Carly Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 5 Years Old ID #3137

May 20, 2022

We’re coming up on two weeks with this sweetheart. Carly is learning so much. She has navigated a full flight of stairs! She is slow and steady on the way down and a freight train on the way up. She found that she loves to look at the beautiful fox red lab that lives in the mirror in the basement. She will stand there for the longest time watching herself. Carly has started to show some interest in playing with the resident dogs and playing with some toys. Each day she shows a little bit more of herself to us.  Carly walks on leash like she’s done it all her life. She also has great recall with “Carly come”. While she may not always trot into the crate willingly, she is doing much better and once in there she’s the perfect dog, not a sound and doesn’t even mess up the blanket. In fact, we’ve yet to hear her bark at all. We have let her out on free roam a few times for short periods of time (adult son in basement for emergencies) and she is content to just chill on the couch. Carly is doing well with house training too. She has only had an accident in one particular area and if we restrict her access to that room, she’s accident free. Her code to go out is a bit vague, as she’ll just walk by the door. But we go out often and she does her business quickly when outside. Carly loves to be outside. She will lay contentedly on the porch for hours and she’s slowly learning what dog beds are for.

I have never met a dog that was so NOT food motivated. Carly would give up all the treats for a “good girl” and a hearty petting. She has progressed to simple dry dog food but we’re still working on her eating the whole cup in one sitting. She tends to do best with reinforcement “good girl” and pets (while she’s eating.) She also has zero guarding issues since the two resident dogs sit about a foot away from her waiting for the leftovers.  She will take a treat but does best if the other dogs are nearby. Or she might just spit it out in favor of pets. Again, to the delight of the resident dogs. I’m sure any weight Carly has lost has been gained by the others. Since Carly is not food motivated, we’re having to get creative in training. She did the steps simply because all her people were at the other end and it only took about 2 minutes! Now that she’s healed from her spay, we’ll be working on getting in the car. She will get out on her own and rides wonderfully, just needs to work on getting in.

Carly loves all people. She greets everyone waiting for pets. She doesn’t jump up, but she might bounce a bit, which is adorable.

We are enjoying watching this beauty find herself and show her personality. She will be a great family dog. Stay tuned for more on this sweetheart.

May 12, 2022

Carly is recuperating nicely from her spay yesterday. You would hardly know anything happened. It was a blessing and I’m still wondering how she was lucky enough to get a cancellation appt before she went into heat. She got a clean bill of health, all her shots, microchip, & nail trim. It was a full spa day! She weighed in at 67.5 lbs. She really doesn’t look overweight but could probably stand to shake off a few more pounds. We’ll be taking things easy for a week or two while she heals up completely. Then we’ll be working on some tougher things like getting in/out of the car and going up/down a full flight of stairs. She is doing very well with stay and come but we still need some work on sit. Carly also walks very well on leash and the circles are diminishing. She’s become wise to the crate and does not want to go in. But if you can get her pointed toward the door, she’ll reluctantly go in on her own. We’re going to continue with it and hopefully she’ll come around. Once in the crate she doesn’t make a peep or move. She does well for a few hours during the day while we’re gone and all night long.

Today was the first day foster mom had to work (from home) all day. Carly has quickly learned the please stop working and let’s go outside look. We’re hoping to setup the outside desk to work from the porch tomorrow.

May 9, 2022

Carly continues to come out of her shell. She’s learning that belly rubs on the couch are quite nice. And she loves catching some rays in the yard, even though there are 3 dog beds on the porch. Carly could use some of that Brookline mojo as she goes in tomorrow for her spay. Yay!After she’s healed, we’ll be working on commands and stairs next. While she navigates the few stairs on the front porch, she hasn’t braved the full fight to the basement yet.

May 8, 2022

Carly is a 5-yr old female yellow (fox red) lab. All of Carly‘s 70lbs are packed into a fairly petite body. She is a tank, super solid. After meeting the two resident dogs and getting a curious look at the dog wash, Carly reluctantly had a good scrubbing. Then out came that gorgeous, super soft, fox red coat!Carly did very well last night sleeping in a crate in the living room from 10:30pm to 6am without a sound. In fact, she hasn’t made a peep yet. She loves people, is active and playful, and seeks out attention. Carly is doing well with leash walking, only pulling slightly while doing the typical lab circles, all the while showing her true lab self as she plows right through all puddles/streams/mud. It seems Carly will have a lot of practice with baths in her future. We are looking forward to watching her blossom.Come back to check out her blog often as we learn more about Carly and she learns about the good life.