Dorothy Black Labrador Retriever Mix Female 3.5 Months Old #2920

Dorothy was found in a box as a stray in MS with her three sisters, and one brother, and has now made her way North to a foster home in PA.  Please read her blog from the bottom up.

https://www.petfinder.com/dog/dorothy-52985195/pa/warrington/brookline-labrador-rescue-pa06/

September 15, 2021

Dorothy is sweet, smart, interactive, curious, loving, attentive, and playful puppy. Dorothy has been a wonderful foster, and easily adapted to our routine. She has an easy going, and calm temperament, and is eager to please and simple to entertain.

She sleeps through the night in our bed without waking or moving around. She really enjoys playing with balls that make noise and will kick them around like soccer balls. Dorothy likes to play fetch and tug, and will entertain herself with squeaky toys and chew bones. Dorothy enjoys playing with my resident dogs and follows their lead on good indoor behavior. She would love to have an easy going, but playful furry friend in her new home.

Dorothy would be a great addition to an active family that has someone who is able to be home most of the time. Because of Dorothy’s young age, she will need exercise and training through out the day to enhance her basic training, and help with typical puppy behaviors.

September 12, 2021

Dorothy has been with us for a week, and I can say she is one fabulous little puppy!  She has been my easiest foster by far.  Everyone that meets her thinks that she has the best personality and temperament.Dorothy is sleeping through the night with us and doing great with the toilet training.  No accidents in the house so far.  We were taking her out every 30 minutes to start but have been extended the time out to 2 hours with no issues.  We’ve been keeping an eye on her, but we have been giving her free roam in the house.  She usually is in the same room as me, my husband or my two labs.  When she wakes up from a nap, we take her right outside. When you bring her out, she immediately goes on command, and waits for her piece of kibble.She’s already in a predictable routine and is just an easy-going little girl.  When we get up in the morning at 6am she goes out for a pee, eats her breakfast, goes right back out to do her business and then it’s her zoomie time.  She grabs toys and goes to my two labs to play with her.  Sometimes, she’ll bring a toy over to them and then bark, like she is saying, “come on try and steal it.”  They all play so well together! Dot definitely is making life more exciting for my two 10 yo labs.

Around 8:30am, its nap time which is perfect timing for me to head out to the gym.  When I get back, we all go for a walk.  After the walk she rests a bit and then is pretty mellow the rest of the day, and will play with my labs with toys, or by herself with chew toys, or hang out with me or my husband and nap.  She does like collecting toys and bringing then all to one spot in the living room or on her dog bed in the kitchen.  If she is in the mood to play, and no one is playing with her, she will bark at her toys almost as if she’s saying, “come on do something exciting!”  Dot’s only vice is that she is a shoe stealer!  If it’s a shoe and it’s on the floor, then Dot is going to bring it over to her pile of toys that she collects.  We just have to keep them up off the floor now which isn’t a bad thing.She was super skinny when she first arrived but with three meals a day she is filling right out.  She is still food motivated so I can use kibble for her day to day training.  She has already learned “sit” and does “down” pretty good, and sits to put on her leash to go out.  Dot comes in and sits to take off her leash, and the door can be open and she doesn’t try to go out without permission.Dot’s great with the time and knows when it’s getting near lunch or dinner time.  Dot has a funny way of letting us know she is hungry by picking up her bowl and walking over to me or my husband, putting it down, and giving us a couple of barks.  It is hysterical and she is usually right on time.

I’ve been taking Dot for walks with my two labs and she mostly just follows along at their pace.  When she stops for a sniff, I let the leash go out and keep walking.  When she realizes we are still going, she stops the sniffing and catches right up.  When she gets out ahead of us on the long leash, she stops and looks back at us and waits for us to catch up.  When she is on the short leash, she walks without pulling.This weekend, Dot came with my husband and I to NH.  She did fantastic in the car.  She rode in second row of our pickup on her dog bed.  She played with some toys and then slept for a good 3 hrs.  We stopped at a rest stop and she did her business and rode for another 2.5 hrs without any issues.

Dot loved going for a hike around the lake on a long leash.

She entertained herself on the long leash trying to get leaves out of the water and digging in the dirt for sticks while we did some work in the yard.  She ran right out on the dock and wasn’t hesitant with the flow through decking at all.

When we started taking the docks out, I put Dot in the screen in porch.  She really didn’t like being away from the action and barked for a minute or so but then decided she would get a better view of outside from on top of the table.  She watched us for a bit through the screen and then went to sleep on top of the table.  I would have preferred the couch or her dog bed but it was her first time being left alone so she felt better when she could keep an eye on us, and she did settle.  LOL.Dot helped us get the boat out of the water and hung out digging in the sand while we cleaned it.  She was very curious about the water that was coming out of the boat when we got it on land.

She walked around in the water when I was in the water getting the dock ready to take out.  She wasn’t afraid to be in the water but she didn’t go for a swim.  Dot was excellent when we went to a friend’s house to help them split wood.  She hung out on her dog bed on a long leash and occasionally came over to the wood splitter and laid down in the shade near where we were working.  The noise of the machine didn’t bother her at all.

At the end of her very busy day, she enjoyed snoozing on the couch on the porch with a stinky wet sneaker.Loud noises don’t seem to be much of an issue for Dot.  When she first met Rosie Roomba, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.  But after checking it out a few times, she had no fear at all.  It was the same for my big vacuum.  I let her take a few sniff while it was off and when I started vacuuming she went and laid down with my dogs in the dog bed.  She was a little concerned but when my dogs weren’t afraid of it going by, she stayed in the bed with them and watched it go by.

Dorothy is a fun, brave, spunky little girl who keeps us laughing with her antics and would be an easy addition to the family.  It’s honestly going to be hard to let this foster go! Dot settles well with 1 long walk, or 2 short walks and some playtime thrown in during the day.   She really enjoys having another friendly, easy going dog in the house, and learns a lot of good behavior by watching her furry friends.  Dot likes to share the dog bed with her furry friends so a dog that doesn’t mind sharing their personal space is a must. Dot doesn’t like to be alone and will let you know she’s looking for you with a bark.Even though Dot is a dream puppy, I’d recommend experienced dog owners who are home more than not to keep up with her good dog training and redirecting puppy behaviors.

September 5, 2021

We picked up Dorothy (Dot) late last night after a long ride in a transport from Mississippi.  She made the trip with her three sisters.  Two went straight to adopters, and Dorothy and another sister went to Brookline fosters.Despite the long trip, Dot was a happy, bouncy girl while we gave her a short walk at the pick-up spot before the ride home.  When she got to the house, she met my two resident 10 yo Labradors.  She was not afraid to meet them and after lots of sniffing and licking, they were fast friends.

We gave Dot a small meal, and some water, and she went outside for a potty break.  She went right away and was looking forward to coming back inside.  She played with some squeaky toys, and chased some balls, and then we went to bed since it was already 11:30pm.

Dorothy settled at the end of our bed and went straight to sleep on her back.  She didn’t wake up until I stirred at 4am.  We went out, and then I decided to get up to give her an early breakfast, with her foster brothers.Dot has a great appetite and then did her business outside right after eating.  What a good girl!  When we came back in, it was playtime for Dot and my two lab boys.  They had a great time playing with toys and chasing each other.  I think she tried out almost every toy we have in the house.  She loved Max’s big cow the best.  It was so funny to watch this little girl drag a stuffy around that was bigger than her!

This little peanut wasn’t scared of playing with my two big boys at all.  They were great with her.  Jet even rolled on his back while she licked his face, while Max pulled on his back legs.  I think Max was jealous of all the attention Jet was giving to Dot and was pulling on his back legs to remind him he was still there!  LOL!

Dot decided it was time for a nap at 8:45am and slept soundly while I made breakfast.  The smell of bacon coming out of the oven woke her right up though.  Dorothy took her cues from my labs and sat in a dog bed while we ate. She didn’t beg or jump up at all!We took Dot, and my labs for a 2 mi walk in the neighborhood after breakfast, and she trotted right along with them.  She walked well on the leash with a flat collar and didn’t pull at all.  Again, she took cues from my labs and walked side by side with them most of the way.Today, Dot has been hanging out with us and Jet and Max while we have been cleaning out the basement after the recent storm.  She would find a comfy spot wherever we were working and watch us or bring over a toy to entertain herself.  At this very moment, she comfortably settled herself on the dog bed in the office and is taking a little nap while I write.  As of 1pm today, Dorothy has had no accidents in the house and always goes pee as soon as her feet hit the grass out front.  I don’t want to jinx myself, but I’m going to have to say that she is my easiest foster so far!It’s hard not to love this sweet, little girl.  So far, she seems to have a loving, easy going, curious, and confident personality.  Dot loves to lay her chin on your shoulder and get kisses.  She likes to be near her people, and other dogs, and settles easily.  You couldn’t wish for a better-behaved puppy!