Luna #7 Chocolate Labrador Retriever Female 4 Years Old ID#3306

Luna is a the pretty chocolate momma who got her rescue ride off a breeder farm. She did spend her first year of life living in a house with a family, but was given to a Mennonite breeder when she got too big for that family. She only had one litter on the farm.  Please read her blog from the bottom up to learn more about her.

June 13, 2023

Luna’s message to foster mom about her stay at Camp McGee:

June 8, 2023

Since my last update, Luna has been on some short walks in the neighborhood but sadly we didn’t run into any other dogs yet to be able for me to see if she is certainly leash reactive or if it was just the stress of everything in the beginning. I will say she is strong! Even with a freedom harness she pulled and was a lot to handle on some occasions while walking. She will certainly  need some training for leash walking as well as just some basic manners in terms of learning her size and what she can and can’t do.For example, she will get up on the couch and decide she wants to be on the other side so she will simply walk over me to get there and then lay on my lap, it’s adorable BUT at close to 100 lbs, she’s a big girl. I have been working on correcting her with this but she’s just going need some time to learn her manners and what’s expected on living in a home.

She did have two accidents which was surprising since she had none for weeks but she’s been back on track with going outside. She is a completely different dog now that she is healed from her spay and is pretty much through her Lyme treatment. Her and Gunner are two peas in a pod and pull out every toy possible and go back and forth stealing them from each other. She is absolutely obsessed with any kind of rubber kong toy!She does play a bit rough and gets on top of gunner so she has to be corrected by me because gunner is too submissive to correct her but she takes correction very well. Remi and Luna have even played with each other a few times. Luna has started chasing the cat when he runs by but she is always gentle with him and doesn’t do anything other than give chase which Harris instigates. When I tell her to leave it and come she listens very well and leaves the cat alone.

I am going away for the weekend so Luna will be staying with another volunteer so I’m excited to see how Luna does in a new environment and with other dogs! I’ll keep you all posted on her progress and when she will become available!!

May 28, 2023

Hey everyone back with another update on sweet Luna! Luna has successfully made it all ten days of the required dreaded cone! I will say though, despite being super smart and flexible getting the cone off every time, she was on her best behavior and did not bite or lick her incision at all! It still has a bit of a scab because some hair got stuck to it while it was healing so she still has to be monitored but she is such a good girl!! She even became Houdini and figured out how to get the body suit off without chewing it or ripping it! She is something else!I am in awe at how gentle and sweet this girl is too. She is the PERFECT house guest and will make whichever family adopts her very lucky! She has mastered sit and come, she is completely house broken and crate trained, gentle despite her size and very much velcro with her person. She was not a fan on having separate play times and being restricted from too much activity these last ten days but we made it work!Today, we spent some time out in the backyard and she actually engaged in play with Gunner for the first time!! It was super sweet but short lived because she still is on some restrictions until the end of the week from her spay. As it gets closer to Friday and her restrictions are up, I am going to start taking her for some walks to see how she does and how she handles the leash and seeing other people and dogs so we can find out if the reactivity in the beginning was just stress and feeling crappy (which I really think that’s what it was)!I’m also very happy to note with feeling better, Luna is completely eating her meals again but she had the taste of wet food mixed into her kibble and now will refuse to eat her kibble unless wet food is in there so I may have inadvertently created a princess but she deserves it!!

Luna also was able to get her first dose to treat her whip worm and she will receive a second dose in a few weeks. She is taking her doxy like a champ with her meals and you can definitely tell she is feeling much better now that she’s being treated! I don’t have as many photos for this update since we spent the week lounging on the couch while she recovered. Stayed tuned this coming week for more updates since we can return to normal activity!!!

May 22, 2023

I’m back with an update on Luna! Luna got spayed on Friday and was mostly out of it the whole night. As soon as we got into the house she ran right into her crate and curled up in the back into a ball. She whined and cried most of the night and magically was able to get the kong collar and her regular collar off.Thankfully she didn’t mess with her incision at all! She wasn’t a happy camper when I had to put the giant plastic e collar on her overnight but it’s the only one she doesn’t manage to get off so when I can’t watch her overnight or if I run out she has to go in that one. I ordered her a surgery shirt and we’re trying that out today, she seems in much better spirits about the shirt compared to the e collars!The surgery has definitely kept her down for the count, she barely comes out of her crate and she hasn’t been eating. I’ve tried wet food, baby food, chicken and rice, treats and cheese but she’s just uninterested. The vet did say the combination of the pain meds and her meds for Lyme could make her feel pretty crappy so I’m not surprised she’s not really eating and thankfully her pain meds ended last night! I was very thankful this morning she was willing to scarf down a can of wet food which I will happily take as she hasn’t had anything since Thursday night! Now I just gotta get her back into eating her kibble and we’ll be all set!

Otherwise, she is learning to take the sights and sounds of the city less to heart. Before the slightest noise from outside she would bark but her bark sounds more like a hounds howl then anything. She’s quickly learning from Remi and Gunner when a bark is necessary and when sounds can be ignored! She received her care package and all of the treats and toys and now thinks every package that comes is also for her! She gives you little nudges and boops with her nose to get her head in to see what you got and if it’s not for her she fully expects you to let her and show her some love! I’m hoping she snaps out of her surgery funk soon! I’ll be back with more updates as she starts to feel better and move around more!

May 18, 2023

Hi all back with a day/night 3 update! Luna continues to be the rockstar that she is in terms of house training and crate training! She still is doing all of her business in the yard and sleeping soundly in the crate at night without making a peep!Yesterday was day 3 with me and she certainly came out of her shell much more! She was seeking out interaction with resident pups Remi and Gunner and didn’t growl at all. She started playing with the toys a lot and even stealing them from my two resident pups. We spent a good chunk of the morning in the back yard relaxing and she took the time to scope out her favorite chair! We then did some people watching as some of the neighbors were out and about in their yards so she can get used to some of the sights and sounds of city life.She has been mimicking Remi with toys and just grabbing one and walking around the house with it in her mouth all day. She is very much a velcro pup and wants to be with her people. She spends every moment mostly by my side and has the cutest little head nudge that she does to your arm to get you to pet her. Her favorite place is currently sitting right by my side on the couch!We did end up having to go back to vet in the afternoon because I noticed she was drinking excessively. They checked her blood work and luckily everything came back good so she will be on medication to treat the Lyme for the next 30 days. She was definitely really stressed out at the vet but I think it was all just still new to her. She goes tomorrow to get spayed so I will update you all on how she’s doing after!

May 16, 2023

Hi all back with night 2 update on Luna! Luna is such a sweetheart and gentle dog despite being 93 lbs of pure unknown strength!! She is super strong but doesn’t quite realize it so she will certainly need some help with leash walking and some manners but she truly is amazing so far! She slept soundly in her crate all night without a peep and actually voluntarily went in there and chose her time in there! Easiest crate training I’ve ever experienced in my life!She also has done all of her business outside in the yard and hasn’t had any accidents at all, yay Luna!!! I can tell she is still super stressed and everything is new to her. In the yard she tries to run right back in the house or chooses to come stand next to me, she has the lab lean down pat! She’s still learning to take in the sights and sounds of city life!When we’re in the house most of the day she is still choosing to stay in her crate but she did come out from time to time today. She was very interested in Remi and Gunner when they were playing and even started to play with a few toys herself. I could tell she was a little more stressed around Remi than Gunner so I’ve been limiting their time together so she can decompress. She certainly lets Remi know when she’s over it with little growls. She showed much more interest in the resident cat today but was scared off when he turned around and stood up to her, she got wide eyed and ran right for me. She seems to be very much a velcro dog as when she is out of her crate she has to be right next to me either on the couch or leaning against me while she’s sitting on the floor. She has started to explore more including my countertops but the good news is she has taken correction very well when I say no or say Luna over here to redirect her. I do believe as she continues to decompress and come out of her shell she will blossom and make a family very lucky to adopt her!!

May 15, 2023

Luna was sprung from the farm today with her daughter Nickle! She has been a rockstar for me all day! She was picked up this afternoon and got in the car with a little help. She settled very quickly in the car though she certainly had to be strapped into her seatbelt otherwise she would have gladly climbed up into the front seat next to me! She did rest her head occasionally on the center console as well throughout our various trips today!Our first stop was to the Pet Supplies Plus to get a much need bath! She was pretty nervous for the bath but she was very gentle and sat patiently while I washed her without any problems. Naturally she was afraid of the blow dryer so we opted for a towel dry which she was very grateful for! After her bath she climbed right back into the car herself and we went to the vet for our next stop for her shots and vet check. Unfortunately there were a few emergencies that came in so a usual quick visit turned into a 3 hours wait.Luna was pretty stressed out and started reacting to the dogs that were coming into the vet. I took her outside and put her back in the car and we waited in the car until it was our turn.She was the sweetest thing at the vet!She is super smart too, she got right up on the scale and weighs a whopping 93lbs but the vet said for her build she’s perfect! She let the vet do his thing and got all of her necessary shots. She did come back Lyme positive but she seems to be asymptomatic so the vet said to monitor her for Lyme symptoms/flare ups. Other than that the vet said she looked amazing for being a farm dog and just pulled which I agree she is a gorgeous dog!!After the vet we went home and Luna was such a good girl and did all her business in the yard! She met the resident cat since he was waiting at the door and she was completely unfazed by him. Sniffed a few times and walked away. I didn’t want to further stress her so I opened up her crate and before I could even grab a treat to coax her she ran right in and settled down. About an hour later she seemed like she was interested in resident pups Remi and Gunner so I let them all get a few sniffs so they would all settle down but she is still pretty stressed out so she is relaxing for now in her crate. I’ll update some more tomorrow as tonight is going to be a decompression night for her to just relax and settle in!