Levi Black Labrador Retriever Mix Male 3.5 Months Old ID #2936

Meet Levi.  One of two pups brought up from MS after a good samaritan found them on the side of the road who got them to safety, Levi and Jessie were in foster care for a few weeks in MS to get their vetting and health certificates that allowed them to make the long journey north to a Brookline!  3.5 month Levi and Jessie are in foster care in together, so look for updates to their blogs once they get settled in.

July 20, 2021

Levi is learning and growing everyday.  We had a good couple of weeks together.  This past week we went to a puppy play date, took a walk through PetSmart, and went to two baseballs games.

To socialize Levi I took him to a couple events this week, one being puppy play date.  He was hesitant at first but the girls running playtime were really good at making him feeling comfortable.  After about 5-10 minutes, he fit right in.  He loved it.  Played for about 2 hours.  There is a short clip attached.  We then walked around PetSmart and met some more dogs and people.

The past two days we went to a local baseball game where he met children, adults, and other dogs.  He did great with all. He was allowing children and adults pet him and he played with some dogs three times his size.  There was one particular little lady that followed Levi for a while and he was very gentle with her.  There is a pic attached.

Levi now knows his name, how to sit and comes when you call and is pretty much house broken.

July 10, 2021

Levi had a pool day today.  He received his first swimming lessons.  He was a little hesitant at first, but by the end of the day he was asking to get in.  He enjoyed just hanging out with us all day.  We topped the day off by going to the ice cream shop and enjoyed a soft serve.

July 1, 2021

As described in his brother Jesse’s blog, the boys had to be separated as even though they loved each other and were great together 98% of the time, 2% of the time, play escalated into brawls, and behaviorists recommend separating members of a litter if thus happens.  So the day before yesterday, Levi went to another awesome foster home that just so happens to have three resident dogs and foster parents that are around more than they aren’t.  Levi is join great and here is what his foster mom had to say this morning:

June 29, 2021

Levi continues to settle in here.  He’s very sweet and always making sure he knows where one of us is.  Of the two, he’s the one to be up on the couch for a cuddle, and well, we’ve caved and allowed it, as it makes him so happy. If we’re not on the couch though he isn’t allowed to be, and he seems to be respecting that.

Levi is getting the hang of the leash and starting to go in a straight line.  Heeling is not a word he knows yet, however, and he’s determined to keep up with the big dogs and be in front.  We’ll work on that!  There are lots of chipmunks outside and both he and Jesse are quite interested in them.

Of the two, he’s more fetch oriented and I imagine that with more time, ball throwing will become a great pastime for him. For now he gets distracted by other fun things outside.  He’s also a fan of stuffed toys and if they squeak, all the better.  So far he hasn’t destroyed any and he certainly could with those razor sharp teeth of his.  When we do catch him starting to chew something he isn’t supposed to, he responds to leave it pretty well.  Good boy Levi!  Both boys sometimes forget that they can’t use their teeth on us, but they really respond to an exaggerated “ouch” and stop and look remorseful.

Levi is a great eater although he is convinced that we are not feeding him enough.  He’s crated for naps and at night and while he protests more than his brother, he still settles down pretty quickly with a chew bone and since he’s usually tired, crashes pretty quickly.  We don’t hear a peep from him all night but he is an earlyy riser.  It doesn’t help that sunrise is so early and the birds outside chirp quite loudly.

June 27, 2021

Yesterday was a very long day for Levi and his brother.  After a 36 hour transport, they disembarked, only to have to get back into another car for 2 hours to get to their foster home.  They weren’t very thrilled with the prospect and let me know verbally but as soon as we started moving, they settled down pretty quickly. Once back, they got a good bath, a good meal, and then they were very happy to get some time to explore and play in the back yard.   First off were introductions to the three resident dogs which couldn’t have gone any better.  Both Levi and Jesse were appropriately respectful of the grown ups.  The resident dogs checked them out but then quickly decided that they weren’t that interesting.

Both pups explored in the yard and of course sampled some grass and sticks and they were quite interested in the adjoining woods.  They also had a few romps in the back yard, and after many hours of fun, decided it was time for another nap.  Foster mom and dad were happy to oblige.

The house training is going pretty well.  Both boys are good about doing their business outside and there have only been two accidents that were mostly the result of the two leggeds not reading their cues fast enough- in conjunction with having to get both leashed up and out the door when the pups were heading different directions.  They are loving all the toys- the stuffed ones seem to be their favorite, and so far, they are not chewing on things they shouldn’t be.  Of course we did basic puppy proofing before they got here.

We discovered that neither Levi or Jesse has any problem with stairs -even though I’m sure stairs are new to them, so we’ve put up a gate to make the house a little smaller.  For now they are allowed to frequent the kitchen, family room and front entryway.  Other doors are closed or have gates up going into the rest of the house.

We took a short walk in the woods after their nap with the resident dogs leading the way.  To say it was challenging to walk two little ones on leash that don’t really get the concept of leash walking is an understatement since they kept getting the leashed tangled up but by the end, they were starting to figure out what it means to walk in a straight line. I imagine they’ll just get better although they are already showing me that they would like to be in front of pack, and so were starting to pull in an attempt to bypass the resident dogs.  Monday morning we’ll be heading to our local pet store to get them fitted with harnesses.

We set up two crates in the family room, and towards the end of the day that seemed like it might never end, encouraged them in with a treat or two, put on some soft music and sat nearby while they started to get sleepy.  Then we tiptoed upstairs and didn’t hear a peep out of them all night.  Good boys Levi and Jesse!  In fact we woke up before they did, and now we’re ready to start a new day of fun and exploration (and maybe a little training).