Henley Yellow Labrador Retriever Male 1- 2 Years Old ID #3004

March 28, 2021

The snow is gone, but Henley has decided to stay and will become an official resident dog here–making this a double yellow lab home.   He’s also been rechristened ‘Henry’, and hears “Oh, Henry!” numerous times per day after chasing his fur sibling through the muddy backyard.

He’s a sweet, cuddly, rambunctious boy who enjoys daily walks in the park and playing ball or mud tag in the backyard.  The vet has declared Henry free of giardia parasites, and he gained two pounds!   A trainer will work with him on leash-walking and appropriately greeting other dogs who don’t understand his barking and lunging at them indicates his eagerness to say hi and play.  He’s better about not barking at people, and has been admired and petted by several at the park.  Little children seem to particularly like the sight of two blonde dogs and want to come up and say hello.

Luckily the quiet nature of our property is punctuated by exciting visits from wildlife (deer, foxes, geese, and an occasional coyote), so Henry bounds out the door each time eager to roll out the unwelcome mat for any intruders beyond the fence.  After watching me go in and out the gate, I caught him trying to nose the handle up.  So, a more secure solution will be put in place before he can figure it out and join his quarry in the woods.

March 9, 2021

Henley has settled in nicely, and even gotten my lazy resident dog to play with him on a semi-regular basis by stealing her toys.  They have some brief, but fierce, playfights and zoomie chases around the yard.  The snow is gone and the mud has emerged, so Henley is getting a fair amount of mini-baths to clean off dirty legs and paws.  A full bath awaits.

Treatment for giardia is now complete, and we’re just sitting out the recommended delay for retesting to make sure those microscopic critters have been banished.  If that goes well, we’ll be able to work on introducing him to dogs on our walks.

Leash-walking is being practiced daily, and he’s making some progress, but has a way to go.  Attaching his leash to a martingale collar instead of his harness, helped, but still not enough, so we’re waiting for delivery of a new collar & leash.

Henley’s getting three square meals a day and copious treats, and still doesn’t seem to have gained any weight.  Hopefully if giardia is in the rearview mirror now those additional pounds will begin accumulating on this handsome, active, cuddly boy.

February 25, 2021

Henley is soaking up as much love, food and exercise as I can give him.  This southern boy has fully embraced his Henley of the Yukon lifestyle and quickly adapted to the snow that has covered the ground in the 13 days he’s been here.  He delights in chasing snowballs until my arm gives out.  He’s still a champion leash-puller, so I’ve watched a few training videos and will try out those tips on our next walk.

Henley visited the vet a week ago to make sure that the tapeworm diagnosed when he first went into the South Carolina shelter had been resolved.  While the tapeworm seems gone, he also has giardia, which explains why he lost ground in gaining weight during his month-long SC stay, and since he came into foster with me.  Once he’s completed his course of treatment, we’ll resume evaluation of his behavior in approaching strange dogs and people.  The vet confirmed he’s about 1-2 years old, and should pack on at least 10 pounds.

No inhouse accidents since his very first day here– yay, Henley!  He now has free roam of the house.  He willingly enters his crate and sleeps quietly every night, and was such a good boy when my resident dog had diarrhea and had to go out every 2 hours overnight.  He’d watch us go out/in, repeat, repeat, and never fuss to get out of the crate himself.

On his second walk in the park, we encountered a young girl and he was friendly and fairly calm as she petted him.  Then the girl’s mother approached, wearing a hood, and Henley freaked out.  Once she pulled it down, he went right over to her for pets, so we’ll work on desensitizing him to headwear.

The attached video shows him battling with my resident dog over who gets her favorite toy.

February 15, 2021

South Carolina transplant Henley arrived at our house early Saturday morning, and has been here three days now.  This sweet, super-skinny, friendly boy immediately decided that he liked all the fluffy white stuff on the ground, and romped around exploring the yard, playing frisbee and sniffing skeptical resident dog Nina.

Then he came in to check out the house, and quickly tried out the couches–verdict:  much superior to the hard floor of his former shelter kennel.  All the dog toys were examined, and a couple of favorites have already emerged, with the toothmarks to prove it.  Stuffed toys are in particular peril.

Since Henley needs to gain weight, he’s going to transition to a high calorie food, and get checked out to see if pre-foster tapeworm treatment was completely successful.  He’s already had all his basic vaccinations and been neutered.  We’ll also try to get a better handle on his age, which his teeth and playfulness indicate is young adult.

He and Nina have been getting to know each other, and gradually adjusting to each other’s very different energy levels.  She mainly watches while he romps around outside and chases snowballs. They occasionally wrestle and play tug-of-war,

but not as rambunctiously as he’d like, and she tells him so when he carries things too far.  He likes to cuddle with Foster Mom on the couch, and appears eager for human affection and attention.   He does know how to ‘sit’, but doesn’t know any other commands, or his name, and isn’t yet reliably housebroken, although he’s only had one accident so far.  He sleeps well overnight in a crate with no fussing until we get up, and is very eager for his first meal (of three) of the day.  He’s learning to ‘sit’ and ‘wait’ for it before diving in.  It’s apparent that he has excellent hearing for anyone or anything approaching the house, and will be a great watchdog.  He may also be a flight risk.

After seeing me go through the fence gate, he now runs over to it frequently and nudges it, testing.  Seeing the woods beyond the yard may be tempting him.

Henley is a real pleasure to have around.  We’ll soon find out how he behaves on a leash at the park, and how his friendliness carries over to other people and dogs.