Elsie Black Labrador Retriever Female 5 Years Old ID #2974

March 13, 2022

This week has been relatively uneventful for Elsie.  FM & FD are glad the heat cycle is over, and the diapers are put away!  She has mastered the sit command and is working hard on stay.  We have seen much improvement in her overall attitude.  She has a spring to her step, and we have seen less and less “skinny, scared dog” faces and postures.  She loves snuggling with FD on the sofa, and when we all go to bed, she stretches herself out right by his side.

Still no playing with toys which chocolate lab just can’t understand, but there were a few minutes of actual dog play in FM’s study last night which was something new.  Her weight this week is stable at 52 lbs.  On Tuesday, Elsie goes back to Dr. Ted the vet for her second round of shots and evaluation for dental work and spay surgery.

March 6, 2022

This week was mostly uneventful for Elsie.  We incorporated wet dog food into her meals to see if it will help her gain weight.  Today, she weighed 53 pounds, up from 50 on Thursday and 49 from day one.  Her heat cycle seems to have ended, but we are keeping the diaper on her one more day to be sure.

Elsie is very sweet and, as is typical of Labs, wants to please.  We have seen signs of playfulness in her, but they are fleeting.  She doesn’t know yet if this kind of behavior is ok, but we are encouraging her.

On Wednesday, she got to see our son again.  The two of them ended up snuggling on the sofa while we watched some TV together. Yesterday, she met two more of our neighbors (dog lovers) and was open and friendly towards them.  Another neighbor with two small children has invited Elsie to visit to see how she will react to them.

FM was alone in the house doing chores and couldn’t find Elsie.  (Black dogs seem to be harder to spot sometimes!)  After looking at all the usual spots, I finally found her.  She had crawled into chocolate lab’s crate, and the two of them spent the next 10 minutes hanging out together!

February 27, 2022

Elsie is showing signs of being a very good dog.  She has gotten used to a routine of meals, walks, naps, and bedtime.  She still has not settled on a regular bathroom routine and has had a few accidents inside.  She always goes to the same place to do it although it’s never the same time of day!

She is very sweet and even-tempered.   FD calls her “skinny scared dog.”  She has moments of skittishness if we are doing something she hasn’t seen before – like shaking out the rugs on house cleaning day.  Little things that we don’t think about, but she will skitter away and hunker down.  It isn’t long until her tail is wagging again, though.

Yesterday she spent the afternoon in FM’s study and chocolate lab showed her how to look out the window at the bird feeders.  Then she took a nap on the futon!

February 23, 2022

Elsie has gained 2 pounds!  Her appetite is great!  She still hasn’t settled on a regular BM schedule yet, and we noticed that she doesn’t have to pee as many times as our resident dogs.  She isn’t having accidents in the house, but someone is always home, and the dogs get taken out a few times during the day.

Elsie’s experience with crate training has also been uneventful.  Although she doesn’t want to go into the crate, she doesn’t fight and settles down immediately.

Elsie’s initial disinterest in people food was interesting, but she has decided she likes peanut butter and bananas as treats.  (Our 12-year-old has daily meds she takes with peanut butter or a banana.  All the dogs get to participate.)

Elsie takes her regular exercise with our chocolate lab.  She is great on the leash.  She is also very friendly and really likes people. Besides the motion sickness and her being in heat, she has really been a breeze to foster.

February 20, 2022

Elsie is becoming more outgoing with the people and resident dogs she sees all the time.  Today she learned how to navigate the uncarpeted basement steps.  Down and back up again with very little hesitation.  She now sits before we go outside, and as soon as she is let back in, she stops and turns around, and with a little nudge, she sits.  Great progress!

Leash training has been a breeze with Elsie.  She took to it right away, and on walks is right by our side.  She does tend to wander over but responds to redirection right away.  She is enjoying all the new scenery and smells in our neighborhood.

Sundays are dog grooming day at our house.  We let Elsie watch as FM did ear cleaning, toenails, and brushing on our chocolate lab.  Then it was her turn, and what a success!  She allowed front and back paws to be lifted for trimming, and with everything else, it seemed like business as usual for her. Her reward was the longest walk we took so far since she arrived.  On this walk she met one of our neighbors (dog lover) and was immediately open to affection and petting.

February 16, 2022

Elsie continues to have promising successes.  Her appetite is good, and at mealtimes she has learned to wait patiently in her spot in the kitchen until it’s her turn.  She hasn’t had regular bowel movements since she arrived, but we are sure we can help her get on a schedule now that she’s had her de-worming meds and is being fed regular meals.

Elsie now climbs the stairs to the second story and comes back down again with no hesitation.  She is doing much better with “sit” however it does take some gentle pushing down of her backside.

Elsie has slept through the night since she arrived.  She is quiet, and we have never heard her bark.  But she does make a cute little grunt when she lays down to get comfortable.

Last night our son came to visit so she got to meet another dog-loving person.  She was wary for the first couple of hours, but at one point, she initiated contact with him, and her tail was wagging.  She doesn’t mind physical contact, will hold still and let us love on her, but is also still not demanding about it.

Elsie and resident dogs have no problems.  They have accepted her presence with good and patient temperament.  She has shown them interest and respect and tentative friendliness.

February 16, 2022

Elsie’s first vet appointment took place today and she is a bit underweight for her size.  When she got home, there was much excitement among the four-legged residents at her foster home with nose kissing and face licking.  She is definitely warming up!

Elsie seems to have a good appetite and has no problem eating so we’re hoping she will fill out to a good weight.  She may have had to fight a little for her food as she does try to be a little sneaky at mealtimes to see if she can get lucky with the other dogs’ food.  We will continue to monitor this and redirect as necessary.

We also began working on her basic training.  Today we worked on “sit”, “stay”, and “wait”.  She sat twice and is practicing wait by following the second resident dog’s example.  She is starting to know her place in the pack and has learned that the oldest resident dog goes first in everything.  For now, she seems to prefer being near the 12-year-old yellow lab as she has a calming effect for her.  The resident chocolate lab is the exuberant one but is waiting ever so patiently to see if Elsie is going to have toy playing interest.  She hasn’t decided yet!

Tonight, Elsie tackled the second story stairs!  It took some coaxing and rewards, but she made it on her fourth try.  We of course made a HUGE deal out of her accomplishment, and her tail never stopped wagging!

February 14, 2022

February 15, 2022

Elsie (FKA Lilly) is a very sweet and petite 49 lb black lab who came to Brookline from a breeder.  She is already learning how to go in and out of the house with the other resident dogs and has had no accidents in the house.  She watches the other dogs as they go through their daily routines and will surely learn some valuable skills from them.  She loves people and affection, but she isn’t overly demanding.   She needed a bit of encouragement to take the two steps from outside to inside at first but hasn’t gotten up the courage to tackle the stairs to the second floor yet.   She likes to be around people and situates herself in the middle of the room.