Chance #7 Black Labrador Retriever Mix Male 1 Year Old ID #3057

March 27, 2022

Chance has been with us for just over a week now. He is for the most part a very mellow dog, except for his morning escape from the crate, when he jumps all over and acts like he hasn’t seen us in a year. It’s funny when Chance is excited to see you because he is generally not a super affectionate dog and is fine relaxing independently with walks and playtime in between. At night he will sit very quietly on the sofa next to one of his humans for some pets and scratches with his head bowed and then lay down by himself.

Chance is not always thrilled with his foster fur brother’s play tactics, but he does hold his own, even though foster bro is undoubtedly a cheater.

The two get along best when they are patrolling the neighborhood and Chance is much easier to walk using a Freedom No Pull Harness. However, there’s no stopping his sudden stop and sniffs as he feels this is the most important part of his daily adventures.

We still have not had any accidents since the first two days here, and Chance seems to understand he needs to do his business out back or on walks. As the weather gets nicer, Chance might enjoy spending more time in the outdoors. On some of the nicer days, Chance will be put outside and immediately plop his behind in the grass to sit and catch a breeze. Other days, he will immediately turn around and plaster himself against the door to come in, which can be either “Hey it’s too cold out here!” or “Wait, what’s going on in there without me?!”

Chance is not a fan of spending time in his crate during the waking hours and barks repeatedly to express his displeasure of being left alone. However, it shouldn’t be long until he is reliable to be left to free roam. As long as there are no shoes left in the open and no food on the counters. Other than this, Chance is a pretty easy dog to have around.

March 23, 2022

Chance is starting to get more comfortable in his foster home and is working on keeping up with his foster fur brother, Brutus, while also spending some time independently. Chance gets up early with foster dad and has a little quiet time on the couch, while foster bro takes a little extra snooze time with foster mom. But all peace is gone once the boys meet together, and both greet each other with some jaw spars and a couple of Half Nelsons. Don’t let his size fool you. Chance looks to be the perfect size to scoop up and snuggle, but this boy is a little 50 pound tank and all muscle. He holds his own against his bigger foster bro, even when playing tug o’ war. He has also been making it clear to Brutus when enough is enough.

Chance loves to sit at the door and window and watch for any outdoor activity. When Brutus runs to the door to bark, Chance will be right on his heels, even if he was all curled up for a nap. Chance, however, does not feel the need to make a ruckus for every dog on the block. He prefers to just watch the world pass by and reserve his cute little voice for the most suspicious offenders. Chance loves to go on walks and enjoy adventures side by side with foster bro, until one dog catches a scent and branches off and the other follows to compare sniffs. They mostly stay together but sometimes Chance’s superdog strength pulls him (and foster mom) spontaneously in a new direction. When he gets focused on a sight or smell, he is very intent on moving towards it to investigate and planting himself until he has it all sniffed out.We have not had any accidents in the house since the beginning of Day 2 so we are on the right track for house training. Chance is obsessed with stealing shoes though, and he is swift and quiet when he does. Sometimes we enter the bedroom and never hear him wander in behind us. But then there he is, sitting in the living room on the couch with a pair of sneakers. (Did he steal them separately, or both at the same time? I guess we’ll never know.) Aside from these little quirks, Chance is a very easy dog to have around and once he has a little more training under his belt, he seems like he will be a very low maintenance fur buddy for almost any family. Stay tuned for more updates as we get to know more about this sweet boy.

March 22, 2022

On our second day with Chance, he continued to acclimate to his new surroundings. Since his first couple of accidents in the house, we have learned that when Chance makes a beeline for the far hallway, we need to get him right outside. It won’t be long until he knows right where he needs to go. Chance and his foster bro continue to get to know each other and both will probably learn new things. Chance is learning how to keep his post at the door and watch for any outside activity, and hopefully he will teach his overexuberant foster bro about personal space. Chance has given us a few good “Sits”, but when he sees treats, he gets so excited, he immediately stands on his hind legs with his front paws in the air flapping around, so he needs just a little work there.

Chance seems like an independent, mellow guy for the most part. He will walk around exploring and then settle on a dog bed or the couch. He will also enjoy a good bone to chew when he is looking to keep busy. He is so far not very demanding of attention, but will stop by for a few pets and thoroughly enjoys some belly rubs and chest scratches. However, his quiet demeanor is not to be taken for perfect angelic behavior, as we started finding several misplaced shoes when his foster bro had an alibi. Soon after, on a couple of occasions, he was caught red handed and proceeded to run around shaking the shoe or slipper in his mouth and then tossing it in the air. No damage done at this point, but his teeth have been seen reaching for some non-doggy items, so we will be keeping a close eye on this little guy.

We can already tell Chance is a treasure and going to be such a fun dog to have around.

March 20, 2022

Yesterday we picked up adorable Chance from his very long journey up North. Chance was very quiet as he lay in the back seat catching the breeze and alternating between sitting watching the trucks go by and laying down, looking a bit like he was done with all of this driving around.

At home Chance enjoyed his first walk with foster fur brother Brutus and met some neighbors. Chance is friendly and relaxed when meeting new people and sits nicely. The boys walked great together. Chance is great on the leash and doesn’t pull. At home we all continued to get to know each other in the yard.

Inside the house we showed Chance to his water bowl and his crate. He proceeded to find a nice piece of decor to mark as his own. We’ve had couple of accidents in the house, but Chance has been picking up on things quickly, so we should be able to correct that soon. He also drinks his water just as neatly as his foster brother…. which is not at all. Endless puddles from kitchen to dining room. Chance’s little front paws made it up to the counter tops within the first couple hours here, so we will have to keep an eye out for counter surfing.

Chance has big, beautiful eyes and a sweet little face. He will come right over, and sit with his head down to enjoy some pets. He has been very tolerant of his big goofy foster brother who seems like a horse next to Chance. At about a year and a half old, Chance is on the small side for a Lab mix. He is not at all intimidated, though. We went for another walk this morning and the boys enjoyed checking out the neighborhood smells together.

At night, Chance slept in his crate with only a minute or two of protest. So far Chance has been mostly quiet and mellow with just a little bit of a  instigator in him. We are looking forward to getting to know this cute little guy!