Red Yellow Labrador Retriever Male 3 Years Old ID#2900

Red is a three year old Fox Red, Yellow labrador.  This 90lb young boy loves to run and play and swim.  Red came into the Brookline family as an owner surrender.  Unfortunately, due to work commitments, his owner had to spend too much time away from Red, and wanted  him to find a family that could spend more time with him.  Please read Red’s blog from the bottom up.

March 15, 2021

Red continues to make improvements!  He is doing much better on his leash using our training that we have learned.  He is also doing great with the commands we are using with him.  He now waits for us to go up or down the steps before he will go.  He is also very patient at waiting until we tell him to go eat his food.  He and resident lab, Izzy, have been loving the warm weather and playing fetch outside and going for walks.  When we have been playing fetch, more of the neighborhood dogs have been out walking and I’m happy to say that Red has not barked at them or pulled to go towards them.  We even had a couple of them come in our yard about 6 feet away from Red ( dogs must know about social distancing) and he just sat down and looked at them.   We have new neighbors that have two young girls that were walking and asked if they could come in the yard and meet Red.  Red was very excited to meet them and sat on command as the girls petted him and gave him lots of love.  Red and Izzy were very excited about the first BullyMake box that we got this weekend.  Red loved the toys and tested all of them out immediately!

We also took advantage of the nice weather and got baths this weekend.  He is looking very handsome!  Red will be visiting one of our Brookline Foster homes this weekend as we are out of town.  He will have lots of room to play and I’m sure will get lots of attention!

March 10, 2021

Red is still looking for his forever home and the right match for him!  Red is doing great!  He is such a quick learner and has picked up on our training with him on us being the alpha!  He is sitting on command and even on our hand signal with no command and he will stay for as long as he can until we tell him to go.  He is also doing great with leash training and has made great strides!  We all excited that this week is going to be so nice that we can get outside more. More of our neighbors will be out with their dogs too, so we can continue to work on interacting with other dogs.  But as we are playing in the yard, he will see other dogs walking by our yard, sit and look at them and there is no barking or pulling to go towards them as was in the past!

He and resident lab, Izzy, get so excited when it’s time to go outside and play fetch!  Red got a new toy dumbbell that is now one of his favorites along with his potato.  When it’s time to go outside, you tell Red to get his toy and he goes through the house to find his potato or dumbbell and will sit at the door until you tell him to go with you.  We are having so much fun with Red and so proud of him for how far he’s come with his training!  We know his perfect family is out there to give him as much love, time, and attention that he deserves!!

February 15, 2021

Hi Everyone, it’s me, Red!  I thought I would give you an update this week and give FM a break!  I’ve been back with my foster family for 5 weeks now and life’s been great!  FM and FD let me lay beside them and on them sometimes, sleep in bed with them, and they take me outside to play fetch at least 3 times a day!!I love the snow, a lot more than FM and FD I think!  My foster sister, Izzy, comes outside with us too and she even tried to chase after my potato one day!  I let her have it, but only for a minute!  FM brought out another toy for her to play with.  FM and FD were super excited with that because Izzy has never really played before!  FM says Izzy came to them just like I did but she lived on farm.  I guess Izzy has watched me play fetch enough that she decided to try it and everyone was so happy and excited.  FM and FD said that I’m a great teacher and we both got some extra snacks! We get pretty tired from playing and will take naps together .FM says I’m going to have a big week because someone called a trainer is coming this week to help me with my reaction to small dogs and pulling on my leash!  But FM says I’m a quick learner and and she knows that I will do great!  Plus I’m guessing there may be snacks involved for when I do something good, so I’m ready!  I’ll give you all an update after my training session!  Well, I guess that’s it for now!  I’m going back to FM and FD’s bed to rest up for my fetch time soon!

February 7, 2021

Red continues to do good and making some progress with his reaction to small dogs.  While he still barks some, he is starting to stop quicker at commands and not pulling as much towards them.  We are excited to have the trainer coming next week to help us and Red more on this issue!  Red has been doing better with not pulling as much on the leash while walking too.

We can say that Red has been having a blast playing in the snow!  He loves to take his potato or Kong outside and bury it in the snow and find it.  He also loves us to throw the potato so he can go diving in the snow after it!  We go out 2-3 times a day to play in the snow!  He has also still been trying to get resident lab, Izzy, to play with him.  She has little energy blasts where she has played with him for a couple seconds!

February 1, 2021

Red has settled into his routine back with us and is doing great!  He continues to love to play fetch and has tried to engage resident lab, Izzy, in some play.  Unfortunately, Izzy isn’t really into playing but we love that Red tried to play with her!

We continue to work with Red while walking so that he isn’t pulling too much.  We know he can do it because we had him not pulling when he was with us previously, and he is starting to get back to that point.  Red loves to go on walks, and we have been taking him twice a day.  We have passed other small dogs, and Red is getting better!  He is still sometimes barking and pulling some but not as much.  We take his potato with us and use that to help redirect him and also use the “leave it” command.  While walking yesterday, one neighbor had their small dog outside in their yard and Red was alert to him but we told him to leave it and keep walking and he did with no barking or pulling to go towards the dog!  We were so proud of him and he got extra fetch time!  We are excited for the trainer to come mid-month to help us continue to help Red succeed!

Red loves to snuggle up with us and I think he thinks he is half human as he lays his head on my pillow when we go to bed.  This is Red patiently waiting for Foster Dad to come back in from outside!

January 25, 2021

Red has been with us for a week now and has settled in like he never left!  We did a food change for him as his stool has been loose and that has gone well and he is doing great with the new food.  We have started to do some walks around the neighborhood this weekend and he has seen two of the smaller dogs and did start barking and pulling to go to them.  We redirected him with a treat and the “leave it” command like we had when he was here previously but he did not settle down till after the dogs went past us.  The next day we went outside the same time as our neighborhoods who have a small dog.  Red did great and did not bark or pull to go to the small dog.  We were so proud of him!  I decided to take his beloved rubber potato with us and kept it in my pocket.  We saw the same two small dogs walking and I pulled out the potato and redirected his attention to that and he walked right past these dogs with no issue as he was focused on the potato.  We will be having a trainer come to meet with us and Red in a couple weeks to work on the issue with small dogs.  But in the meantime we will continue to work with him too!  Red loves to go outside and play fetch every day and you can tell he’s from the south because after a couple minutes, he is ready to come back inside where it’s warm!  He loves to lay with us in the evening on the recliners or with our resident lab on the floor.  Red loves his rubber potato so much he even brings it to bed sometimes!  He loves to lay under my desk when I’m working and several times throughout the day, I get a head that comes up on my lap for some love!  Red also loves to go for car rides and does great in the car!

January 19, 2021

Red was returned by his adoptive family as things didn’t quite work out, but that’s OK as we’re happy to have him back!  Red is a young active dog and needs a committed and active family who will continue to work with him to make him the best dog he can be.  Red loves his people and most dogs, but he needs some manners work with regards to small dogs which sometimes get him worked out.  We were working on that before he got adopted out, and he was making good progress, so we’ll continue on that track.

Red was very happy to see us and kept giving us hugs.  He settled back into our house like he never left!  Red and resident lab Izzy got reacquainted very quickly and easily.  The first thing we did when we got home was give him a good brushing as he needed it!  Red has had a great 24 hours!

We did go on a walk today when we knew other neighborhood dogs wouldn’t be out as we want to give Red a couple days to decompress.  We have a long lead on the backyard so he can run and play fetch (and boy does he love to play fetch).  He did see some dogs walking past the house and he stopped to look at them,  but there was no barking or any issues from afar.  He was told “leave it” and went right back to playing.  Good boy Red!

He is such a cuddle bug and loves laying with you on the recliner. Think 75 pound lap dog!  He is the sweetest dog and we are glad he’s here so we can get him back on course and ready to find his right forever home!

October 26, 2020

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a week since we met Red and he came into our home!  He is adjusting great, and we just love him!  He is the biggest cuddler, and so playful!  Red got to go on his first camping trip this past weekend.  He did great with it and loved it!  He got to meet some new people and loved all the attention he got!  He also loved the extra pieces of bacon he got snuck to him at breakfast!  He got to meet and spend some time with some younger kids and he did absolutely wonderful with them.  He sat good while they petted him and his tail was happily wagging!  They kept telling him what a good boy he was and he enjoyed the praises! I also know he melted a lot of hearts of the people he met as they all said how well behaved he was and that they could just take him home!

While we were playing fetch with him, our resident lab, Izzy, started to join in and run around with Red.  This was a big deal because Izzy doesn’t ever show interest in fetch so to see her running with Red was awesome!  She had no interest in the actual potato, which was good with Red, but she just wanted to run.  Red did great with it too as he played with her.

We are still seeing issues with other dogs.  There were a couple other dogs around and if he would see them, he would stand alert and most of the time we were able to redirect him.  While taking a walk, we did see some other dogs on leashes and Red started pulling and wanting to go towards them and sometimes start barking.  We worked on redirecting and most times he would but it does take a strong person to hold him back.  He does get along great with Izzy but she is a submissive dog.  I think Red would be best in a home with no dogs or a submissive dog.  He also saw his first rabbit while we were walking this morning and it’s a good thing I had a good hold of him because he wanted to go see that rabbit face to face!  He is doing pretty well with walking on his leash and we are seeing less pulling each time!

Red is a well-behaved dog that knows his basic commands such as sit, down, shake, no, stay, and leave it.  He absolutely loves to run and play fetch!  He does great with bringing it right back to you and have you throw it again, and again, and again!  He is a big cuddler and will lay with us on the recliner, and also loves to snuggle in bed!  He will give you a kiss on the cheek before you tell him to go eat and will also give you hugs!  He is beautiful, and will melt your heart in a matter of seconds after you meet him!  He will need more work on meeting other dogs, especially smaller ones.  I think that Red will be ready to go to his forever home soon.

October 20, 2020

Red has been doing great the last couple of days since coming in from Mississippi!  I just can’t say enough how much he loves to play fetch!  We have been working on him dropping the toy when he brings it back, and he is such a quick learner!  We are making him leave his sweet potato toy in the garage because it can do some damage if playing fetch in the house with it, so we are working on leaving it in the garage.

He is catching on quick, and has learned to “leave it”.  I am also happy to report that when on one of our walks around the neighborhood yesterday, he had to walk past the two little dogs that growled at him, and he was pulling on his leash to go towards, and using some commands to “leave it” and treats as positive reinforcement, he walked right past them with no barking, and only some slight leash pulling!  He also met a chocolate lab on his walk yesterday, and did great, and was happy to meet him!  He is also the biggest cuddle bug, and just loves to lay on you when on the couch, and give hugs.  We noticed that he has been eating his food in about two gulps so we switched over to the slow feeder bowl, and this has slowed him down, and he is doing good with that.  Red loves to be up in my home office while I work, and will sleep behind me, and likes to play fetch with his toy pig throughout the day.

We walked out of the house today, and as we did, the two small dogs in the neighborhood were walking past our house, and I’m happy to say that Red did not pull on his leash or bark as we used our “leave it” command!  He got lots of praises for that and some good treats!  We also worked today on him pulling as we are walking.  He likes to go back and forth in front of you, and pull you along as we walk.  Again using positive reinforcement and treats, we got him to slow down and nicely walk beside me.

This afternoon’s walk, he was able to walk nicely about halfway around the neighborhood.  On our evening walk, he walked nicely beside me, and without pulling for 3/4 of our walk!  He got extra fetch time, and play time for how well he did!  We are so proud of him!  He is really listening well and responding well to our commands, and positive reinforcement.  He and resident dog, Izzy, are still getting along great and do well together as she knows to get out of the way when we play fetch!!  LOL!  We say so many times a day of how sweet Red is and he is such a great dog!

October 18, 2020

Yesterday, we picked up Red, the Fox Red, a Yellow Lab from the transport folks!  He did great on the two hour ride home, and once we got off the main highway on the roads home, we cracked the back windows. Red loves to stick his nose out to get some air!  The intro to our resident lab, Izzy, went great!  The owner said he has some issues with smaller dogs but Izzy is 100 lbs and very chill.  She is not a playful dog and that suits Red just fine as he seems to like to play by himself.  He did great exploring the house and had some issues with going down our 5 wooden steps.  Izzy went up and down a couple times to show Red, and after about ten minutes, Red went flying down and hasn’t had an issue since!  He had lived in a house before moving to MS so we have had no accidents.  We also got a bath, and good brushing because he needed it!  Yesterday late afternoon, we went to the dog park and there were about five dogs on the large dog side.  Red had no issues with them, and just wanted to stretch his legs after being in transport for two days!  I think if he could play fetch 24-7, he would!  I did notice that he did not want anyone else to get his beloved sweet potato toy!  And as the other dogs ran with him, he really wanted nothing to do with them.  We took our evening walk, and met the small neighbor dog and did a slow intro and that went well and we walked with them.  But then we met the other neighbor’s two little dogs and the one is mouthy and started to bark at Red. Red did not like that and barked back.  I was able to control him and get him to sit though.  In Red‘s defense, this dog also did that with our resident lab and when Izzy sees them when we walk, she goes to the other side of the road.  Last night, he crashed in our bed and slept all night!
Today has been another good day!  He loves the walks in the neighborhood and is learning to walk without going back and forth all the time.  A work in progress!!  He thinks he is a lap dog, and loves to lay with you on the couch.  He is a bit of a velcro dog but a very lovable and snuggly dog!  We went to the dog park again today, and there were two smaller than him dogs there and we did a slow intro.  There was a lot of barking and having to hold him back because the other dogs wanted to be in his face right away.  We got him to settle down and all he really wanted to do is play fetch!  After about 5-10 minutes we were good to go and we played fetch for about an hour.  Again, the other dogs would run with him but he always got the potato first, and did not want the other dogs to play with.  But he did gain a new toy out of today!  One of the other dogs had a pig that he hasn’t played with in a long time that his owner had in the car and had gotten out.  Red fell in love with it and she told Red to take it!  We now try to carry both the sweet potato and the pig in our mouth at the same time!

On our evening walk ,we ran into another family with their little dog and we had some barking, but this time I had some treats to reinforce positive and it went well.  We settled down quicker and did not bark as much.  He did love the teenage girls that petted him.  So Red needs to work on his socialization skills especially with small dogs, but he is such a smart dog that I know he will come around!  He loves to hug you and shake and when his big eyes are looking at you when laying on you will just melt your heart!  Red is going to make some family very happy!!!