes the couch potato types much better. She is completely cat tolerant and does not bother our cat at all beyond the occasional sniff if he comes over to her. She has not shown any interest in his litterbox either. Baby is about 4 years old and weighs around 80 lbs. She's a little thin and could probably gain a few, maybe up to 85 lb. She stands about 23" tall at the shoulder.
First week in foster care:
Friday evening update: Slow but steady progress toward playing with other dogs. We just came in from the yard, tossing a ball around with Susi and for the first time Baby showed some interest in joining the game. I suspect she just takes awhile to get used to new canine companions. Still follows her foster mom everywhere and enjoys attention from everyone in her foster home. Very cat tolerant. Has not tried to chase our cat. Shows some mild interest in the wildlife in the yard, but usually only after another dog has gone charging out there to check it out. Does not climb on the furniture. Someone must have trained her to stay off their couch and beds. Still backs away from her food bowl at the slightest disruption. If another dog (no matter how big or small) approaches, she'll just let them have it. So far she's medium to low energy.
Wednesday update: Baby's starting to loosen up a little now. Hasn't really gotten into full on playing yet, but there's signs of occasional interest in playing with her foster mom or Susi. But Susi's intensity of play seems to be too much for her, so she ends that pretty quickly. She's a relatively quiet dog, doesn't bark much. Very cat tolerant. Pretty tolerant of other other dogs here too. Doesn't seem to enjoy dogs that are very in-your-face-come-play-with-me-now types, but nicely blended with dogs of various sizes that aren't constantly pushing at her to do something. Beautiful dog, pictures don't do her justice. Very sweet & gentle, even takes treats gently. Eats very slowly, we have to feed her separately to ensure she gets her share of the food. When others approach her bowl, she'll just walk away and let them have it.
Tuesday update: I woke up to a bouncy, bubbly Baby this morning. She slept loose in the family room last night and when I came out of the bedroom she was very happy to see me. Still no accidents, she's housebroken.
Monday update: We're pretty sure Baby's housebroken. No accidents indoors and as soon as we take her outside she potties right away. We went out to run errands for about an hour yesterday and left her uncrated and she did fine. She's loosening up a little and considered playing with Susi this morning, but only briefly. Then trotted after a ball and decided a nice roll in the grass would be fun. Totally nonreactive to our cat. We've taken the baby gate down so she can mingle with him at will, but she doesn't bother to go near him.
Sunday update: Baby arrived late in the day yesterday. She's had a bath and had her ears cleaned (man was she stinky!) and she looks/feels much better now. So far she seems pretty low key, but she's just beginning to de-stress from the shelter environment, so we'll have to see what she's acting like in about a week. She already loves her foster family and follows them around, laying at their feet when they sit down somewhere. She spent her first night sleeping on the crib mattress turned dog bed at the food of her foster parents bed. Quiet as a mouse and no accidents all night. She could possibly be housebroken, but it's too soon to tell for sure. (Update: Still no accidents, we think she's housebroken.) Background: She was surrendered to a shelter along with a male GSD mix. He was already altered so was adopted immediately. Baby seems a bit sad right now. We're not sure if she's missing her human or if she was bonded to that male GSD that was torn from her life. More info and new photos coming as we get to know her better. Date of birth on her paperwork is 8-1-09. She weighed 79 lb on 8/23 but could probably stand to gain a few lbs. Update from the shelter staff: The ACO said Baby came to the pound on 8-8. They were owner give-ups because she and Shasta (the male GSD that was adopted) were chasing the neighbor's livestock. The neighbor was threatening to shoot them. It's unclear if she or Shasta or both were doing the chasing.
Update: Baby arrives today, Saturday 8/24! We can't wait to meet her! Her temp foster mom sent us a video of her having treats with other dogs around. We've just added that to her listing. She says Baby has a very sweet, docile temperament. More info coming after we meet her and she's settled in here. She weighed 79 lb at the vet's on 8/23.
Notes from her temp foster: I've walked her through my neighborhood twice - 15 mins each time. She'll walk by my side or loose leash out in front. Tugs gently but very easy to walk. She knows her name and if you say it, she'll come back to you when out walking. She was shy to meet my dogs at first, but after everyone shared a yummy she's fine now. She understands that a yummie is a reward and she wants it/likes to get it - but she's not a chow hound like my dogs so she'll drop the yummie and come get another positive reinforcement. She will mouth me if I hold a yummie and not let her have it - gently nibbles at my hand to get it. Nothing forceful. She slept all night 11pm to 6:45 am in her crate without a peep. Ate lightly last night. Nothing this morning. Drinking OK. Also please tell Ratchet that she talks. She'll whine at me when we're walking and puttering in the garage. She's a very calm 80 lb dog. You're going to love her!
Baby is in a crowded shelter that's begging for rescue help. She's on limited time due to so many dogs incoming to the shelter. We can arrange her transport to local foster care with adopter interest. Below is what we know about her so far. We are trying to get more information but it's difficult as the volunteer who evaluates dogs for us works full time and doesn't live close to the shelter, so it may take a few days to get an update. Plus we would need to get her vetted and heartworm tested before arranging her transport to foster care. So if you submit an application today, please be aware that it may be a couple of weeks before we can get her ready to meet you.
Shelter bio: "Baby" - yellow lab/shep mix, female, ~3 yrs, ~ 70 lbs. Big dog.. very friendly, fine with dogs. Fine with all over handling. Friendly expression.
* Adoption Area * Adoption Application *
We are not a shelter. Our dogs are fostered in a home environment. All meetings are by appointment. If you are interested in meeting or possibly adopting this dog, please check that you are located within our adoption area and then submit a completed application to begin the process. Incomplete or out-of-area applications will not be processed.
Blog: Hey, Old School Dominance Theory: School’s Out!
Recommended dog trainer in the Lehigh Valley area: Jill Wright with K-9's In Training. We've used Jill's services for our own dogs and foster dogs as needed. We LOVE her training methods...and so do the dogs! Please tell Jill you saw her info on the Happy Dog Rescue site.
March 25, 2024, 12:03 am
