Gracie #9 Black Labrador Retriever Female 5 Years Old ID #2825

October 19, 2021

Gracie has really blossomed with us. She is really enjoying her life off the farm.

As far as any health issues that she had, all are healed. No UTI, no rocks, and her ears are finally infection free!

Gracie loves to play fetch and always carries a ball with her. She even takes one out on her walks.

Her only real quirk is that she will not tinkle or poo in the yard. She only goes when out for a walk. Do not know why she does this, but both of us are much more fit now!

Gracie is scheduled for her spay and tooth extraction in a couple of weeks. Then her breeding days will officially be over!

Oh, another thing. We have found that she is good with other dogs. We now have another foster and they get along pretty well. Gracie is very submissive, and that helps.

September 30, 2021

Gracie had another vet visit to recheck her urine, recheck her ears, and some shots. All went well with the shots. However, her ears are still a mess. The infections were better, but her ears were still really bad. We got some new medication that the vet said would help better. We need to take her back in three weeks for a recheck. They are testing her urine and, hopefully, her UTI will be history.

The vet also found a bad tooth on her upper right side. It is cracked and turning gray. The vet said it should be pulled. Poor Gracie cannot catch a break. She will never want to go to the vet ever again. They said that they can pull the tooth when they do the spay. It is tentatively scheduled for five weeks from now. HousePaws wants her ears to be better by then.

On a brighter note, Gracie is being visited by Kona, one of our former fosters, so Kona’s Mom and Dad can have a quiet vacation in Cape May. They are fine together and enjoy each other’s company. It is really nice to get to see how your old foster dogs are doing and Kona is such a good dog. Gracie and Kona both love to play fetch in the yard. Always a contest to see who can get to the ball first.

Gracie is also eating out of her bowl. I guess she figured it all out. Gracie will mostly eat an entire serving at one time, but sometimes she will leave some for later. She gets kibble, so maybe that tooth is a reason for her picking.

We also found out that Gracie does not enjoy being around strange men. She cowers behind us when any man comes in the house. Younger men are really a no go. Women are better, but not in the house. We took her to Atlantic City over the weekend because I rode my bike in the ACS Bike-A-Thon. She did not like the crowd too much. Hopefully she will grow out of this.

Just wanted to give a quick update on how Gracie is doing. More to come!

September 17, 2021

Gracie is really settling in here. She is finally realizing that this new life is going to be so much better than her old breeder one.

Gracie loves her twice daily walks. She is very good on the leash. Does not bother with other dogs unless they come up from behind her barking behind a fence. She is easily startled by passing loud vehicles, but that has been getting better. You do, however, have to hold on if she sees a squirrel. That’s trouble! She also thinks she can only go if walking. She also makes sure no squirrels enter our yard or the neighbors’ yards.

Gracie’s UTI and ears seem to be much better. She settles better now. We have a vet appointment on 9/23 to check her urine, ears, and get her shots. She is very good at the vet and she has no trouble letting them poke and prod her. Hopefully, we will be able to schedule her spay too. Then she will be permanently retired!

Gracie also has the run of the house at all times now. No chewing, table surfing (she is too short to reach), or trash picking. No more accidents! She is such a great dog.

Well, that’s all for now! We will be back with more.

September 6, 2021

Gracie has had a tough first few days in foster care, but things are finally looking up! She is starting to settle in. With the rock incident in her rear-view, she is ready to start her life as a family pup.

Gracie’s UTI is much better and she no longer has visible blood in her urine. She is feeling much better and no longer has that gotta go feeling. She has not had any accidents in the house since her first day.

Gracie is a champ at walking on her leash. She walks right beside you the entire time. She may not have the stamina to walk too long, but she could lose a few pounds and the walks will help. She is getting better and better with the length of the walk. She does stop occasionally to smell, but is not bothered by other dogs. Dogs bark at her while out on a walk, but she just keeps going straight ahead and does not react. We never had a farm girl walk on a leash like this from day one. Farm girls continue to amaze us with their individuality.

Gracie also goes up and down the stairs with no problems. We have hardwood floors and stairs, and they do not bother her at all. She loves to play fetch and carry a ball around. She will also carry a toy. Gracie has learned that sofas are comfortable. She is taking baby steps, but all are forward.

She went to the vet today, Friday, for her checkup, shots, and bloodwork. Dr. Lisa said she should not get her shots until her UTI meds are gone and her urine is clear from any infection. She did not bat an eye when the techs drew blood and cleaned her very dirty ears. Dr. Lisa said she has a mean yeast infection and may need a couple of treatment to treat those ears. She goes back in three weeks to be retested and set up for her spay. It has been a tough week for poor Gracie, but she has been a trooper through all of it!

The only thing that worries us is her eating habits. She is a grazer, and is not so interested in eating. She eats a little, and then just leaves it alone. We have never, ever seen a lab that is this disinterested in food. It seems like she never ate out of a bowl or maybe was yelled at for eating something out of a bowl in the past. Gracie does not feel the food is for her somehow. We just do not know.

Well, it has been a tough week for Gracie, so much has happened to her. Hopefully, she will really start to settle in and learn how to be a dog. She is very loving. She is still a little anxious, but we feel that she will grow out of this as she settles in and gets her medical conditions under control.

Stay tuned for more stories about how Gracie is learning her new role in life!

August 30, 2021

Gracie is a 5-year-old former farm girl. She is a black English lab, blockhead!

She is a very excited dog. Her entire wiggles when her tail wiggles. She likes to be near you and having her belly rubbed.

When we first got her, she smelled like manure, wrapped in manure, that was marinated in manure. She smelled BAD! We took her to Tractor Supply’s dog wash. She was great in the tub and now smells like oatmeal and citrus! There is still a little smell left, but something we can live with for now. Gracie has a great shiny black coat that shines and is very soft.

Well, we left the store and we took her to the side to go and found that she had blood in her urine when she peed there. Luckily, she went on the pavement so we could see the blood clearly. After bringing her home, we sought some advice and we took her to an emergency vet to get checked out. Unfortunately, they had a high number of emergencies at the time and we were advised to take her home and bring her back in the morning.

We packed her up early this morning and took her back. We did get her in to see the vet and they were concerned because her urine was really bloody. They were afraid that she possibly had a kidney stone or crystals. They did do a urinalysis and did find a UTI, but were concerned about the amount of blood. They took X-rays to rule out the kidney stone. The vet had to sedate her for the X-ray because she is such a wiggle worm. The did not find a kidney stone, but found that she had eaten an actual stone! WHAT? The vet said there is actually more than one! What a day! They recommended we increase her carb intake to try to have her pass the stone naturally, but will probably no. We are to take her back on Tuesday for new X-rays and they may have to remove the stone with a scope. Maybe it was good that she had the UTI.

Gracie is now home resting comfortably, well as comfortable she can get. She is a very loving girl. Hopefully, we can get these problems behind her and she can live a normal dog life. She does also have some ortho problems that I will address in her next update.

Gracie’s first day with us has been an exciting one. I think we are all going to take a nap now. We will fill you in on how her next day goes! We have so much to tell everyone, but we need to get her through this stuff first. Check In again soon