Margie Rose Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 5 Years Old ID#2996

Margie Rose is a five year old yellow Labrador retriever.  Margie was out in Lancaster County living  as a breeder Mama on a farm.  She is now done raising  babies and can finely relax and enjoy life!  Please read her blog from the bottom up.

Margie Rose is available: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/margie-rose-53215614/pa/warrington/brookline-labrador-rescue-pa06/

October 7, 2021

Today is the two week mark here in our home for Margie Rose. She is absolutely ready for her “furever” home, but we are awaiting her spay, which is scheduled for Monday the 11th of Oct. Meanwhile, we have noticed a little bit of separation anxiety developing, which we are keeping an eye on. We love that she has bonded with us so fully that she can’t bear not to  be near us, but it’s made it a little harder for us to go out and leave her. She is gated the kitchen area and today we came home to find the gate knocked over and Margie frantically searching the house for us. Fortunately, she does not have accidents and she does not chew or get on furniture, so she was just wandering around looking everywhere, but she was very anxious and panting hard. But we are going to use the next week to use the crate and see if it helps her feel more secure when we are not here.

Later, I had a client in the basement and she had a hard time knowing I was home but not being able to see me, so she came to the office with me and laid by my feet so happily and quietly. I think she is going to do really well in a household where there’s lots of activity and she can always be near her people. Wish me luck on the crate training!

After my session I stood up and went around to the other side of my chair. Here’s a photo of her little face making sure I’m not going too far away. 

October 4, 2021

Here’s an update that will get everyone excited and is adorable, too!

First the adorable news is that Margie is now an EXCELLENT leash walker. She is so good, in fact, that I took her for a jog last night and she did GREAT! Way better than I had expected. She jogged (slowly) with me for about a mile without a pause and had a smile on her face the whole time!! I was really happy and proud! I am sending a photo of BOTH of our smiles! 

Margie is going to be spayed shortly and then the exciting news to follow  is that Margie Rose is going to be listed as available.  I’m anticipating lots of tears as we have fallen hopelessly in love with her, but we are so excited to know that she is going to make the perfect fur baby for some lucky person or family. Stay tuned to the blog!!

October 1, 2021

Happy October!

Margie Rose has now been with us for a full week and she is best dog we could have ever asked for, especially for our first foster! Her routine is established with a long walk every morning and every evening with a meal to follow, potty breaks every three hours, and lots of snuggles and naps in between. Her tail is constantly on a “slow wag” setting, and she has a perpetual smile plastered to her sweet face.Some updates:

Despite the fact that the farmer told us that she is not house broken, she has not had ANY accidents in our house. She does one short bark when she needs to go out and she has a very predictable poop schedule that coincides with our walks.

Her manners around treat time are improving. We work diligently at every meal to “sit” and “stay” before food is presented and placed. I’m trying to do the same with treats. She is a FAST learner, especially when it comes to food, and she already has meal time down pat and continues to work on manners around treats. We are a long way off from her being “gentle” but I know that with some guidance I will be able to train her with ease. Again, she is not aggressive, just excited!

I don’t know if I already said this, but we discovered by accident that she does not like the sight of a spray bottle. We learned this when we were trying to give her coat a spray with shine enhancer/deodorizer. She was not scared, but she walked away from the spray bottle and was hesitant to come near me when I was holding it. She eventually allowed me to use it on her coat, but she was wary of the process. Now when we need her to back off (like when I am trying to put my shoes on in her presence to go for a walk and she wants to cover me with kisses) I just have the spray bottle near and she goes to her bed and sits and waits like polite is her middle name. I don’t ever use it, but having it near is a signal to her that I need some space from her. The SECOND I put it down she comes back to me with a backlog of kisses!

On the medical front, Margie had her well check yesterday and the entire veterinary staff fell hopelessly in love with her. She checked out as 100% healthy and I got some good tips about her scar care and how to do regular checks of her mammary tissue as tumors are more likely after multiple litters of pups. She is not in heat nor was an impending heat detected, so we were cleared to get her spayed, which I will schedule as soon as the fees are approved.To celebrate the good report, we went to Exton Park and walked the meadow loop. Margie is AWESOME on a leash, but the meadow brought out a new side of her!! She was fascinated by all the critters (birds, chipmunks, deer) and took the opportunity to smell every new smell she encountered. We had to work hard on getting her not to pull, but she is responsive to the “no tugging” command that I used when working with her in the neighborhood and she only tugged hard for the first 10 min of our walk when we encountered multiple other dogs and a few deer right in a row. We walked for 90 min, which was her longest walk yet, without any fatigue.  I think she could have kept going, but the sun went down on us!

September 26, 2021

So…. lots of really big news today! Margie Rose went to the PetVet clinic for her shots, and I was blown away by how well it all went. First, she entered the store with no hesitation at all. We had to wait in line for a whole hour and she was friendly and calm with ALL sorts of dogs and people that came near. We had some concerns that she was skittish around men, but that did not hold true today at ALL… it must have been true only one her first day with all the transition!Today she licked hands and faces of anyone that would allow it, and sat happily wagging her tail when she wasn’t loving on folks in line! The official report is that she weights a whopping 91 lbs, has NO evidence of fleas, has lovely teeth, a healthy coat, is up to date on all her shots, and now has her microchip! We see the vet for her full well exam on Thursday, and she will be taken back to the vet next month for her second distemper vaccine.Margie was a little tired when we got back from the vet, but she rallied to join us for a long walk at the Struble Trail in Downingtown, and to “help” me in the garden. I PROMISE you, I didn’t have to bribe her to pose this way. She is so stinking photogenic, it’s almost comical. (She calls the photo on the stone steps her “Ruff Lauren” face. She’s very fancy.)

September 25, 2021

We had an amazing day with sweet Margie Rose yesterday and another perfect night! We are feeling VERY lucky right about now!! So here are some fun updates! First, someone loved this dog. It’s very clear in all that she does that she was constantly around other people, other dogs, and was interacted with regularly and with joy. She knows how to “sit” (one finger held up seems to be the ticket), “shake” (offer your hand and she will offer her paw from a sitting position) and “come.” She knows her name perfectly and when you say “Margie, come” she will come to you from wherever she is.

She is INCREDIBLY food motivated and loses her mind (in a hilarious swirl of snuffles and licks) when it’s time for meals or treats. She doesn’t have very good manners with taking treats from our hands, and we’ve felt a nip a few times. She is NOT aggressive around her treats, just VERY excited. We are going to work on “gentle” with her, but who knows how it will go!?

Interestingly, she knows not to jump ON people. She has made a few mistakes and jumped on me, but mostly I will say “down” and even when she jumps she just “rears” on her hind legs in an excited and happy way. I’m okay with it as long as she is not jumping on me. When it’s mealtime, it looks like she is dancing! I do ask her to “sit” before I place her food, and she does it, every time. She is a beautiful and soulful animal and we love her. She’s also found her voice and we’ve now heard her bark twice. She seems to bark when she wants attention or a treat, but has not barked at other people or dogs. Her bark is husky and cute and we love listening to her. She does not bark in the night, at least not so far, which we truly appreciate!

She is developing a nice routine of going out every three hours. She has not had a single accident in the house and is always happy to go outside. We take longer walks in the morning and in the evening and she walks on the leash perfectly now. She walks for about 45 min before she starts to tire out, but she will go as long as you ask her to. She is so eager to please. We are looking forward to taking her to the dog park, but we are still a week or so away from that. Vet first, and a few more days to settle in, at least.

September 24, 2021

Good morning everyone!

I didn’t think I would be the person who would update you all every five and a half seconds, but this experience is so different (in a good way!) than I imagined it would be and I am just so happy and excited!

Margie chose to stay in our garage for her first overnight. She is very happy out there, as we’ve put her crate (door open, no intentional crating yet), some blankets, her bed, tons of toys, and a soft lamp out there. The garage is off our kitchen, where we spend all of our time. We leave the door between the kitchen the garage open (at all times, with a baby gate between for now to keep the dogs separate) so she can see us and hear us, but she has the safety of distance and her own space from us and from Moose.We gave her a final pee break at about 10pm and she settled on the concrete floor, despite the softer options… 🙁 We gave her a nightlight, left the kitchen door open, and said goodnight. We did not hear a peep from her overnight and not a single accident. When I came down to her at 7am she was snoring in her bed!!!! I guess she has discovered softness and comfort! I can’t imagine she will go back to the concrete!

We went for a long walk and she did great on the leash. She is happy to walk and pulls on the leash at first, but is VERY smart and responsive to my command of “no tugging” with a short pull pack on the leash. She lets up, I praise her, and we continue. By 10 minutes into our walk she was not tugging at all. Maybe she was just tiring out… but I like to think she was learning quickly! She seems to prefer the sidewalk to the road or grass as it “keeps her in line” and even though she is skittish when other people walk by (with and without dogs) she is very friendly, and just watches them with curiosity.When we got back from our walk, we sat together in her bed and cuddled. She loves to give kisses and she took the task of kissing/cleaning my hands very seriously. She is a love bug through and through.

One more quick thing… my husband was at work she she joined us yesterday so she didn’t get to “meet” him til dinner time. She was clearly quite nervous around him. She cowered in the corner and turned her head away. My husband just let her be, but threw a treat her way each time he walked by the garage and by this morning she was eating treats from his hand and allowing her to pat her head! She LOOOOOVES treats!! (We will work on manners around treat time in the coming days!)

That’s all for now.  She loves those kisses!

September 23, 2021

I had the pleasure of driving out to Maija’s farm this morning and picking up Margie, who comes to us from a breeder in Lancaster County! The rain was unbelievable, but it didn’t seem to deter this sweet farm girl. After some initial shyness she allowed me to walk her in the yard (thanks to a brief break in the deluge) and then she hopped in the back of my jeep and we were off. The rain kicked up again on the way home and so we backed my jeep into the garage and we are waiting out the worst of it here with blankets, towels, treats, and gentle introductions. She has already “met” our dog Moose through a gate and she was thoroughly unperturbed.

She is so sweet!!! She loves kisses (she will kiss faces and legs, and arms, whatever she can get her face on!) and having her ears scratched. She is smiling constantly. She has eaten a meal and knows where her water is and we hope that when he have the chance to formally introduce her to Moose, we can bring her in the house and let her really relax into our routine. Keep your fingers crossed that we get a few breaks in the monsoon!! Today I will look into getting her an appointment at the vet and filling out her forms. We are so in love and can’t wait to share more about her with you all! For now, here are her first photographs!