Finn #6 Chocolate Labrador Retriever Male 5 Years Old ID #3592

May 20, 2025

Finn has had quite the week.

He continues to improve while walking on a leash. All we need to do is call his name and have him sit. He will focus on what has his interest, but will stay in a sit until released. You can see in the one picture that we came upon a deer. Finn initially wanted to go say hello, but with a little redirection and asking him to sit, he was good. This process took a couple of attempts, but when released, he would initially pull towards the deer, but after a couple of attempts, he just kept walking, while looking back. I’ll attach a picture that shows the deer in the background.

He gets along well with our resident dogs; they all apply for the position of executive assistant when FM works from home. Sometimes he will even attempt to proofread your work or check your calculations if needed.

He is also adept at a traffic control device, kinda like a speed bump. He tends to perform this task in whatever room his people are in. Just to make sure everyone stays at or under the posted speed limit.

We did have a family visit with us over the weekend that had children from 4 to 11 years old. To say he enjoyed their company would be an understatement. He spent the whole time they were visiting interacting with them all. From following them around the house to playing and running around outside with them. He was gentle and seemed to understand the size difference between the kids and himself.

He just continues to show us what a happy, joyful boy he is. Look for him to be available for adoption very soon.

May 13, 2025

So, we’ve had Finn for about two weeks now, and he is really starting to show his personality.

Even though he was friendly when he first got here, now he is showing what a social and outgoing guy he is. He puts up with our little resident dogs. He will let them know if they’re being out of line, which one of our littles will do from time to time. He LOVES to play fetch; I have attached a link to a video from our backyard.

This can go on for quite a while. Finn does need someone with the time to go for walks and play fetch. Once he has his play times and walks in, he settles nicely when back in the house. He is allowed on our furniture, so he does spend some time on the couches, but is just as happy getting pets while sitting next to you.

His manners around the house are hit and miss. When people are home, he’s very good. We have had a couple of instances of chewing non-dog items, and counter surfing while no one is home. We have lost one roll of toilet paper and one can of wet dog food that was left on the counter. We also had an instance of a pantry door being left open by our son, and Finn, along with the other resident dogs, took it as an opportunity to snack. In his defense, the dog food was left where he could get it and was open. We have not crated him to this point, as we believe the issues we had were as much our issue as his. Since those incidents, we have been better about not leaving food items out where he can get them, and we started closing bathroom doors. We have only had one potty issue in the house since the first day, which we expected as he is not yet neutered. He has met several guests who have visited, and he wanted to visit with them all. He does jump from time to time, but not on people typically, he kind of does a vertical leap. The only exception to the jumping on people is with FD & FB, he really loves our son, who is 17.

He’s more than happy to assist and provide moral and technical support with FM on the days she works from home.

Finn will sleep in bed with FB or FM & FD. He, at times, will get out of bed and sleep next to the bed.

Walking on a leash is a work in progress. The first several days he was with us, he was more subdued and didn’t pull much. Now that he’s had time to get used to us and is more comfortable, the pulling has increased, as has the act of chasing squirrels and deer. We live in a wooded area, so those opportunities are often. We are working with him on those habits, as a guy this big and strong needs to be more mannerly while on leash.

He’s a big guy with a block head, feet, and personality to match. He has a beautiful coat, pearly white teeth, and sparkling amber eyes. Someone is going to gain a great companion for many adventures, as Finn is ready to live life as large as he is.

We will continue to update as Finn keeps showing us more of his personality.

May 1, 2025

So, where do we start with Finn? His rescue ride would be the place, I guess.

Due to no fault of his own, Finn found himself in need of new people. Claire was able to get Finn and meet us with this Chocolate chunk of personality. He had quite the day, with almost 3 hours of car time on the way to our house. He handled it all like a champ.

We met Claire at a park, and after introductions and some walking around, off to the rest of the journey Finn went. He was a little nervous on the hour ride to his temporary home, but settled about halfway there.

Once we got home, Finn was introduced to the resident pack. All little dogs, under 15 lbs. Introductions went well for Finn, some of our residents looked at us like, really, another big dog?!?!

What have we learned about Finn in the first few days with him….

Boy, does he like to go for walks and play fetch. He will never pass up the opportunity to do either. We are working with him on his leash manners, as he can pull pretty good. With some redirection, he is pretty good, unless there is another dog. If he sees another dog, he so wants to say Hello. This is understandable, as he came from a situation where he had an older Lab brother. He really likes Foster Dad <FD> and Foster Brother <FB – FB-17-Year-Old>. Foster Mom is great, too, but he really seems to gravitate to the men in the house. He is treat-motivated, but handles meal times like a gentleman. He eats with the rest of our residents, takes his time with his meal, and shows little interest in anyone else’s until they leave their food. He is more than happy to sit next to you and get attention,

or if offered, will get on the couch next to you and enjoy your attention there as well. Although the opportunity has been there, there has been no counter surfing to this point. Is there nose in the air sniffing, yes, but no attempt at thievery. If you’re in the living room eating on a chair or couch, he will give you sad puppy dog eyes looking for a sample, but he has not attempted to snatch anything. At the table, he will settle underneath or near, but we have not seen him beg.

He is unaltered at this time; he did mark in the house for the first 2 days. With correction and redirection, we have not had that behavior since. We are currently working on scheduling neutering.

Steps are not an issue, he glides up and down stairs like a gentleman, no real concern of being bowled over. Will sleep in bed with whoever invites him. We have not found the need to crate him, as he has not shown any interest in non-dog items.

He has been left at home with the other resident dogs for up to 5 hours at a time with no problem. FM works close to home and comes home for lunch to let everyone out and give them a little attention. He does get very excited when FM, FD, or FB come back home. He does jump, but not on you, he almost pogos when he gets excited.