Boudreaux Chocolate Labrador Retriever Mix 3 Months Old ID #2873

July 30, 2021

Boudreaux is:
— inquisitive
— playful
— brave but cautious when encountering new sights or sounds
— super cute
— loving
— smart
— independent
— fairly quiet except when he is playing with my dogs and barking at them
— sometimes stubborn
— alert, makes intense eye contact with his people, and should be highly trainable
— able to chill in the evening as long as he’s had enough exercise throughout the day
— able to settle in easily and learn a routine quickly

Boudreaux is approximately 12 weeks old and currently weighs 24 lbs. He has a great personality and will be a wonderful addition to some lucky family. He loves to hear that he is a “good boy.” He knows “sit,” is close to knowing “down,” knows that “in” means to come inside, understands eh-eh and no, and usually comes when we call “Boudreaux, come” or whistle for him. He knows our routine, knows when it’s time to eat, and sits patiently at the cabinet that holds the dog treats until he gets his treat after coming inside.

He loves playing with other dogs although, with his razor-sharp puppy teeth, he can sometimes play too roughly. He continues to try to establish his top dog position. He demand barks at my dogs to get off their beds or chairs so he can take their place. He’ll do the same thing to his people if his ball rolls under the couch and he wants you to retrieve it.

Housebreaking is a work in progress, but it has improved dramatically since he arrived two weeks ago. I keep an eye on him to get him out to pee, but when I get distracted and am not paying close enough attention, he may just squat and pee. We are down to that happening only once or twice a day and he is starting to let me know when he needs to go out (an intense stare or he sometimes sits at the back door, so you need to be paying attention). He sleeps through the night in his crate and gets two 1-1/2 hour naps in his crate during the day.

Boudreaux is all puppy, nips at people’s toes, fingers, and pants legs, and, when he is cranky (think overtired toddler), he jumps up to grab pants legs when we are walking. I carry a tug toy with me so I can distract and redirect him. Although I think he will eventually be good with children of all ages once he gets past the teething stage, for now, with his nipping, he is best placed in a family with children 10 and up to avoid his accidentally nipping a smaller child.

He needs a physically fenced yard since he LOVES being outside and wandering through my woods to explore. One of his favorite things to do is to sit at the edge of the patio and survey his surroundings or hang out under my pine tree and just watch the world go by.

Although he would enjoy being placed with another dog, he would probably also do well as an only dog as long as his family is committed to his training, exercise needs, and ongoing socialization with other dogs. If placed with another dog, he would need a confident dog that isn’t afraid to put him in his place if he starts playing too roughly.

July 26, 2021

I’ve never had a dog that stalked like this before. In this video, Boudreaux was stalking my male, who was sitting on the edge of the patio.  In researching it, it is something that all dogs might do but is most common in herding breeds, such as border collies.

July 21, 2021

Boudreaux is finally making progress with house training and he’s starting to let me know when he needs to go out.  He will either stare up at me intently or go to the back door.  Today he even went to the back door and barked. He still has an occasional accident in the house, but it’s much better than when he arrived 10 days ago. He is a very smart little dude – he runs in from outside and sits at the base of the cabinet where I keep the cookie jars until he gets a cookie!  The minute he hears his food being put in his dish, he does the same thing for his meals and patiently waits for dinner to be served. He is a surprisingly dainty eater. My senior female is tolerating him (most of the time) as long as he doesn’t jump on her. He knows sit, is learning “down”, knows “in” to come into the house, comes when called (most of the time), and knows eh-eh and no. My husband says that Boudreaux’s glance is so intense it’s almost as though there is a fully grown dog inside his little body. He has adjusted really well and is growing like a weed.  He’s 24 lbs. now at 11 weeks and is tall and lanky. Boudreaux is going to be a wonderful addition to someone’s family.

July 19, 2021

Boudreaux doesn’t need a Kong wobbler to slow down his eating but it does provide him with an extra challenge that helps to tire him out. He seems to enjoy it, but today was too hot even for this activity and his attention span was short. He ended up with his lunch in a bowl in the air conditioning, which he much preferred.  For a southern dog, this boy sure dislikes the heat.

The heat has made Boudreaux a bit cranky and when my dogs aren’t in the mood to play, he’s taken to jumping up and grabbing my pants legs when I’m walking.  So we are now working on his need to have something soft in his mouth to chew by carrying a braided tug toy for him to grab instead of my pants legs. This (as well as nibbling on people’s toes) is typical puppy behavior as puppies play using their mouths just as infants play using their hands.  We are having luck with redirection and substitution, but if that doesn’t work, he’ll be getting some 2-minute time-outs to learn that play only continues when he exhibits acceptable behavior.

He continues to try to make friends with my senior Lab, Gracie, but she isn’t very trusting — maybe that’s because he’s kissing her one minute and jumping on her the next!

In addition to demand barking at my dogs when he wants something from them, we’ve learned he will do the same thing with people if his ball rolls under the couch and he wants you to get it out for him! When he sticks his head in the dog pool to get something out (he’ll eat bugs, leaves, and anything else that is floating in the water), he will put his whole face underwater to try to grab something off the bottom and he sometimes blows bubbles when he does that. He’s such an entertaining little dude!

July 17, 2021

Boudreaux is:
— inquisitive
— playful
— brave but cautious when encountering new sights or sounds
— super cute
— loving and a great snuggler
— smart
— sometimes stubborn
— alert, makes great eye contact with his people, and should be highly trainable
— able to chill in the evening as long as he’s had plenty of exercise throughout the day
— able to settle in fairly easily and learn a routine quickly

One of his favorite things to do is to sit at the edge of the patio and survey his surroundings.  He is very alert and watches everything. He also loves playing with his outside water bowl.  He hasn’t done this in the house yet, so perhaps outside he is just chasing shadows in the water. He continues to try to establish his top dog position.  He demand barks at my dogs to get off their beds or chairs so he can take their place.  Normally, they give in to him, but last night Buzzy, after being chased off his bed, refused to give up his chair to the little dude. My Labs are becoming more accommodating with him though and will sometimes share a bed with him.

July 12, 2021

In just two days, Boudreaux has settled into his foster home very well. He knows where the door is to go in and out and he knows as soon as he hears the stainless steel bowls being picked up, he should line up for food along with the two resident Labs. He loves the small scoop of plain yogurt he gets with each meal and will eat that before the kibble. He is curious and cautious about anything new, but once he gets comfortable, he is feisty and fearless.  Boudreaux is a Cajun name that means leader and it is a great name for him. He definitely seems to want to be in charge. There was a fireworks display close by last night and he was not at all fazed by the noise. He is the cutest snuggler and enjoys lying alongside us on the couch or even standing on his hind legs to put his head on our shoulders. At one point, he buried his head under the blanket on the back of the sofa, so he may be into burrowing under the covers.  He sleeps through the night in his crate without accident and also takes two naps a day in his crate. His housetraining is coming along well, although he still has some accidents in the house as he doesn’t yet signal when he needs to go out.  And as with all puppies, he has to pee a lot! He adores exploring our wooded property although we had to block all the fox holes under our fence as he quickly found he could easily try to crawl underneath the fence. We spend a lot of time outside with him so that by the end of the day he is tired enough to chill and snuggle with us.

He is very vocal when playing with another dog or when he wants one of my dogs to give up their bed to him.  Otherwise, he is relatively quiet. He tried out for two jobs today – excavator and arborist – but is equally dividing his time between the two for now.

He hasn’t figured out what to do with the dog pool yet, but he thinks it’s pretty cool he can stand in the biggest water bowl he’s ever seen!

He plays with my male Lab but hasn’t yet learned how to read another dog’s signals when my male has had enough. So, we just end playtime for the time being when that happens. My female is too old to play and generally tries to escape his attention by lying on her bed or under my desk. When she wouldn’t vacate her bed when he demanded it, he just joined her on her bed, which is also a sure way to get her to leave.

Stay tuned for more updates.

July 10, 2021

Meet my newly arrived foster pup, Boudreaux, a 10-week old pup who arrived from Mississippi this morning. He might be small, but he’s mighty! He’s not afraid to take on my 90 lb. male in play, but he also loves just following Buzzy around the yard and letting Buzzy take the lead and show him the way. My senior gal Gracie isn’t too sure of him so she tries to steer clear. Boudreaux has an incredibly gorgeous chocolate coat with a white blaze with chocolate spots on his chest and some small splotches of white on his rear feet. He’s super friendly and lovable. But we found out he’s like a toddler in our 3 wooded fenced acres — take your eyes off him for 2 seconds and he can disappear into the woods quickly. He’ll be spending a lot of time on a leash until we are more comfortable with his wandering ways. Not sure what he might be mixed with, but he has Lab ears, webbed feet, and gorgeous hazel eyes. Welcome, Boudreaux!