Jalen Black Labrador Retriever Mix Male 4 Months Old ID#3575

Meet Jalen!  Jalen is an adorable 4 month old black Lab mix who three weeks ago was dumped in someone’s backyard in North Carolina along with his brothers Reed and Saquon.  Jalen, along with his brothers were taken to a local shelter, and through the hard work of a Brookline volunteer, this “Super Bowl Litter” was transported North and are now safe in Brookline foster homes.  Please read Jalen’s blog from the bottom up to learn more about him while in foster care.

March 3, 2025

Jalen and his brother Reed have been in foster care with us now for a week and they are doing fabulous!
Jalen has quickly learned our day to day routine, and has been impeccable with his potty training!  No accidents in the house since he arrived.  We are going out every hour, right after naps and meal times, and he is keeping his crate clean overnight. Jalen goes right into his crate at night with some tossed kibble and settles down without a peep (as long as I am in view at bedtime.)  A couple of times, he has chosen to go take a nap in his crate on his own.Our days consist of eating, playing and napping on a repeated cycle.  We get up at 5am, they go outside to potty, they eat, play inside with toys.  Jalen was super interested in the interactive toy I introduced to them but was a little perplexed at all the strange noises and movements it made.

Usually an hour later, we go out to potty and walk the yard, and then they are sleepy again by 7am so they get shuttled into the crate for a couple of hours while I go to my workout.

When I get home, it’s outside to potty, and play chase or tug for about 1/2 hr, and then they are on free roam in my room while I get ready for the day.  They usually chew on bones or play with toys with each other and nap.

We go outside again for a quick potty break, then they’ll typically entertain themselves on supervised free roam for an hour until it’s time for their lunch and another potty break.

After lunch we have a long (~1 hour) playtime in the yard.  Exploring the yard is great mental stimulation for these young pups.  I’m sure they would love to go on hikes on trails when they get used to leash walking.

Jalen really enjoyed they ice they found today in our outside water bowl. After all of the fun outside,  they are ready for another long nap from 1-3pm.

After nap time, they have another potty break and then they play inside.  The foster box from Brookline arrived this Friday afternoon.  Jalen’s favorites were the squeaky, crinkly bear and the chews.  They eat dinner around 4pm and then always go outside for a potty break about 1/2 hr to an hour after the meal.  Right before our dinner, we have another 1/2 hour to an hour outdoor or indoor play session, and then they are ready to chill for the rest of the night inside.

They are really good during our meal time and typically nap on the dog bed in the dining room.  After dinner, and another potty break, we all head to the family room for some snuggle time.  They are really good during our meal time and typically nap on the dog bed in the dining room.  Then we all head to the family room for some snuggle time.  This weekend Grandma came to visit and Jalen hopped right in her lap for Grammy snuggles. Jalen is very social and made his rounds to every person in the room for some kisses, scratches and snuggles.It’s been a pleasure fostering Jalen, and I know he is going to make his adopters very happy with his sweet, loving, snuggly, inquisitive personality.

February 26, 2025

Well, it’s been another 24 hours with this lovable duo and they are starting to settle in and get used to the schedule. Every day is like the movie Groundhog Day.  Basically we do the same day, everyday, but with some tweeks.One thing about these two is that they can’t get enough snuggles.  If you sit down, they are in your lap for kisses and pets, and roll around to get belly rubs too. If you are looking for a snuggle bug, these guys are it.  They do move around quite a bit as they sleep especially if they getting too heated up from snuggling.  Last night Reed, was tucked under my arm for a while, and then decided to go under a big pillow!  Jalen thought he looked cozy so went to lay down next to him. I did change up the night time routine as Jalen was barking quite a bit last night and not settling down as easily as the first night.  Instead of sleeping downstairs alone, they are in the same room as me.  When they could see me, they settled right down and slept from 9:45pm to 5am without waking up.

Both are doing great with potty training still!  No accidents since yesterday for either of them.  We do go out often (every hour (max), or 1/2 hr after a big drink and immediately upon waking from a nap.)  Jalen likes chewing on balls, and squeakies and especially marrow bones, collagen chews, whimzee bones, etc.The chews keep them busy especially when they are in the crate, or if I want to keep them occupied in one spot if I’m busy cooking dinner.  When they are in the office, they’ll play independently and together with squeaky toys and then settle into a good nap (1-2hrs) since I’m hanging out in one spot and not moving.

They love to be outside playing with tennis balls, or squeaky toys, or just exploring our woods getting all the sniffs in of the critters that came through or over the fence during the night.

Sticks are a new discovery.  Reed usually picks up a good candidate and then Jalen joins in for the chew.

Jalen does sometimes decide that he is done playing outside (especially if there is food cooking in the kitchen).  Sometimes, he’ll do his business and run straight back to the door to be let inside.  Reed will follow him but watches to see if I go back in or not.  If I head off in the yard, Reed will run right after me, Jalen will eventually begrudgingly tag along but if I head in the direction of the back door, he’ll take off and sit and wait for me there.This morning they saw some deers and gave a quick chase but then came running right back to me.

These guys are great pups.  They don’t chew on any non-dog items, just want to be loved (and fed-very food motivated!), and have a manageable amount of energy with a few walks around our 4 acre yard, playtime with toys, and chewing on a yummy bone.  They are smart, curious, but careful, calm, confident but appropriately submissive.  They are a perfect combination of traits and cute too!

February 25, 2025

Jalen continues to do well with his potty training.  Still no accidents in the house and the crate is dry in the morning.  Last night Jalen woke up around midnight after going to bed at 8:30pm.  I let him out and he did a huge pee and a #2.  I think he thought it was time to get up and have breakfast because when I put him back in the crate, he complained for about 1/2hr.  He did eventually get to sleep and woke up when my husbands alarm went off.  He went right out and did his business and then came back in and heartily ate his breakfast.After another quick trip outside, we came in and Jalen and his brother enjoyed chewing on a marrow bone while I enjoyed my coffee.We then headed out again to have a little playtime and walk around the fenced 4 acre yard to expend some energy. After lots of fun, they were ready for a nap around 7;45am which was perfect timing for my trip out to the gym.

After 2 hours in the crate, Jalen was ready to romp in the yard, and explore the woods, and take care of some business.  Neither Jalen or Reed noticed the flock of geese in our neighbors yard.

Jalen and his brother Reed, played some more inside with stuffies and chew toys while I took a shower, and then we were back out again to see how Jalen and Reed like tennis balls.  Reed was the first one to go after the ball but Jalen quickly joined in.  Jalen liked the squeaky tennis ball and would run to it and pounce and most of the time just lay down.  We’ll have to work on bringing it back.

After some lunch at 11am, we did some more exploring in the woods, they liked sniffing the big wood pile and long grass, and especially liked rolling in it.

Jalen and Reed were ready for another good nap after lots of exploring and have been sleeping peacefully while I get some work done. Jalen is a very sweet boy and I know he will make an adopter super happy!

February 24, 2025

Jalen has been in our foster home for about 24 hours and he has been doing great!

We picked up Jalen and his brother, Reed from transport yesterday in KOP after a long ride from NC.  Jalen was full of energy and kisses right off of the transport  He said hello to everyone that was gathered outside of the transport van, sniffed around but didn’t have to go, so we loaded him up in the car for the hour ride home.  Jalen liked looking out the window and sticking his head over the barrier to get lots of pets and kisses during the ride.  He did eventually settle half way through the ride but was still curious about what was going on outside the window.

The boys explored the yard first. Jalen had no problems exploring independently but came back to check in with me and his brother. After getting used to the new digs, they both let their hair down and had a good game of chase with my son.

Jalen learned “sit” very quickly.  It helps that he is super food motivated.

Jalen is very inquisitive and loved to explore the house.  He checked out all the toy boxes and investigated all the smells and was watching the tv when there were some interesting sounds going on.  Jalen does love his snuggles and kisses too, and is a wonderful hugger.  He likes to lay his head on your should while he gets pets and kisses.  He explores but then comes right back to get some love too.

After fully exploring the house, Jalen did settle down and snuggle next to me and his brother, and got in a good nap.

They slept great in a big crate together downstairs last night.  We went to bed at 8:30pm and they barked at 10:30pm to go out again and then slept until my alarm went off at 5am.  They had a fun morning playing with stuffies and exploring outside, and then they were good again in their crate while I went out to my workout.  They stayed busy with some marrow bones while I was gone.

After the workout, we headed to the vet to get Jalen’s brother’s eye checked out.  The vet prescribed some eye drops for Reed but suggested giving Jalen them this week too just in case. While we were at the vet, Jalen got his microchip inserted and loved the cheese they gave him while he got it.  He knew there was some left up on that table and was trying to figure out how he could get it!

Jalen is doing great with potty training.  He’s been drinking a ton of water but has not had any accidents inside over his first 24hrs.  Initially, Jalen wasn’t really interested in toys but he’s always interested in what his brother has so Reed has taught him that toys are fun.  They share the toys really well.

Brookline sent us some fun eagles collars and bandanas so we had a photo shoot.  Jalen did great and didn’t mind the bandana at all.  He did a great job posing for the shots for foster mom.

These two are sweet, social, smart and adorable puppies and have been pretty easy so far!  I’m enjoying having them in the house.