Pepsi #3 (AKA Jo) Chocolate Labrador Retriever Female 3 Years Old ID #3411

May 10, 2024

Josie (AKA Pepsi) is officially retired! Her spay surgery went well and she is recovering nicely. Our challenge for the next week is to make sure she is staying quiet and not playing with the resident dogs. I have several kongs in the freezer and picked up a few new bones to chew on to help with that project! Luckily, she loves to cuddle with foster mom, so I am making sure to add some extra alone time with Josie.

As you can see from the picture, Josie also loves snuggle time with the resident dog.

Josie continues to transition to life off the farm with ease. 🙂 She is in our routine, follows the resident dogs and foster mom around, eats well, and sleeps well.  She is a good listener and house guest (she still will mouth like a puppy but responds to “ah-ah” or “no”). She loves to fetch and play with the other dogs. She has been out and about in the neighborhood meeting new people of all ages and enjoying the attention of her new admirers. She is such a great dog!!

Here she is playing with one of the resident dogs before surgery. She is equal parts playful and cuddly – and all-around good girl. ❤️❤️❤️

Since foster dad won’t let me have another dog, Josie will be available next week after she is done with her recovery. She is an absolute doll and we are going to be sad to see her leave!

April 29, 2024

Jo (AKA Pepsi), or Josie as we have started calling her, is doing so well adjusting to life off the farm and in a home. She is such a love and we are enjoying the opportunity to teach her all about her new world. 😃

Josie is walking beautifully with a gentle leader. We tried the martingale collar and a harness with some improvement but the difference with the gentle leader was dramatic. She walks nicely right by my side without zig-zagging under foot. She loves her walks and is very good about getting her gentle leader on. She doesn’t pay much attention to people or dogs when we walk by, but if people approach her, she is happy to receive attention.

The more comfortable Josie has become with us, the harder it has been to crate train her. It was taking longer and longer for her to settle down. She would bark, pace, and pant when crated. We tried different mats, a calming spray, kongs, and a noise maker/music, but nothing seemed to help her relax. So, we decided that crating was not the best thing for her and we moved on to plan B. For the last few days, Josie has been successfully gated in the laundry room with our older resident dog while FM is at work or away during the day. At night she sleeps in our bedroom on a mat beside the bed. She is much happier with this arrangement! She has had no accidents and settles right away with the resident dog in the laundry room and has been sleeping soundly through the night.

On Thursday, Josie went to the vet for x-rays of her bladder and a re-check of her ears. Her ears were still bothering her even after treatment a week prior. After a swab and cleaning, she was given another treatment and will be re-checked at her spay on May 8. Her x-rays showed no evidence of stones, which is great news. Since she is still not urinating “normally” (although she is improved for sure), the vet put her on a short dose of Rimadyl to eliminate any inflammation that may be lingering. The vet will do another urinalysis when we take her in for her spay if things are not back to normal by then. We also started her on a special food to help her urinary health and decrease the risk of future infections.

The younger resident dog had a playdate with the neighbor doodle today and Josie joined in for a little. This was the second dog that Jo has met and played with – in addition to our 2 pups – all went well. The neighbor’s 5 year old daughter was also here and Jo was good about meeting her as well (although the knockdown factor is something we will need to consider when placing her with her forever family.) Josie is an energetic, playful pup but also happy to cuddle up for some love when play is done.

Josie loves car rides. This week she learned about the magic tube at the bank drive-thru that sends doggie treats to canine clients. She thought that was way better than driving to the vet! She also took a trip with the younger resident dog to our nephew’s soccer game. She was a little shy at first, but when she saw the resident dog getting lots of attention, she quickly caught on to the joys of being a 4-legged spectator.

Josie knows her name and quickly mastered “sit”. We are now starting to work on “down”. Potty training is going better but she is still not completely sure how to ask to go out so we have to watch for her pacing. As her infection clears up, however, we are noticing a definite improvement.

Her favorite activity continues to be running, wrestling, and playing with the younger resident dog. They are also starting to snuggle up together on the sofa which is so heartwarming to see.

Josie is going to be a great addition to an active family.

April 21, 2024

Sweet Pepsi (aka Jo) moved foster homes last Tuesday evening because of a change in circumstances for her first foster family. Lucky us! We now have the privilege of fostering this beauty.

We stopped at the vet on our way home with Jo Tuesday where she got a checkup, shots, and was treated for a double ear infection. She was a very good patient!  Later that night and the next day, we noticed that Jo was urinating frequently and only in small amounts so we took a sample back to the vet and she was diagnosed with a bladder infection. Poor girl. She is now on antibiotics and scheduled for a radiograph to make sure she doesn’t have any bladder stones. We have been taking her out every 2 hours to try to avoid any accidents. Once she is feeling better and going more normally, we will start more formal potty training.

Jo loves the 15 month old resident dog. They were fast friends and can frequently be found running around the backyard (or living room) playing happily. Jo has been great meeting our neighbors and isn’t shy about asking for more pats. She loves to cuddle on the sofa with foster mom or dad and prefers to be in the same room with us when we are home. We have been crating her at night and when FM works 3 afternoons a week. She isn’t crazy about it but does settle after several minutes. She has quickly become an expert co-pilot and is starting to really enjoy car rides. We are working on getting her to recognize her name and “sit”.

Stay tuned as we learn more about this sweet girl.

April 14, 2023

Meet Pepsi – or “Jo” as we’re trying to transition her to!  She came into foster care on Thursday afternoon (April 11th).  She seemed very skittish as we got her into the car but rode well for the 25 minute drive home.  Once we got home, she stuck close to me – although once I settled down to relax in the family room, she chose to stay on the hardwood floor in the kitchen.  I took her out several times but she didn’t seem interested in going to the bathroom.  I headed upstairs to bed but since she hadn’t shown any interest in the steps, I let her stay downstairs with free roam of the first floor.  This was a rookie mistake for a second time foster mom!  I heard her around 3 am and came downstairs to find she had left a very big wet spot on the family room carpet.  I cleaned it up as best I could since I was half asleep and went back to bed.  In the morning, I took her out again and then fed her breakfast.  I headed back upstairs to take a shower and when I came down again, she had left a stinky present for me on the hardwood floor on the kitchen.

Unfortunately, I had to go into the city for a staff meeting on Friday, so I put her in the crate and had my dog walker come in.  He let me know she had done well for him.  Over the last 24 hours, I’ve learned a lot about her.  She is extremely sweet.  She seeks attention from me.  Sometimes I need to tell her “enough.”  She is catching on.  She’s done pretty well on the leash for a farm dog.  Sometimes she pulls a little when we first start out, but generally, she does well.  On our first walk around the neighborhood, we encountered another dog – a crème colored golden retriever.  I asked her owner if she was friendly and we “introduced” the two girls.  By the time we said good-bye, she was wagging her tail.  A little further on, we encountered another dog.  But this time the owner crossed over to the other side of the street.  His dog was pulling very hard to try to get to us and Pepsi/Jo had her tail between her legs.  She has the potential to be a counter surfer so I’ll be keeping an eye on that.  And once or twice she has put her mouth around my wrist.  She’s very gentle but I am discouraging this behavior.  She climbed up onto the couch this afternoon which is ok in my house!  She really seems to want to be where I am.

Like any good lab, she is very interested in the dirty items in the dishwasher!  I’m also happy to say she’s been eating and drinking well.  Today she met my youngest daughter and was very friendly – a little unsure at first, but fine by the time my daughter left.  She also helped me finish my income taxes.  😊

She has had a few more accidents but we are both learning.  Last night I put her in the crate to sleep and although she whined for a few minutes, she eventually settled down.  She has been very good about going #1 outside – it’s #2 we’re working on.  I’m also getting an education as this is a first for me!  I really believe this girl is going to make a wonderful family dog.  She is beautiful, friendly and a love bug.  She goes to the vet on Tuesday – stay tuned for updates.