Carter Black Labrador Retriever Mix Male 1 Year Old ID #2890

January 31, 2021

Carter really enjoyed the last week here.  He has started going out back more now that our fence has been Carter-proofed.  His favorite activity in the backyard is chasing his human brothers around.

He also now loves looking out the front window to see what’s going on.  My silly sons also thought it would be fun to strap Carter in his seat belt since he now will sit down at times on our rides.  Teenagers…

Carter also was able to return to daycare, and was so grateful he thanked us by sleeping for a full 12 hours when he got home, only waking up to move from the dog bed in the kitchen, to the dog bed in the tv room, to his crate in the bedroom.  Finally, an activity that really wears him out!

Carter’s weekend also involved an introduction to a potential adoptive family.  While goofy Carter was on his BEST behavior and did so well with the family and tried so hard to play with the dogs, the family’s dogs really did not enjoy the introduction. The resident male dog was very protective of his mommy (an issue this same dog had last week when trying to be introduced to another Brookline dog), and despite repeated attempts the male’s protective stance did not subside.  The adult humans were all a little sad but felt it was best that Carter not be placed with the family.  Carter was oblivious to what transpired and had so much fun playing, getting treats, meeting everyone including Wendy and Deb, and trying to eat goose poop!   My sons were ecstatic that Carter came back home with us.

Today Carter got to meet a fellow Brookline alum at the dog park, Sawyer.  Total coincidence!  His mommy told me the whole story and when you see Sawyer, you would never know how his life started out.  What a beautiful specimen and a walking advertisement for Brookline!  His mommy is so grateful.

So, Carter is still available for adoption!  He is such a great dog!  Yes, there are puppy behaviors and rambunctiousness to deal with…but what do you expect from this one-year-old handsome goofy bundle of love?

January 24, 2021

Carter had an enriching last week in our home. He couldn’t go to daycare until his medicine was finished (it is done!) so he stayed home last week. He sat around bored, waiting and hoping that his forever family would find him soon and that we would let him go back to seeing his friends in doggie daycare in the meantime.   He got very good at telling Turner how bored he was:

Turner, making a little effort to be a good foster brother, tried to teach him more about chewing toys.  Carter is already very good chewing toys, but Turner showed him how they could chew together:

Once Carter got the hang of this, he realized he preferred just to take Turner ‘s bones and chew them while Turner looked on in disbelief:

We then thought we would try some enrichment games for Carter. He seemed to like hide the kibble:

He wasn’t sure what to think about watch the robot:

Carter had some lovely naps in the sun see below, clearly one of his favorite places to take a snooze.  He has been sleeping great at night in the crate as well, and even started going in without a treat!

We have had a lot of nice long walks since the weather has been good. But his favorite activity is still the dog park.  He just loves playing with other dogs!

We have had a lot of nice long walks since the weather has been good. But his favorite activity is still the dog park.  He just loves playing with other dogs!

He is also enjoying his car rides to and from the park, sitting next to his human brothers (he may have declared a few favorites but I promised him I would never tell anyone.

Carter is looking forward to returning to daycare this week, and seeing what new adventures await while he waits for his forever family!

January 17, 2021

Some good things:

Daycare was fun.  He met a Vishla at the dog park…finally a dog as fast as he is!  They ran around in circles forever. He had some neighborhood play dates and a neighborhood Lab taught him how to walk across our pool cover!  Carter did more training with our sons on down, leave it, and take it.  He is finding more comfy places to nap during the daytime, such as under the piano. Fortunately is also finding less things to chew.  Shoes are still far and away his favorite.  Carter is getting better and better with the car, but still likes to sit right next to Turner even though there is plenty of room on the other side.

Carter also visited Valley Forge National Park for a nice walk with his foster family and human cousins.  He was very intrigued by all of the new smells and new dogs.

Carter learned how to climb over our fence!  He saw an animal behind our property and used the wooden cross supports to climb over our fence…twice! That part of the fence is only 3 feet but it was a good reminder that this is a crafty boy who really loves to chase animals and can’t be left alone.  Fortunately for us, Carter loves food more than he loves animals and came back to us for his treats.

Carter also got sick this week with a fever, dehydration, and diarrhea.  Poor boy, he really didn’t feel well and looked sick.  Turns out he has another GI infection called campylobacter.  At the vet he got some IV fluid, medicine, and is on antibiotics.  Carter has been enjoying his boiled chicken and rice, but just can’t figure out how to get it off of his nose.

It’s really comical to watch him try.  After a day he is already much better and back to his lovable spirited self!  The other not so good thing is that his infection is going to keep him out of daycare this week.  I think he is bummed.

Our family looks forward to what next week will bring with this big goofy bundle of joy!

January 10, 2021

Carter has been with us for three weeks, and he continues to be more enjoyable and loving every day!  He had a busy week full of good things:

1. He found out he can be adopted and is so excited!
2. He was fully treated for Giardia with a negative repeat test, and he has already gained 6 pounds! Look at his svelte physique below!
3. He went to daycare twice this week and LOVED it!
4. He had also had some play dates with neighborhood dogs in our backyard and he plays better and better each time.
5. Carter attended an outdoor 3 year old human birthday party for our nephew. It was at a busy park with lots of children, adults, and dogs and other than whining to meet and play with everyone, he was on his best behavior!

Carter has settled into a great routine in our house.  After morning walk and playtime, he settles down in our “schoolroom” and naps next to my sons.

He wakes up just in time for our late morning walk/play date, then after human lunch he will take another nap and then is excited for meal #2 and afternoon activity with walks, playtime, and sometimes the dog park.

He is doing so well that most days we have to keep a close eye but don’t have to crate him.  Some evenings he is so tired he lays next to us at the dinner table and doesn’t even get up to beg!  Pretty impressive for a one-year-old!  When he gets mouthy or barky, he reminds us that he needs more playtime or work to do. He is a shining example of the old adage that the more active you keep your dog, the better they behave!

Carter is hoping that soon his forever family will find him, he has worked so hard and is ready to go!

January 1, 2021

Carter wants to wish the Brookline Lab Rescue human and canine community Happy 2021!  He is so grateful to start the New Year getting ready to find his forever home…and he should be ready for adoption next week!   He thanks all of you for giving him this chance, and his foster family knows he will spend every day in his future forever home showing his people just how grateful he is!

Carter and our resident dog Turner are getting along better in the house.  Carter is learning that you can start to chew on anything if given less than 5 seconds!  He has really come to enjoy spending time with our sons, and will likely benefit from a busy home that has adults and children around.  He has also found a nice place to nap…next to his crate!

He is enjoying his many walks, dog park trips, and play dates, and we continue to work on his leash pulling.  Carter’s instinct of heel nipping comes out when he is playing rough with other dogs, but he quickly backs off with verbal warning.

Carter is a great eater and is already filling out, which makes his foster mom so happy to see!  Treats are a great motivator for Carter, and he continues to be a great student with learning sit, wait, down, off, leave it, and take it.

Happy New Year everyone!

December 28, 2020

We can’t believe it has been a week since Carter arrived!  He is learning like a champ and is really finding his way and place in our house.
Since we last updated you, here is what we have to report:
-He is housebroken like a champ!  Even going to the door at times and pawing to tell us he has to go.  We take him out often though just to be sure.
-He sleeps until 6-7 am in the crate and will patiently wait until you get him.  He still needs a treat/high value bone to go in (and sometimes a little nudge to get his hind legs in!) but he doesn’t resist much.  We also feed him a meal in the crate.
-Feeding him lunch in the car has really helped him get over his fear of it.  Today he hopped up into the car for lunch and didn’t even need the ramp!
-Carter loved his two play dates today!  Initially was a little rough with his heel nipping but responded to correction.
-He took his first trip to a dog park and LOVED it!  We kept it brief but he really enjoyed running around with other dogs since our dog doesn’t play with him very much.

We are going to do a little daycare so he gets some playtime with other dogs.
-Carter has had two visits from the trainer.  We are happy to report he seems to just be jealous of any attention our dog gets.    Anticipating jealousy, distracting him is working.
-He is doing well on his many walks.  He does pull intermittently so this will need to be worked on.  Several people have stopped us to tell us how adorable he is…which of course we already know!
-Carter has Giardia (an intestinal parasite) for which he has no symptoms but may explain why he is skinny.  He is on medication and should be good to go in less than a week.
-He has already gained weight and you can’t see as many of his bones in just one week!
-He is SO full of love!  He can’t wait to find his forever home and is working so hard to be a great dog to get there as soon as possible!!!

December 21, 2020

Carter had a great second day.  He took lots of walks and played outside in the snow with my sons , as well as playing a little outside with our dog Turner.  He is great on the leash (we are using a Martingale), and enjoys walking by himself and with Turner.  He gets SO excited to see other people and dogs, and is very sad if we can’t say hi to everyone.  We did let him play on leash with a very friendly neighborhood Swiss Mountain dog and he was great! I bet dog runs will be one of his favorite things once he gets to his forever home.

He only woke up once in the crate and still has been perfect with housebreaking.  He doesn’t love going in the crate but he is getting lots of delicious Kongs as motivation and so far, so good.

We tried a car ride yesterday; he is very reluctant but with some treats he did it!  We will continue to work on this.

Carter continues to be separated from our dog in some rooms, especially the kitchen.  We guess that being so skinny he has not had enough food for a long time and may feel threatened with another dog even around food.  We are working to teach him that there is plenty of food for everyone!  And keeping them apart more, he has had more success with his behavior today than yesterday.  Virginia gave me some wonderful tips to help Carter be successful around Turner and also to help Turner not develop a fear of Carter.

Tomorrow, the vet!

December 20, 2020

Carter arrived from South Carolina yesterday morning bounding out of the transport van!  He is a one-year-old lab/hound mix about 60 pounds, chock full of kisses and good behavior.  He has the sweetest face.

Carter spent his first day going on a lot of walks and being outside in the snow on lead.  He does wander on lead and is very excited by squirrels, but overall walked really well for his first day.  He has been a superstar with housebreaking – no accidents! – and his housebreaking behavior suggests that he did live in a home prior.  He quickly learned how to navigate the steps in our house.  He is doing well with our three sons, and slept in his crate in our oldest son’s room overnight with only a little initial whimpering.  Carter is eating really well and is super motivated by food.  He arrived very thin and we will work to get him to a nice healthy weight for adoption!  He clearly has tendencies to counter surf and jump, so is learning “off” and benefitting from having the leash on while in the house.  Carter seems very bright, learning “sit” quickly and already knowing which driveway to turn into after a walk without any prompting.

Carter has demonstrated some dominance behaviors towards our resident dog Turner (growling, putting his paw on Turner’s back) but we are working hard to make him quickly understand his place in our home.  We are going to try to keep them more apart, and hopefully that will improve soon.