Maple Chocolate Labrador Retriever Female 4 Months Old

November 7, 2019

chocolate Lab puppy, Maple, showing off her cuteness Labrador puppy, Maple, enjoying a sunny day in the yard

If you’ve kept up on Maple’s shenanigans you know that crating, especially at night, has been a challenge for Maple.  She used to sleep next to foster Katie.  That didn’t seem to help much, but we were making progress.  Then Katie went to her adoptive family.  I was worried that this would mean Maple would have a terrible night that first night without Katie.  She proved me wrong and that was one of the nights she slept quietly the whole night.  Well, that was short lived as we all know she had her impromptu puppy party recently when she broke out of the crate in the middle of the night and shredded the box of tissues.  Maple is reminding me that she did not shred a box of tissues, she “decorated” with homemade confetti and streamers for her puppy party! 😜🎉

I decided to try something new with Maple.  Our resident lab Colin, who we have learned has a hidden talent of being the puppy whisperer, is so good at teaching these pups.  I put Colin next to Maple and left them for the night two nights ago.  Maple fussed for a second and then settled to sleep.  Woo-hoo!  Middle of the night potty break, because puppy bladder and right back to sleep she went.  Again quiet celebrations here.

Then around 5 am Maple was done with this whole crate thing.  She started her yelping, barking fit.  This was about 2 hours before our house gets up, so no one was thrilled with Maple’s noises.  Then I heard Colin give two deep barks.  Maple was puzzled.  She looked at Colin and began her fit again.  Colin again gave her a bark back.  Maple then spun around in her crate and went back to sleep.  YEEESSSS!!!chocolate Lab puppy, Maple, staring out the door

We have had two nights with these same results now.  So I think we, with the help of Colin the puppy whisperer, are on the right track with Maple.  Wish us continued progress with Maple’s nighttime crating, but I am feeling very optimistic.

In other news, Maple had a play date with another Brookline volunteer recently.  Of course, she was a hit with all the humans in the house.  The senior lab was not as fond of Maple’s lack of personal space.  She is a young and playful pup and as such does best with like-minded dogs.  She and resident playful Pepper are often wrestling and running around here.  I had to take Pepper’s collar off because Maple was constantly chewing on it.  They really do enjoy each other though!

Maple has a vet visit scheduled for the final round of her puppy vaccinations next week.  She will then be making an appearance at the Christmas Makers Market 125 Saginaw Rd, Lincoln University, PA 19352. Brookline will be selling our homemade dog items there too.  Maple will be visiting our booth on Saturday 11/16/19 from 10am-12pm. If any interested families would like to come and meet her, she would be thrilled to give some puppy kisses!  https://brooklinelabrescue.org/event/many-hands-marketplace-copy/

November 4, 2019

Last night Maple mastered a new trick.  At some point between her 3am potty break and her 7am wake up time, she managed to break out of the crate.  She proceeded to shred and chew a few things in the family room.  We are now working on putting together the Empire crate.  She will not be able to break out of that one.  Many have tried, and they were much bigger and stronger than Maple, and were not successful. At least we know she’ll be safely contained in there.

On a positive note, she did not pee in the family room during her middle of the night puppy party.  She did really enjoy shredding the box of tissues I had sitting on the end table due to my recent head cold. Maybe she was trying to “decorate” for her impromptu puppy party and she was making streamers?!  At least that kept her busy for a while!  Have I mentioned it’s a good thing she’s cute?!
Today she ran over to the backdoor and sat down.  I don’t know if this was purposeful or not, but I took it as a cue to take her out.  She ran right outside and peed.  Good girl Maple!  She may be getting this house training thing yet.

Another recent happening with Maple is that she started with a weird rash thing on her belly last week.  At first I thought it was maybe a bug bite.  She wasn’t bothered by it, but I kept an eye on it.  Two days later it looked like ringworm to me.  I took her to the vet and they thought the same thing.  She did come from an environment where ringworm is likely.  She is young and as such, is susceptible to ringworm.  She was within the incubation period for getting ringworm from the pen where she was kept before coming into rescue.  We started her on a topical anti-fungal and I did my best to disinfect the house, as it is contagious to people and other dogs.   Maple’s rash is looking much better with the treatment, and so far *knocks on wood* the dogs and the people here are not showing any signs of ringworm.
Other than her crate shenanigans, she continues to grow and be a happy and healthy puppy. black and chocolate Labrador Retriever
She was 30lbs last week at the vet.  She is due for a recheck of the ringworm next week and she will also get her final vaccinations.  Stay tuned for more Maple stories.  I’m sure we’ll have at least a few more by next week! Here’s a video of Maple figuring out the giggle ball. She loved it once she got over being afraid of it!

October 28, 2019

Maple has been in foster care with us just over a week now.  She is still not happy about this whole crate thing.  Some nights she goes in quietly and sleeps most of the night without issue.  Other nights it’s a yelping, howling fit from Maple.  There’s no predicting which kind of night we’ll get, but I am hopeful that this will continue to improve.  When I have to crate her during the day, the crying has lessened in intensity and duration.  Today she only fussed for about 2 minutes, then she curled up and snoozed.  Slowly, but surely!
black and chocolate Labrador Retriever sleeping on sofa
Maple is doing well with her house training.  Just a few accidents, and that’s mostly when she gets super excited during a play session with Pepper and/or some squeaky toys.  She loves squeaky toys!  I just need to make sure I get her out right before the play session, limit the duration of the play session, and get her back out right after.  See, I’m learning, my training is going well! 😉
Maple enjoys her daily walks. Pepper likes to walk quickly and Maple loves to move her little legs along to keep up with her.  She met my neighbor’s large female black lab, Cassie, the other day.  Maple was a little intimidated, but she took her cues from resident dogs Pepper and Colin and was licking her new friend’s face in no time!  I’m not sure Cassie was as enthused as Maple, but she was a good sport about it.
Maple continues to love all humans.  Big, little, men, women…any one who can pet her is a friend to Maple!  Of course she’s hit in the neighborhood on our walks too.  Especially when the local elementary school is letting out and the kids all ohhhh and ahhhh over her.  We are working on not jumping up to greet everyone.  She will now default to a sit (most of the time!) when I correct her with an “eh-eh” if she’s not too excited.
One of the very nice things about Maple is that she is not mouthy!  That’s right, she is not a baby shark.  She is a kisser for sure, but not a mouthy girl.  For this, I am thankful.  She also is quite the little retriever.  She likes to retrieve the ball when I play fetch with her.  She’s not great at bringing it back directly to me, but she’s very good at running after it and picking it up.

Enjoy the photos and video!

Love and puppy licks from Maple!😘😛🐾

October 22, 2019

Maple has been in foster care for about 4 days now.  It’s amazing how time flies when you’re chasing a puppy around!  She really likes the other dogs here.  She likes to run and play with resident Brookline alum Pepper and foster Katie.  She’s figured out the resident Brookline alum Colin is the best puppy snuggler.  She is learning so much!

We are working on crate training.  That is not Maple’s favorite thing, but we are making progress.  As a matter of fact, last night we had a huge improvement.  Maple went into her crate for bed and was quiet the whole night!  No howling or yelping or crying or anything.  Woohoo!!!!  We all got a good night’s sleep, which was much needed around here.chocolate Labrador Retriever

Maple is also learning about house training.  The first day we had quite a few accidents.  At one point, we had just been outside.  She peed, we came back in. Then she peed on the rug about 5 minutes later because….puppy!  Out we go again, this time I make sure she focuses long enough to eliminate completely and we go back inside.  I still have to clean the rug, so out comes the nature’s miracle (love that stuff!) and the roll of paper towels.  I’m on my hands and knees cleaning the floor.  Maple thinks this looks like fun!  So she starts chewing my hair and pawing at my head.  I redirect her to one of the many toys laying around.  She decides the toys aren’t nearly as fun as the paper towel roll.  So she grabs the end of the roll and takes off running all the while unraveling the roll of paper towels.  I jump up, catch Maple, re-roll the towels and finish cleaning up the pee.  It’s a good thing puppies are so cute!!!🤣

Enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for more Maple shenanigans!❤️🐾🤪

October 19, 2019

Meet Maple the 3 1/2 month old chocolate drop, or should I say maple drop!

She got her rescue ride from the farm today. She did not want to sleep for the over 2 hour drive. She was afraid she was going to miss something. We got home, met the 3 other dogs here without issue. Then it was bath time. Now we’re playing with squeaky toys and figuring out this whole house thing. She’s quite the vocal girl, and sweet as maple syrup!  Stay tuned for more Maple updates and more photos once she stops moving!

Adopt Your New Best Friend! 

PLEASE NOTE: While this Lab may not be available for adoption by the time you complete the adoption process, other great Labs are always finding their way into our Rescue.

If you are interested in adopting this Lab or any other Lab from our Rescue, please visit our Web site, www.brooklinelabrescue.org, for more information on our adoption process. If you need additional information about the adoption process or whether you are in our coverage area, please send an e-mail to our Rescue at info@brooklinelabrescue.org

Even if you are not ready to adopt, you can still help us help our Labs!

Brookline Labrador Retriever Rescue is a 501(c)3 non-profit volunteer organization funded entirely by donations. Donations are always needed to help with veterinary costs, transportation, and supplies for our dogs. For information on donating to BLRR please click here. https://brooklinelabrescue.org/get-involved/donate/ Donations are accepted via PayPal or you can mail a check to: Brookline Labrador Retriever Rescue, P.O. Box 638, Warrington, PA 18976-0638