Nala #6 Black Labrador Retriever Mix Female 2-3 Years Old ID #2866

April 14, 2021

Nala is so sweet, happy, and loving! She has been really impressing me with how quick of a learner she is!  In only a few days she has come a long way.  She’s lounging and relaxing in the dog beds comfortably, instead of biting it as big toys.  She waits for me patiently laying down on my kitchen rug when I leave the house (usually just 10 minutes at a time).  She waits for me to take off my coat and shoes and then I give her a treat, while she’s still laying down.  We do a lot of impulse control exercises throughout the day.  I’m also trying to get her used to not being with me every minute, because she’s so fun to take around, and she’s crazy about the car.  She sniffs it when I have her out because she wants to go for a car ride.  She goes into her crate easily, but I haven’t really crated her yet.  I just want her to be used to it, until I know for sure she will not get into mischief or have an accident.

I did have a dog walker come by to meet her and it seemed like all the training went out the window! She’s just very excited about life, and when there are new people involved, she just wants to meet them and can’t contain herself. So, she was still jumping and giving kisses, but we are working on these things still. She can get mouthy but is easily redirected with toys, but sometimes she doesn’t realize that she can’t play with people like she does dogs. She loves her toys though!  No stuffing toys are best, and nylabones.

She is no longer jumping up on the counters.  She sits patiently while I prepare her food bowl on the counter, and is able to have complete self-control not jumping up.  I do think she would be tempted if given the opportunity, and her curious nature.  I also give her a piece of kibble while she’s sitting so patiently, because she deserves it for being such a good girl! I’m so impressed at what a quick learner she is.  I walk around with pockets full of kibble and we train all day!  She sits, lays down, gives high five, and is learning more every day.  She loves to play fetch and knows drop it (all for kibble). She is highly treat motivated.

She’s not a barker and I love it!  On our walks other dogs will bark and she just wants to meet them, so she will be hyper focused on the direction that they are in.  She’s great once you redirect.  She’s met my parents’ dog and my neighbor’s dog with no issues and went to doggie daycare today and had so much fun!  Everyone loved her and she made a bunch of new doggie friends.  I was so happy to see this, and now she is zonked out!

She needs activity and interaction, and this is a perfect scenario for her.

Being in a less stimulating home environment has done wonders for Nala, but she does forget her manners when new distractions or people come to the house.  She would need someone or a family who can provide consistent training and exercise to help her shine like the beautiful girl she is!

March 25, 2021

It was such a privilege to see our former foster Nala today at Canine Kamp! We could tell this girl has made so much progress thanks to the love and care of the wonderful people at BCK. It is so great to see that with the consistent training and doggie socialization she has received she has become the wonderful girl we knew she could be.

Nala came running out to greet us with lots of love and eager to show us what she has learned. Yes, she still jumps, but mostly she is so excited to get hugs and kisses. When she knew we had special treats she would happily sit and perform some small hurdle jumps and even remembered the high five we taught her! She also laid on the platform for some pets and hugs and kisses.

It was so nice to see how happy Nala looks. We hope we can see her again very soon, but we hope even more that we don’t…. because that might mean Nala got the chance at the forever home she needs so much.

March 23, 2021

Nala had a visit at Camp from one of the Brookline volunteers who took some great pictures of this sweet girl

March 11, 2021

Trainer update form Camp:

I have had the pleasure of working and playing with Nala for the last month. She is so incredibly sweet, smart and willing to learn. I have been working with her on socialization with other dogs, having her meet, walk with and play with several different types of dogs, from old and calm to young and playful and she loves everyone. She understands when the other dog does not want to play and is happy to let them be and do her own thing. With dogs that are willing to play, she is vigorous and loves to “wrestle” more than run and play “chase”.

Nala is so much fun to teach new things to. She already knows “sit”, “down”, “paw”, “stay”, “come”. We have been working on her leash skills (doing great now using the gentle leader) and trying out some fun Obstacles (Agility equipment: tunnels, jumps, A-frame, dog walks, ramps, etc.). She also loves going on walks and exploring our large grass yard.

Besides loving other dogs, also loves people. She is excited when she first meets someone new or sees one of her human friends and likes to jump up to give a kiss. She does settle down fairly quickly, but can still surprise you with a smooch at times! She loves cuddles and back scratches too.

I had the opportunity to let Nala meet a cat and she was very curious, trying to climb up to say hi. The cat wasn’t pleased and hissed at her, so she ended up leaving the cat alone.

Nala is super in the car, just sitting in the back seat, looking out the window.

Nala is fairly high energy, but does settle down fairly quickly, especially after playing with her friends. She is smart and curious and loves to explore. She is a complete love and always happy and enthusiastic.

March 10, 2021

Nala continues to love to play with a variety of dogs – she thinks her canine friends are the best thing ever!

She also loves the agility course – this super smart girl loves challenges of all kinds.  Watch her climb the “A” frame with ease!

February 17, 2021

Nala enjoying some outside play time.

Nala and  Charlie

February 14, 2021

Nala and fellow “Kamper” Charlie have really gotten to be special buddies, and love playing together.  They are just the right energy level for each other and as you can see, love roughhousing together.  Look at the two of them having fun in the snow!

February 10, 2021

Nala has been hanging out at Canine Kamp for a bit so she can brush up on some of her doggy manners.  Nala is your typical high energy young lady, who it turns out LOVES other dogs!  She has been having a blast with several doggy friends, as you can see from the videos.  She just thinks they are the best thing since sliced bread!

She still is learning not to jump up – she gets so excited to greet new people, that she can’t contain her enthusiasm.  And she is also working on her leash skills – she is getting acclimated to a gentle leader, which should help with her pulling.

This black beauty definitely needs a family committed to giving her lots of exercise and would probably do best with a fenced yard where she can run and play with abandon!  After stretching her legs, she will be happy to cuddle and receive lots of pats from her adoring fans.

Nala will soon be looking for her forever home!

January 3, 2021

Nala started off the New Year this weekend being put to work. We had a training session in the backyard where we learned how to redirect Nala’s outdoor behavior. When Nala is outside with humans in the yard with her, she gets overly excited about the possibility of a playmate, and does not realize her version of play is too rough.

So, Nala quickly learned what to do correctly to earn treats and had blast showing it off! We will continue to work with Nala on the techniques we learned because it is great way to expend some of that puppy energy in addition to our walks.

When Nala gets the proper amount of exercise between walks and play, she is ready to enjoy a nice nap… and we get to enjoy her fascinating sleepy habits. Sometimes Nala becomes a bit dramatic about how exhausted she is, and stumbles around or covers her eyes like it’s too much effort to be awake in that moment. Here are a few of our favorite Sleepy Nala moments.

Nala has really come very far from the start of her time with us. She still has a lot of puppy behaviors that will continue to improve with training, but her loving, sweet, fun personality shines every day and we know this super smart girl will light up someone’s home soon!

December 26, 2020

Nala has enjoyed some new experiences here over the past couple of weeks. She got to play in a nice amount of snow, which we haven’t had for quite a while. Hopping around was sort of fun, but we think she found this to be a slight inconvenience as she was not able to easily find her favorite sticks to break apart. She did, however, find the snow much more comfortable than the usual frozen dirt.

We also learned a new trick, which she was so excited to perform here!

And then Christmas came and Nala is still so excited about the gifts she was showered with from her Foster parents and family that she can’t decide which one is her favorite!

Foster Mom and Dad learn new things about Nala every day. We regularly have music playing in the house while working or cooking and cleaning and we have found certain songs really put her into relaxation mode. Especially Christmas music…. more specifically Carrie Underwood’s new Christmas album and some old Elvis Christmas tunes. A few of the songs have interrupted play time, while Nala takes a pause to lay down with a huge sigh to listen.

Nala is not a big TV watcher but if a dog comes up on the screen, it immediately captures her attention, and if the dog walks off camera, she stares inquisitively, wondering where he could’ve gone. She has even looked past the screen or into the doorway to see if he might be joining us in the room. Nala is also very curious about football games and will stare intently while someone runs down the field. I think she thinks she could run faster. Sorry, Nala the season is almost over. Hockey starts soon though!

December 13, 2020

Nala has been with us for three weeks now and continues to be an adventure. While she continues to do better with heeling on her walks, we do need to improve on the distraction factor, especially when another dog is in her view.

Yesterday, with unfortunate timing, a neighbor kid was exiting the house with their Jack Russell as we were right in front of their house. Nala had some words for the little dog that apparently didn’t go over well. As we were redirecting Nala’s attention to move along, the Jack Russell escaped and came charging out, barking and nipping at Nala. Luckily the neighbor was able to scoop up their dog quickly, and in hindsight I have to give Nala some credit for not making the situation worse. She was more concerned about getting away from the dog than fighting back and we were able to move along with no injuries to any party.

Other than walks, Nala likes to keep busy around the house and know what’s going on at all times. When her Foster parents are cleaning in different rooms across the house, it is very entertaining to hear her happy feet running from one side of the house to the other, trying to keep tabs on what we’re both doing at the same time.

Nala has also started a game in the morning. When I leave the bathroom, door open to brush my teeth and finish getting ready, she likes to swipe something from the bedroom- a sock, slipper or hair tie, and then I hear her little happy feet run away, run back, and run away again till she gets my attention. Then she stares at me with her treasure hanging from her mouth and tail wagging, runs to me and drops it at my feet with a big smile on her face. If she hesitates and I say drop, she does so immediately…still with smile. And then I have to walk away so she doesn’t see me laughing at her silly game.

Nala also loves her food shaker toy. The first week she didn’t know quite what to do with it, but I think she has mastered it now

December 7, 2020

It was a very nice weekend here with Nala. We had a vet visit at the end of last week and Nala did really well for everyone there… well except for maybe the office cat who was resting comfortably in his bed and had to put up with Nosy Nala trying to climb up the counter to see him.

Nala got to eat some peanut butter as a bribe to get on the scale where we found out it seems she lost a few pounds since she has been with us! I told her I was jealous – I’ve never lost a few pounds around Thanksgiving. The vet recommended some anxiety medicine to help Nala along with her transition, and we think this was a great idea.

Nala has relaxed a little bit more with us now and this has allowed us to start working more productively with her. We are really making progress on heeling during walks. She starts off with a lot of energy and it can be difficult to keep her in line. But for the past few days, with a short leash, she has started to adhere to the heel concept after a few minutes and walks right in between Foster mom and Foster Dad instead of zig zagging all around with her nose to the ground the whole time. She will still get a little too excited over squirrels and other dogs, but this has been a huge improvement. She looks really proud of herself too, and every once in a while, when she knows she is doing it right, she looks up at us for treats- which we pack in our pockets every time, but have rarely been able to use until now.

Nala sure is an attention hog and when you’re home, which we are an awful lot these days. It is best to find her some toys that can keep her busy- Kongs full of treats and peanut butter are a favorite. Otherwise, please keep an eye on any electronic device that she thinks may be diverting your attention for too long… you may find it quickly swatted out of your hand…this girl even managed to delete an email while we were reading it from a laptop. I don’t doubt she knew exactly what she was doing! We are trying to work with Nala on being less pushy and demanding for attention as her antics become too much at times, especially when she starts with the mouthing. But we are really proud of her progress over the past few days. At 2.5 years, Nala is a full-grown dog with some mischievous puppy energy, but she is still very lovable.  Enjoy videos of some of Nala’s favorite forms of entertainment during the days…also featuring Gator squeaky toy from her Brookline family. She really thinks this thing is hilarious!

December 4, 2020

Learning Nala’s Facial Expressions:

Foster Mom- I am not happy with you.

No, I don’t want my Kong. No, I don’t want my bone. No, I don’t want my food shaker. Why can’t you understand me?

SEE, Foster Mom? Foster Dad understands me.

YUP, this is the life, relaxing and watching the world….

Wait…what’s that cat up to now???

Sorry, Nala, we’re both still learning.

By the way, I hope you’ll be getting a part time job to chip in for the heating bill.

November 29, 2020

Nala has been with us for just over a week now and seems to be fairly comfortable in her new environment. She truly is a sweet, loving girl who just builds up a lot of energy that she needs to be able to expend regularly throughout the day. Nala has moments where she tries to control the situation, she’s in, but we are making progress in being able to reel this in, and we think as we continue to work on her command training, she will continue to improve. When Nala does get the activity she needs, for the most part she just loves to just hang out close to her humans for the rest of the day. At night, she loves a nice soft place to lay her head and sometimes randomly stands up, leans her head into your shoulder and then gives kisses.

Nala was so extra well behaved on Thanksgiving that we were pretty sure she knows what this day is all about. Between walks and play times, she spent most of the day patiently waiting on the sofa or watching us from the kitchen doorway. However, Nala does have a need to know what’s going on at all times. We now lovingly refer to her as Nosy Nala. And Nosy Nala can be quiet when she wants to sneak a peek at what you are doing, so even if you think she is watching from the doorway, it is important to know her whereabouts before you open the oven. Sometimes that nose is right behind you when you least expect it!

While we were very sad to not be able to have our normal two-table long, 16-person Thanksgiving dinner, we also think that probably would have been very overwhelming for Nala after less than a week with us, so it was also nice for her that we had a small table of three. My sister was able to join us on Thanksgiving, and tolerate Nala’s jumpy greetings. Nala’s jumping on us has definitely improved, but she is not used to guests yet. She is super excited to greet people, but she is also very strong, so this is something we need to work on.

On Friday we started really working with Nala on command training. She is so smart, learns quickly, and will gladly follow commands for treats. Now we just have to work on applying these to real life situations! Let’s just say, her wonderful walking skills we recorded here aren’t exactly displayed for the neighborhood. But for only a week with us, we are so proud of her for the progress she has made!

Nala also wanted me to say Thank You to Dave and Sam for her goody box of new toys and treats. Nala is very thankful to her Brookline family and appreciates that she was able to enjoy this Thanksgiving in a happy home. She is thinking of all the doggies that were not as lucky as her this holiday and hopes they can all find good homes soon, too!

November 25, 2020

We are now about halfway through our first week with Nala. I think a wrench was thrown into her plans when her foster parents dared to stare at computers all day instead of her. Nala at times can be very demanding for attention. For most of our two days of work this week she did well, and pretty much entertained herself with some couch time and keeping watch at the door. Of course, our break-times were all spent running in the back yard and walking at lunch. But at times Nala became very antsy and then relentless in her attention-seeking antics, including climbing onto the keyboard and grabbing hands.

We have learned that Nala has a nice bark, but is just not sure yet when she wants to use it. So far, large dump truck picking up construction material across the street… stared intently. Fed Ex guy carrying large box to door…. stared intently. Neighbor cat making her way towards the driveway…. very loud barking and jumping on the door.

Speaking of Fed Ex guy, our crate for Nala finally arrived yesterday and we are shocked about how easily Nala goes in to lay down. So now after a lot of exercise, we think this is going to be a good way for Nala to decompress for a bit during the day…. and maybe for her foster parents, too! With a Kong or small bowl of goodies and a nudge, Nala goes right in, finishes her treats, and lays down without a peep!

Nala is selectively getting better with her leash manners. Some walks are nice, and on others, all the scents overtake her ability to listen to commands, and we spend the majority of the time trying not to trip over her zig zags and stopping short in the middle of the path. Regardless, if you keep urging her along, the exercise is good, for all of us really, and the results shown here speak for themselves.

Nala’s goals are to work on her mouthing, jumping, and bossy attitude. Foster parents have received even more new tips and tricks and we know Nala can improve on these unwanted behaviors because she is just so smart! In the meantime, we will prepare for a much smaller Thanksgiving this year…. with Nala’s help, of course!

November 22, 2020

Yesterday we brought home our first foster Nala and the past 24 hours have been an adventure. After we sprung Nala from the shelter, she gladly jumped into our back seat and said “Alright, let’s get outta here…I’m Ready!” For most of the ride, Nala enjoyed the fresh breeze from window to window on an unusually beautiful day for November. She did really great for most of the ride… except for a few moments when she was convinced, she should be a front seat passenger.

Nala thoroughly enjoyed inspecting each corner of each room in her new temporary digs and was over the moon about being able to run around in our fenced backyard. Nala is definitely house trained, although we did have one accident last night which we believe was a result of a nervous stomach, new environment, and new food. Unfortunately, this was all very rough on the tummy, but for the second occurrence she woke me up and we quickly made it to the back yard. This morning Foster Dad picked up some canned pumpkin as a result, let’s just say, were solid 😉

This morning we prepared ourselves for some firsts with Nala. Slipping on a new harness was a bit of a challenge, with a lot of resistance and chomping at the straps, but once we were finally all set, we went for a very nice morning walk! Nala has a ton of curiosity and wanted to sniff every pole, every sign, every tree, and every mailbox, but we kept urging her on, and as strong as she is, she was not difficult at all to walk. We even passed by two pit bulls on their front lawn with an electric fence, and other than a few greetings exchanged, it was very uneventful. Good Girl, Nala!

Nala is definitely in need of some command training. It seems she has never had any kind of formal training, and that excited puppy mouthing is not so cute from a grown 2.5-year-old dog with sharp teeth. So, while we have some work to do, we look forward to posting more updates because we can already see what a great dog Nala can be.