Honey #3 Chocolate Labrador Retriever Female 7 Months Old ID# 3532

Meet Honey!  Honey is a purebred chocolate Labrador with some unique color thanks to an uncommon recessive coat gene.  Her tan markings come from the agouti alleles. In Labradors, it is recessive to dominant black and solid liver (chocolate), which means that it can be hidden for generations within Labrador strains. Only when two parents carry the recessive allele are black and tan or chocolate and tan puppies produced.  Honey’s parents were both AKC registered Labradors so she is one very special and unique Labrador.  Honey was surrendered to Brookline as she was getting too old to sell.  Please read Honey’s blog from the bottom up to learn more about her while in foster care.

September 7, 2025

Well, Honey has been in foster care for about 9 days now and is still accident free inside the house so I’d say she is potty trained, not that I can take any credit for that, apart from taking her out every 2-3 hours.  She is doing well on walks, and has graduated up to 2 miles.  She still loves to sniff while walking so her walks tend to be more of a leisurely style of walk.Honey had a little adventure and went on a couple of days sleepover at another foster’s house.  She did really well with the transition to a new home,

and was happy to be in the company of two new fur friends, Ruby and Autumn (Brookline Alum).  Ruby is more laid back while Autumn loves to play and snuggle with fur friends. Honey was more rambunctious and rowdy with Autumn, who didn’t really correct so Jeff and Kim had to do some redirection at times when she was doing too much jumping on Autumn.  She does however respect dogs that correct her and plays with them in a manner that they prefer.

Honey kept Jeff and Kim on their toes with some age appropriate puppy behaviors as she is a super curious and playful girl.

When she’s not napping or playing with another dog or person, she likes to stay busy with toys, chews, and bones. Honey will sleep on dog beds but did also like the couch at Jeff and Kim’s, just like here at my house. Honey does good in the crate for short stints while we are out running errands but sleeps in the bed with us at night without issue.  She’ll also take a nap there during the day if I am upstairs.Honey was crated over night at Jeff and Kim’s and they reported that she whined for a short period but settled down fairly quickly and slept until the morning.  So if crating overnight instead of snuggling in bed is your preference, Honey will adapt to any night time accommodations.Today, Honey got a surprise in the mail.  She loved the toys and blanket that Brookline sent to her and can’t wait to taste the yummy treats and chew. Honey said “Thank You” and sends big Licks to all the Brookline volunteers who send out the foster dog boxes and to all the wonderful people that send in donations that make these boxes possible! Honey has a sweet, inquisitive and playful personality and will be a wonderful companion to many types of adoptive families who are ready to invest time, energy and love into this adorable and uniquely colored Labrador!

Look for her to be available for adoption very soon!

August 29, 2025

Honey left her breeding farm yesterday.  She did great on her first hour long ride with Mike to meet me at the park’s visitors center in KOP.  She then settled in the car chewing on a bone for the 50 minute ride to the vet’s office to get her UTD on her vaccinations.Honey was super friendly with all the vet staff and gave out plenty of licks while they checked her out, gave her vaccinations, took blood for her 4DX test, cut her nails, and gave her medicine for her ear infections. She met resident dog, Sammy and respects his cues when he is not interested in playing and when he doesn’t want to share his bed.

So far we have discovered that she loves to walk around with stuffies in her mouth, loves to play fetch with stuffies and the tennis ball,

and enjoys submerging her whole snout for a drink.

When she’s done drinking, then its time for splashing in the water bowl which eventually she picks up and dumps all the remaining water out!  Thank goodness she was outside for her first drink so we know to supervise her with the water bowl inside. LOL.

She is very inquisitive, and likes to check out what’s on the counters you’re standing next to but does listen to correction when asked to put all paws on the floor.  She is very treat motivated and is already doing a “sit” for me.  Honey knows her name, and comes when I call her. She does also seem to have an affinity for my outdoor clogs, slippers and sneakers but trades easily for another toy or treat.Yesterday afternoon, she was great at entertaining herself with toys and chews while we were in the office.  For a 7 month old, she has a very calm and even personality.  She takes treats gently, enjoys getting loving and gives out plenty of kisses.

Eventually after all of the excitement of the day, she took a good nap on the dog bed next to the desk. After dinner, we played more fetch outside in the yard before coming in and settling in the family room for the evening.  The TV took a little getting used to at first and she was wondering what it was all about.  After some treats and some distraction with a squeaky tennis ball,  Honey was content to nap on the blanket on the couch next to me while we watched some shows.Last night, Honey and I slept in the guest room so foster Dad and Sammy were able to get a good nights sleep.  Honey turned out to be an excellent sleeper!  I put her in bed with me with a heart beat puppy and after a few minutes of playtime with the pup, she snuggled up next to me and slept soundly in the same spot until the alarm went off at 5am.

Honey had access to an outdoor 1/2 acre grassy yard from her indoor kennel at the farm so I think she learned to go outside on the grass.  Since she has been here, she has not had any accidents in the house which is amazing!

This morning, we played some fetch for 15 minutes before she had to go in the crate so I could out go to my workout.

She wasn’t really pleased about the crate even though she had some yummy treats in there and complained for about 15 minutes.  When I came home, she was sleeping quietly in her crate and was happy to get out and get some more playtime out in the yard while I watered my new landscaping.  After the watering, Honey and I went for a leisurely 1.5 mile walk.  She did very well on leash wearing a harness and wasn’t shy about exploring her new neighborhood.  She found every “pee-mail” spot in the neighborhood and had a great sniff-ari!

When we ventured out of the quiet neighborhood, and on to a busier road, Honey was interested in watching the noisy cars go by but took treats well and didn’t seem to be scared at all by all the passing cars.

Honey is currently my shadow and goes where I go but she is very social and greets my husband and adult son with a wagging tail.  When we were out in the yard, Honey saw some workers arrive to start work on our back patio, she sprinted across our yard and ran up to them with a wagging tail and gladly accepted lots of scratches.  Though she wasn’t socialized much on the farm, she has absolutely no issue with unknown people.  She is also quite brave and inquisitive when it comes to crazy toys.

After our walk today, she again occupied herself with a yummy smoked ostrich bone while I did some work in the office, and is currently napping away next to the desk.

She is a great work from home companion and doesn’t need a ton of activity to settle well in the house. For the most part, she will entertain herself with toys and chews when I am busy without getting into too much puppy mischief. Stay tuned for more updates as we get to know this adorable, loving, sweet pot of Honey!