Keira Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 7 Months Old ID#3359

Meet Keira!  She is a pretty young Labrador who is fresh off of a breeding farm.  Her breeder was not able to sell her and asked Brookline to help find her forever family.  Please read her blog from the bottom up to learn more about her time in foster care.

December 24, 2023

Merry Christmas from Keira (on right with Christmas necklace)First and foremost, the good news. After x-rays of all the things (knees, hips, ankles), the orthopedic surgeon gave Keira the green light. There are no issues that need to be addressed. Yay Keira! This super cute sweetheart just has the most adorable wiggle butt swagger sometimes when she walks. She is the typical 8-month-old puppy, running, jumping and the latest is – doing full flights of stairs on her own. Foster dad says, “she needs to go,” which means she’s getting very comfortable here. Keira will be looking for her forever home early in the new year. She will do best in a home with another young, playful dog. She really loves to play and is very compliant during play. Keira is also very close to being cat friendly. While we wouldn’t leave her alone with a cat right yet, she does very well. She will sniff them up close, then can easily be redirected to move on. Keira is also so gentle with our 11-month-old granddaughter. She allowed her to take her bone and pet/poke her gently. She could go to a home with children of any age.

Keira sleeps all night, quietly, in her crate in the living room and does all her business outside. Those two things go a long way, in those moments when she reminds you that she’s still a puppy and has been known to chew non dog things. However, she loves to chew bones and has been very good at entertaining herself with bones and toys.

For a young dog, she does very well with recall and will come when called. She knows the basic commands, sit, stay (mostly), and no. Keira has never been a jumper. She doesn’t jump on people, but she has learned the couch is comfy and can get up on the couch.

Keira has recovered well from her spay and will soon be practicing her game of fetch.

December 7, 2023

This not so little sweetheart is settling in very nicely. She went to the vet today and got many glowing remarks and some laughs as she sat in the exam room barking (first I’ve heard her bark) at a picture of dogs. It’s possible she may have a knee issue, but we’re waiting to get scheduled for x-rays to investigate. Meanwhile, she is not held back at all, and we’re enjoying the puppy antics, which may have resulted in at least one pair of new shoes, which I’m sure I needed anyway.

Keira has been with us for five days, yet it seems like much longer. In all that time, she has not had a single accident in the house. Yay Keira! It took us a hot minute to figure out her preferences for going outside and walking on a leash.But now she will walk a 1/4 mile on leash without needing teaser treats every 10ft. YAY Keira! Keira has taken quickly to her crate and goes in on her own and sleeps quietly all night.She gobbles up her kibble (in her crate) at meal times, then patiently waits there until the other dogs are done to be let out. Keira loves to chew bones and will do her best to empty the toy basket. Additionally, to Keira’s delight, the resident dogs have finally given in and will play with her. She absolutely folds into herself and plops on the floor to play from below, definitely the submissive party.Next week foster mom has to go back into the office for a couple days, so we’ll see how she does in the crate for 6ish hours. The short stints (20-30 mins) showed her just laying down and chilling, so we have great expectations that she’ll do fine.Keira has had a couple of positive close encounters with one of our cats. The cats tend to follow along on our walks. Keira is interested but not overly so and can easily be redirected to keep moving. It seems that with some more reinforcement, she’ll be able to coexist with cats, time will tell.

December 2, 2023

Keira had her rescue ride today! Welcome to Brookline Keira.Keira is a beautiful 7 month old yellow lab. It has only been about 3 hours since she got to her foster home but we’re excited to watch her learn how to dog off the farm. She made quick friends of the two resident dogs and doesn’t hesitate going in and out of the house. Keira is not a huge fan of the leash and being tethered, so we’ll be working on that. However, she has great recall and comes to you when you call her. Keep an eye out for the adventures of Keira!