Dasher Yellow Labrador Retriever Mix Male 1 Year Old ID #2883

April 13, 2021

I took Dasher to meet some people this past weekend. He met people in groups of 1-3 and it was mostly men. Dasher was hesitant at first with everyone who came to meet him, but after a couple kibble, he was much better with them. I do think he warms up to women faster, but he was still completely fine with all the men he’s met outside. He has growled at my handyman who came to my front door, but again, after a few kibble, he was fine and he even followed him around after that.Dasher is doing great at sitting and waiting for his food and he knows now that he has to look at me for me to say OK, so he does it immediately now.

He’s doing better at sitting and waiting when I open doors, but I have to remember to say sit/wait because if I just open it he will bolt out the door. But he’ll also do it without treats.

Since it’s been rainy we’ve played a few rounds of the puzzle games I have for dogs and also hid some kibble around my living room when he was out of the room. He definitely knows the command “Find it” and will immediately start sniffing around. Dash knows Sit, Wait, Come Here, and Down. We’ve been working on “Paw” but I really think he is still wondering why I keep grabbing his leg. This one seems like it’ll take some more time. His fetching game is still completely random. I haven’t figured out why some days he’s really into it and will bolt across the lawn and flip the ball around in the air, and other days he really couldn’t care less about his tennis ball.A lot of times when I first come home Dash has some zoomies and we’ll go outside and he’ll just run around the yard. I’ve found that if I just left him go he’ll run on his own but if I try to say hi to him he’ll start jumping on me. We’ve been working on this so sometimes he’ll jump in the air, but not on me. Usually I let him run around a bit before I grab a toy and make him sit. This is also the time where he can be a bit grabby with the treats and nip the fingers a bit. He does seem to understand when I tell him “gentle” so I think he’ll get much better at it.I’ve also tested him outside of the crate while confined to the lower level of my split level. He whined a lot more and paced back and forth from the window to the door. I spoke to him over the camera and told him to be a good boy and lay down, and every time he hears my voice, he immediately stop and goes to lay down on the dog bed. The one that I have in that room has seen better days, and he’s almost started to pick at it because there is one hole where you can see the stuffing in it. But he has only tried once and never again. I see this as somewhat of a test because he LOVES to destroy toys. So I try not to leave a lot of things with him when he’s unattended because I’m concerned about him swallowing something too big. He doesn’t eat the fluff, just ears, and horns, or whatever he can pull off the toys. I’ve taken most of the cheaper toys away from him when I hear the ripping start. But so far he just sleeps on the bed when he’s down there. Such a good boy!

Dasher also loves to stare out the window. I noticed when he’s uncrated downstairs he has to stand completely stretched out to see out the window, so I put a bench down there so he can at least sit, although his eyes are still just barely at the screen. It’s adorable to see him watching me when I come home.

He really doesn’t seem to mind being crated though. As soon as I take out his crate treat (which is half a piece of chicken jerky) he runs into the crate without me saying anything.

I do think Dasher would be able to do free roam of the house eventually. He seems to be more of an opportunist if I leave something out. Every now and then I’ll see him sniffing at the counters but he hasn’t jumped up. Although he has gotten a lick of some things on my lift up coffee table when I’ve gone into the kitchen to get a drink (and I also forget he can definitely reach it). If he was faster he probably would’ve been able to eat my slice of pizza but instead he slowly tried to grab my uneaten crust and I heard him. In both instances I caught him in the act so he definitely knows he’s not supposed to put his nose on the table!

Dasher is also a goofy boy. He’ll play with his toys all by himself and roll around playing with them while he’s upside down. He’s also very loving and after he runs around for a bit, he wants to cuddle and give hugs and kisses.

He does react to dogs outside by pulling and some barking but nothing too extreme. He does much better if the dog ignores him but I’ll have to switch to some more desirable treats to try and get his attention (outside of the walks, he’ll do anything for a regular piece of kibble). Unfortunately most of the dogs we pass bark at him so it’s been a bit difficult to find a good training situation. Dasher has lived with other dogs before so I believe he can get better.

April 5, 2021

Dasher has been such a good boy. He goes into his crate on command (since he always get a crate treat after) and sleeps peacefully through the night. He doesn’t even make a peep even when he hears me moving around upstairs. I am still crating him (for now) so he has had no accidents inside. He absolutely loves to sit in front of my window and watch everyone outside. I have a somewhat busy street so there are plenty of people and dogs to watch. For the most part he’s quiet and just watches but every now and then he’ll start whining at passing pups and has only barked a handful of times. He is easily distracted by treats and he does not have a very loud bark. When walking around the neighborhood he doesn’t really pay much attention to dogs barking from homes but we are working on ignoring the dogs across the street. Dasher does a much better job if the other dogs just quietly walk by but he’s harder to distract if the dogs are barking at him. But we’re working on it!

Dasher is playing fetch a lot more now, always for a piece of kibble. But he still has times when he just doesn’t feel like it and lets me know when he’s done by just going to the door. He likes to destroy his toys and while he doesn’t eat the stuffing I’ve caught him ripping off the ear and eating that part so I’ve been keeping my eye on him a lot more and either cutting off the ears or throwing the toy away. But he also enjoys chewing on nylabones. I had an in-home zoom workout on Friday night and Dasher was a very good boy. While in the beginning he came over to my face every time I laid down, at some point he just started chewing on his nylabone and let me be. I was very impressed and my trainer kept commenting how well behaved he was!

I bought Dasher a new toy to jump over, see video below. So far he’s willing to jump over it for a treat but I’m hoping to include it during our fetching play time.

I somewhat introduced Dasher to my moms dog Lucy. I got them in the same room and just kept them apart to see if they would at least coexist. Dash seemed interested but was also perfectly content just hanging out with me instead of bothering with Lucy.

Dash met my brother this weekend. He came in with my mom (Dash has met my mom before) and he had no hesitation with him. I gave my brother treats to give Dash which he took without reservation and kept going back to him without treats.

Dash will be a great addition to someone’s home. He’s been a perfect gentleman inside the house. While I don’t let him free roam (yet), I have left him out while I took a nap on the couch and only woke up to a mess of toys in his play room. He appears to be trustworthy and I’ll start testing that a lot more.

One more thing I noticed with Dash is how he scrunches his nose when he’s so happy. He usually does it while getting cuddles and hugs so its hard to get a good picture. I let him on my bed for the first time and was finally able to get a decent picture. It’s not the best picture, but he’s so adorable!

March 31, 2021

The first couple days with Dasher have been good. The first day was rough because Dasher barked a lot at night and during the day when I was at work. But by Tuesday he seemed to get the routine and calms within minutes. He’s pooping routinely which is a first for me with fosters! He seems to only want to play fetch when he feels like it. Sometimes he’ll go back and forth multiple times, sometimes he’ll run after it but never bring it back, and other times he’ll just look at me and then walk the other direction.

He seems very interested in other people and dogs when we go for walks. I try to distract him with treats which gets easier as the days go by. But he’s never had a negative reaction with barking or anything. I’ve had a couple strangers come to the house (strangers to him anyway). He does better when I’m home for the intro, but he did well when I wasn’t home also. I suspect once he realizes these strangers are taking him on walks, he’ll start to get much better with them. Since it’s just me and him in the house, I wanted to make sure I had new people show up quickly so he didn’t start to get too protective of me or the house. So far, so good!Dash is a very good walker. Every now and then he’ll start to pull a little, but most of the time the leash is relaxed, although he is always directly in front of me (which gets awkward when he slows down because I almost run into him!). He LOVES to chew on his toys and destroy them. Thankfully he doesn’t eat any of the fluff. He knows exactly where his bin of toys is and will run downstairs, go through it, pick out his favorite, run around flipping it up in the air, and then come back up to me where he does more of that. I’ve been putting peanut butter on the end of his nylabone to encourage him to chew on that instead of ripping apart whatever toy he’s chosen… sometimes it works. After he’s done playing with his toys on his own, he’ll run over to me while I’m sitting on the couch and give me hugs, where he shows off his gorgeous smile. I give him lots of hugs and scratches, and then I work on telling him “off”. He seems to know already he’s allowed on my loveseat but not my couch. He tries sometimes to come up, especially when he’s giving me hugs, but I always tell him “off”, and he never just jumps up to take a nap like he does on the loveseat. I’ve also been working on making sure he doesn’t beg and I’m impressed with how quickly he’s learned. He certainly tries, but I make him lay down away from me and then tell him to stay. He eventually gets bored and either takes a nap or starts playing a toy. He is doing pretty well with “stay” and “wait” when we’re walking through doors and leaving the crate, although he’s not yet a pro. But again, getting better every day! We’ve been doing a lot of “find it!” with throwing treats around the house. I’m hoping to get to the point of hiding them because he does have a pretty good sniffer. I used one of the treat hiding games I have (video below) and he did well with one of them. He’s struggling with the more difficult one, but we’ll keep practicing.

March 28, 2021

Today was Dash’s lucky day!  Dash was picked up from Canine Kamp by his new foster.

Dash did pretty good in the car taking turns looking out each window.  He explored the house, crate and backyard.

Dash is going to continue to work on his training that he has been learning at Canine Kamp in his new foster home.

March 25, 2021

Today we got to meet Dasher at Canine Kamp! This boy is so handsome. He seemed unsure about a couple of strangers showing up in the middle of a pouring rainy day, but when he sniffed out that we had treats, he was on board with hanging out.

Dash showed us what a pro he is at the small hurdle jumps and running through the tunnel, and sit and stay.

He even decided it would be ok if we stopped to scratch his back sometimes, too…what a good sport!

Dash showed very good doggie manners during our hangout time and has such beautiful eyes. We heard he’s starting to be more confident making friends there! Before he went back inside, we asked Dash if he’d be OK with us coming back to visit. He said if we come with a baggie of his treats, he’s game!

March 21, 2021

My Mom, and I went to visit Dash on Sunday. He is super smart, and highly treat motivated. When you first meet him, if you would like to have his attention, just have a treat. He is not going to fall in love with you at first sight, he needs to get to know you (again a smart pup!) I could see that only time is needed for his comfort level and connecting with his human friends. When Virginia (Canine Kamp trainer) stopped by, he definitely knew her and jumped right up with tails wags to say hello.

Initially, he was head shy, would pull back for a head pat. Loved back rubs and butt scratches. Did I say he loved treats? And he takes them extremely gently. I was using nubs of treats right up to his mouth with no issue. He is interested in learning and doing activities. Here are a few videos of my attempts at agility work…lol. We had many takes and a few times I provided adequate guidance for him to know what to do!

He was very gentle with my Mom and did not try and jump up at all. He even came close to give kisses.

Look forward to seeing him again to see if he remembers us.

March 13, 2021

“Dashing” Dash is another wonderful, young dog looking for a fur-ever home. I’ve been able to work with him over the last few weeks as he stays at the kennel for more work socializing with other dogs and new people. His foster family did some fantastic work with him with his basic training and obedience skills and building his trust in his people. He was rather reactive to dogs that he’d see while on walks and very shy meeting new people. He lived with a couple of other dogs and got along fairly well with them, but is mistrustful of dogs that he doesn’t know.

Dash loves exploring, running around the fenced yards, going for walks and is starting some basic agility. He is incredibly athletic and very willing to learn new things.He’s food motivated and very attentive when we work and play.

In a kennel and daycare facility, I have opportunities to work with him around other dogs and meeting the various people that work and visit the facility. I have been exposing Dash to different types of dogs: young and energetic and older and calm. I walk him on a gentle leader and distract him with snacks as we pass by other dogs. My initial goal is to help him relax while just passing by, without worrying about getting close or meeting them. He has been doing very well, paying more attention to me and barking and pulling less, especially if the dogs are calmer. The gentle leader helps a lot! He seems unsure and nervous about the more excitable dogs. (Dash does walk very well on a plain collar or harness if there are no other dogs around.)

I have also been introducing him to new people. I have them stand quietly, just talking to me, without paying attention or reaching for him. I give him treats or have the people toss him treats. He usually warms up quickly, goes up to sniff people and allows them to pet him after only a few minutes. Once he is comfortable with someone, he is a complete love, cuddling up and enjoying being rubbed and scratched all over. He gets such a beautiful smile on his face during these moments!

Dash is such a joyful, sweet dog! I love getting to spend time playing with him!

March 1, 2021

Dash has been with us for over 2 months. We took him to the vet this past week to get a physical and get some blood work done and Dash is 57 pounds now!! He has gained 15 pounds since coming to Brookline. He is a growing boy! He is getting much better in the car and settles down nicely after a couple of minutes.

Dash really likes the snow. He loves playing outside and sniffing everything. He does not want to miss a thing!

Dash does great going into his crate at night and sleeping thru the night. Dash doesn’t make a peep until around 7am.

Dash loves being around and playing with our 3 resident dogs. He is very comfortable with them.

Dash does still need some work on meeting new dogs and new people, so Dash is going to be staying at Bedminster Canine Kamp to get some training on certain behaviors to make him the best dog he can be! We have no doubt that he’ll be a fantastic dog for a family soon!

February 1, 2021

Mr. Dash is still chilling out with us. He is enjoying his time here with us until he finds his forever home. As time has passed, we have learned what type of home would be best for Dash.

Although he lives with 3 other resident dogs and enjoys their company, we feel he would do best with being the only dog. His doggy manners when he first meets a new dog need some refining. He can overwhelm a new dog so we think being the center of attention with his new family would be best for Dash.

He loves his people, is a smart dog and is eager to please his humans and a treat in hand does not hurt either. Dash does very well with my two kids, ages 6 and 12. Dash is a very attentive to his person and loves to be loved by his family! For those families who have children or no children and no other dog, Dash is your man. And a yard would be a plus for Dash as he is a puppy and enjoys running around in a yard!

January 9, 2021

Guest post from Dasher’s Foster Dad today!

I think Dash is a great young dog and will make a fantastic, loyal, loving addition for a lucky family. 

When he first arrived he quickly learned that the two older dogs (7 and 9, both females) wanted nothing to do with his shenanigans.  He was quickly put in his place and accepted it.  Him and the two year old (male probably beagle-mix) are very competitive and play often.  They normally start to wrestle over toys and eventually just continue wrestling until it escalates to a point that they’re separated.  Both aren’t blameless but I wouldn’t recommend putting him in a home with a younger alpha male, they may go to long lengths to prove who is in charge.  Older females he seems to respect and follow.

He is very good at the commands Sit and Down.  He responds quickly to things like No and other boundary setting.  Stay is getting there but is often overcome by his energy.  The only times he barks at the moment are in the morning and when his Foster Mom leaves him somewhere.  He’s quite fond of her but happily accepts affection and attention from any other member of the family.  He does jump on some people but primarily only his Foster Mom and Foster Grandmother (a little).  Jumping has never been a problem with the kids or me.  I think it is just excitement and energy bubbling over. He has shown timidness and a little anxiety when guests come over but that disappears within a few minutes and then he’s best friends with them.  He has growled once at a visitor coming in unexpectedly but hasn’t shown teeth or aggression in any other instance.

Accepting the fact that he was found as a stray and likely had little love or training for his first several months of his life, this dog is an absolute treasure.  If we weren’t already at capacity for canine companions, I’d be pushing his Foster Mother to let me keep him.  He has had only a few accidents over the last several weeks and handled the chaos of the holidays like an old pro.  He has learned quickly and shows intelligence and a real eagerness to please.  He has shown no aggression around food and takes treats gently although he definitely enjoys his food.  He is a strong young dog and definitely can be amusing when he doesn’t realize how big he actually is already.  He seems to still think he is a small dog.  So far Dash has done great when left alone in the house both with the other dogs and by himself.  Dash has never had a problem being picked up, carried, cuddled or cradled with me.  He loves to sit with our 6 year-old son while he plays and seems to absolutely eat up hugs and kisses on his nose from everyone.  I think he’d do best with an active family or a fenced-in yard were he can burn off energy.

‘ll be sorry to see him go but excited for him when he finds his furever home!  He’ll make a great addition to a family and make some people very happy.

January 1, 2021

Happy New Year to everyone!

Dasher made it through the craziness of the holidays and thoroughly enjoyed himself.  He did great with the Christmas tree, presents and other opportunities for mischief.  This playful guy loves his new toys and loves to play tug-of-war with the resident youngster.  He loves the occasional treat and is quite the fan of ice cubes.

Even fireworks on New Year’s Eve didn’t cause him too much consternation although he did show some awareness and alertness over them.  He does however have a strong mistrust of vacuum cleaners, gas fireplaces and hair dryers which he will simply avoid getting close to.  No anger or anything but he keeps his distance.  He also is wary and quiet around guests but warms up after only a few minutes and will happily allowing petting and affection.

Dash continues to love to run around and play with toys followed by curling up in a corner, on a dog bed or with a foster family member to rest up for a while.  He is affectionate and has had no issues with the 6 year-old boy giving him hugs and has shown nothing but gentleness towards this young member of the family.  Every night he climbs into his crate with no hesitation and will sleep through the night without making a sound.

On Monday he’ll take his first trip to the Veterinarian to get chipped and a quick once-over.  After that we’ll start looking to his future and preparing him for a fur-ever home!

December 27, 2020

Mr. Dash has been with us for just over a week and what a change we have seen in him in such a short period of time. He loves being around people and doesn’t want to miss a thing.

He has learned the sit and lay down commands. We are working on off and stay. When Dash gets excited he does like to jump at adults, especially his foster mom. We are working with him on that bad habit.

Dash doesn’t like the crate too much and makes it known but will settle down after a couple of minutes. Each night he gets a bit better with sleeping in the crate.

Dash continues to be good with our kids and our resident dogs. He is trying to get into the resident dog’s good graces. The resident dogs are warming up to him and Dash’s high level of energy.

Dash enjoyed Christmas and all of his new toys. Dash loves toys and will toss his toys in the air to play with them. He loves to play with balls and rope toys. Stuffed animals are no match for him. We have already lost a couple of stuffed animals to Dash.

Dash is shaping up to be a great dog for a fun family. Stay tuned!

December 21, 2020

Dasher (or Dash for short) (FKA Timmy) arrived via a Rescue Ride early on 12/19/2020.  He was an absolute sweetie on the ride to our house, happily looking around and giving kisses to his new foster family members in the back of the car.So far Dasher is what you would expect from a dog that was likely seldom inside prior to being rescued and certainly never trained.  He was found in South Carolina eating from a trash can. He is surprisingly good around food given his history. He takes treats very gently and does not gobble his meals.  He likes to jump up with his front paws on counters, tables and anything else that might be holding some new wonder.  He also jumps on people when excited but not too often.  He is learning how to sit and to follow simple commands. Dash is fairly quiet puppy, I have only heard him bark once or twice. This handsome blonde has had one minor accident when he first arrived but otherwise has been good in the house.  He did great sleeping in a crate on his first night with no accidents.So far Dasher has had no problems with other dogs, adults and children.  Our resident dogs are not sure about him but they are tolerating him but he has no problems with them at all. . All he wants to do it play with them. He loves to lay down and cuddle alongside a human.  Our first impressions of Dash is that he’d be great with an active family with a fenced in yard.  He looks to be very intelligent and trainable with only a little time.  At about 45 pounds he has some growing still to do and will be a strong, solid dog.  With a little training and love this guy could be a great addition to any family. Stay tuned!