Daisy #25 Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 7 Years Old ID#3353

Meet Daisy!  Daisy is a 7 year old, yellow farm girl.  Her breeding days are now behind her, and she will soon know the joys of living in a loving home.  Please read her blog from the bottom up.

July 3, 2023

It’s been nearly two weeks since Daisy came to stay with us since her other foster Mom, Tina, must now prepare for her big move. After being in Tina’s loving care, we knew we had some big shoes to fill as Daisy made great strides with her. From spay and eye surgery to getting acclimated to life inside a home, getting used to walking on a leash and most of all, learning about love from humans, Tina really saved her and gave her a whole new, positive lease on life.  Since moving in with us, we’ve continued to learn more about Daisy and build on all that Tina told us about this sweet girl.Daisy now lives with two labs and a beagle. Bella has become Daisy’s new best friend and the two are hardly apart. Daisy is definitely a dog’s dog and prefers hanging with Bella more than us. She is aware of where I am since I always have treats but hands down, lounging with Bella is her favorite activity.

Daisy is beyond patient with Bella as she does not respect personal space but this sweet girl is happy to have a companion that can show her the ropes.

Daisy’s uncertainly with humans remains something we work on. We read her cues and and approach her low and slow. It’s unclear what her past entailed but her hesitancy to trust humans is truly heartbreaking. With Tina’s hard work that we continue to build on, we are making great strides. She takes food from my hand and will follow me around the house. We are slowly working up to getting a leash on and off and taking walks. In the fenced yard, Daisy runs with the other pups, explores and barks at whatever they are barking about. She does not chase squirrels though so I don’t see a strong prey drive.

Daisy LOVES breakfast and dinner time and has quickly learned the routine, where to eat and how to be right in the mix while I’m fixing their bowls. Her love for food is great and has helped with trusting to take treats from my hand. She loves being a part of a pack and is much faster to bond with dogs than humans. I believe it will improve with time but this sweet girls needs (and deserves) lots of love, patience and time.That’s all for now! We’ll check back in soon!

June 7, 2023

May 18, 2023

Daisy has fully recovered from her surgeries and is continuing to make progress.   We have been traveling on the weekends to the shore for the last three weeks which initially caused Daisy to regress a bit with the new surroundings and new routine but is now starting to settle into to the her new environment.  She retreats to her crate when she needs to be but is also enjoying lounging on the gated front porch and our daily walks.  She will even sneak on the bed or couch if she thinks I’m not looking.  Hardwood floors continue to be an issue but as she gets more comfortable she isn’t running so quickly and slipping as she was, also additional area rugs have helped too.

We take three daily walks around the neighborhood and in the woods.  She is very good on the leash but has taken some time to learn to go potty on our walks.  I still use two leashes just to be cautious but she prefers the hands free leash as the leash in my hand is still scary to her.  We have encountered other dogs, kids, bikers and walkers.  She displays cautious body language but mostly ignores all and continues on.  Daisy has also learned to jump up into the car on her own.  Once in the car she settles right down and falls asleep.  I do still have to secure her harness to the car seat so she doesn’t jump out prematurely when I open the tailgate but again she is improving each time.

Daisy is still showing little interest in toys but is now dumping out her toy basket and will bring a stuffie into her crate with her, she doesn’t really chew on it but keeps it with her.  She is really coming out of her shell more and more, showing me her playful, happy personality especially at meal times.  Lots of tail wagging and zoomies!   I just know there is a happy, loyal and loving dog inside just waiting to come out with the right patient, loving individual or family.

April 14, 2023

Daisy has had another great week.  She is starting to really show me she is a lab!  She is very joyous in the mornings, greeting me with a wagging tail and puppy bows while I fix her breakfast, most days she will even have a few bursts of the zoomies!

She has also starting to take bits of food from my hand now, she is oh so very gentle.  This has been weeks in the making, starting with me tossing a treat near her to slowly getting closer and closer to me until she will allow my open hand next to the treat.  This is a big step for her in trust, thankfully she is very food motivated.
We continue to work with Henry the resident dog on leash with Daisy off leash in the yard.  She is very curious and will follow us (at a distance).  She is not bothered by dogs except she is still not interested in engaging in play yet.  Unfortunately Henry just wants to chase her and rudely get in her face.  He has been enrolled in classes starting soon to help him learn proper doggy intro etiquette, Daisy is a pro but Henry not so much.  Hoping we will eventually achieve peaceful co-existence maybe more.

Daisy also got to go on a nice walk in the park on Monday.  She still struggles getting into the big scary car but once in rides calmly.  She did however decide when we got to the park she didn’t want to wait for me to completely open the tail gate and with two leashes dragging, leaped out of the car and raced across the parking lot.  Not sure how I managed to stay calm but a scent caught her attention which stopped her just long enough for me to walk up to her and step on her leash.  Lesson learned! I will put this on the list of “must work on”.  We did have a lovely walk after that.  Daisy walks beautifully on a leash and is unfazed by people and other dogs on the trail.  A few noisy pups inside the gated dog park got her attention but she was easily redirected back to our walk.

And she is finally starting to show some interest in toys, not hers of course but she has stolen poor Henry’s favorite duck not once but twice and since this was her first real interest in enjoying a toy we let her have it.  RIP Mr. Duckie.
Lastly Daisy did have her spay surgery yesterday as well as your eye enucleation and mass removal from her mammary gland.  Needless to say she will be recovering for the next few weeks.  Today is day one and she is having a difficult time navigating with her new cone but is still responding well to my voice and very compliant.   She has no appetite yet so it is challenging to get her to take her meds but we have gotten some great advice and we are managing.  More adventures to come once she recovers.  

March 29, 2023

Daisy has had an amazing first week!  She is beginning to trust us and enjoy spending time with the family a little more everyday.She has had no issue with eating and going potty in the yard.  She is also very comfortable in her crate to sleep at night and when she needs alone time.  We have been sticking to a pretty consistent routine which is working well.  Every morning we eat and than go out in the yard for our “walk”.  She is getting used to walking very nicely on the leash and than when I drop the leash she will continue to walk right behind me all around the yard.  She is even learning to come to her name and follow my voice.Daisy was also introduced to the resident dog Henry this week, although she is very curious she is not too interested to engage in play just yet.  I continue to give the two dogs time together daily but separated by a gate.
Daisy watches very intently when I pet and play with Henry on the other side of the gate.  Hoping she soon realizes how much fun humans and Henry can be. Today we went to see the Eye Specialist.  Daisy is still afraid of getting in and out of the car but she was cooperative and did let me lift her into my SUV, two paws at a time, but we got it accomplished.  Daisy was so very brave for the vet and even let me pet her continuously during the visit.  She even leaned into my legs while we were there.  Progress!  The vet confirmed her left eye is abnormal in size and she is completely blind in that eye.  She also has a prolapsed third eyelid.  The specialist recommends to remove the eye so this should be done when she goes to be spayed.  Waiting to confirm dates for both.  Once at home Daisy jumped right out of the car on her own!  She did very well while riding in the car both ways also, she actually laid down and fell asleep.  More to come on car rides and leash training as we will be traveling on the weekends in a month.Daisy is an absolute sweetheart!  She s so brave and growing more and more confident everyday.  I can’t wait until she discovers toys and snuggles!

March 22, 2023

It took a little bit of time last night but Daisy came inside and was very comfortable in her crate and her room.  Daisy is already doing surprisingly well after starting out very scared with everything. She ate her breakfast without issue.  She had one accident today but she will get there.  I’ve taken her out on the leash in the fenced yard multiple times.  I’ve been letting her drag the leash while she gets comfortable with me being close.  I’m keeping the leash attached for now so I know I can easily get her back inside if needed.  She is getting much more comfortable and curious.  Daisy is kind of following me around the yard and almost followed me into the house.  Little steps right now but she’ll get there.

Daisy stayed outside for 1.5 hours, and then went into her crate to rest after all the sniffing and exploring.

March 21, 2023

Today, Daisy was sprung from the farm.  She was really scared, and a bit withdrawn. We had to hit the vet on the way home to get her vaccinations, and get a check up.  Another volunteer and her husband met us there to help get her out of the car.  She did good in the waiting room and even walked around sniffing the corners. She took the shots, blood draw and microchipping like a champ.  Daisy is blind in her left eye, and has a lump in one of her mammary glands so Daisy will need a follow up appointment to examine her medical needs and to get spayed.