Reese #5 Chocolate Labrador Mix Female 3.5 Months Old ID#3191

Meet Reese!  Reese and her six littermates arrived on January 7 after their overnight journey from Mississippi. They were found stray, and ended up in a shelter. They were pulled and have been lovingly cared for by a temporary foster in MS until they got their vetting that enabled them to come up North. Reese and her littermates are about 13 weeks old, and are likely going to remain on the petite side.  We are calling them the Candy litter as their names are inspired by some sweet treats.  REESE‘s pieces is an absolute sweet heart as are her siblings,  SNICKERS, TOBY (Tobelerone), Almond JOY, TOOTSIE Roll, HEATH Bar and Oh HENRY.  Please read Reese’s blog from the bottom up!

January 17, 2023

Reese is getting more and more confident every day.  Reese and Sammy have great play sessions inside during the day.  They like to play bitey face, wrestle and keep away.  She has started to really stand up for herself, and confidently chases and wrestles with Sammy.  Today, outside, she even had a chase session with Sammy!  This was a first.  Sammy was in the lead running around with the frisbee and she was attempting to keep up with him.  Needless to say, she fell fast asleep once we came inside.

We have started to go on longer walks ~2.0 miles as she isn’t afraid of passing cars, or outside noises anymore.

On Saturday, we went to a friends house for a game night, and Reese was great at their house meeting all the people, and junior high kids, and the resident Bernadoodle puppy, Luna. She was comfortable greeting people and getting pets and kisses, and didn’t mind all the laps she got to try out.  Reese and Luna had a fun time playing, and after all the fun, Reese fell asleep in amongst a bunch of noisy game players.

Speaking of sleep, Reese is the queen of new positions, and sleeping spots.  She’s not picky!

She has even convinced Sammy and Max that its okay to share a comfy sleeping spot. Reese also visited Grandma and Grandad and their little shitzu mix, Jessie on Sunday.  Grandma gave her one of Jessie’s little jackets for these cold mornings we’ve been having.  It was a perfect fit and since the visit fell during her usual nap time, the jacket kept her cozy while she napped.Reese is very ready to find her forever home, so look for her becoming available at the end of the week!

January 13, 2023

Reese has been with us for a week tomorrow.  She is so very easy to have in the house, and has quickly settled into a routine.  We have a cycle of eat, play hard, sleep, eat, play hard, sleep!  She still doesn’t care for the crate when I leave for a couple hours in the morning and makes sure everyone hears about it, but sleeps great in the little crate next to our bed over night with her stuffies and a fuzzy blanket.  During the day while we are home, Reese is on supervised free roam in the house.  She will hang out in the room I’m in and entertain herself with toys, or play with Max or Sammy.  After she plays, she plops herself down in her little round dog bed and naps for a good hour or two.

She does occasionally steal a shoe or bite a chair leg if she’s playing next to it but she is easily redirected to one of her toys.  She is doing excellent with potty training and still has not had an accident in the house.  Reese wasn’t really eating very well when she first arrived.  I discovered that she didn’t like the size of the puppy kibble.  She is eating with that voracious lab appetite now that we switched her to smaller sized puppy kibble with a couple of tablespoons of wet puppy food.  She has been getting braver with new noises and has acclimated really well to foster Sammy.  The first time Reese experienced the vacuum, she high tailed it upstairs, and would periodically come down to see why Max and Sammy weren’t taking off too.  Once the vacuuming was done, I had Max come sit next to the vacuum and she came over and gave it a quick sniff.  After a few times seeing the vacuum in use, she is still weary but curiously watches from a far now instead of running off.

Initially Reese was apprehensive of Sammy as he is a high energy player, but now they play together a lot inside.  She’s a feisty little player herself, and Sammy is great being gentle.

Even when they play tug, Reese works hard to win.

We’ve been working on “sit” and Reese has been picking it up quite quickly.

She’s gone on  1 mile walks in our quiet neighborhood each morning and some afternoons with me, Max and Sammy.  I can’t say she loves it yet, but she walks pretty good on a harness next to Sammy and Max.  There’s more stopping and starting headed out, but on the way back she’s full speed ahead to get back to the house. She more comfortable right now playing out in the yard, and will chase balls and a soft frisbee and has started to bring it back to me for another throw. She also likes to spend time out in the yard exploring all the smells with Sammy and Max.Reese is a fun loving, smart girl who will make a great addition to anyone’s family.  She is going to make a lucky family super happy.

January 10, 2023

Reese is settling into the house and is trying real hard to get to know Max and Sammy.  Both fosters Sammy and Reese like spending time with resident lab, Max but I think Reese is trying a little harder to get his attention.

She follows along with the pack both inside and outside as she is learning the ropes, and likes to be where the other dogs are. Reese has really taken to my resident lab Max, and would really love to snuggle up with him for a nap.  He was really good and let her share his bed but Reese was okay with a compromise we came up with.

He is 12yo so he takes things slower than Sammy. Reese and Max had a good game of tug last night.

She’s not really sure about Sammy when he comes running up at full speed. She thinks she wants to play with him but usually changes her mind when he gets up close, and quickly high tails it out of reach.

He just a bit too exuberant for her liking. She was however very interested in Sammy’s lesson on how to use a GiggleBall.

She has had two great overnights, and she is still doing all her business outside.  We are still figuring out what she likes to eat but she is growing and weighed in at 16lbs at the vet today up from 13.5 on January 3rd!! She is still learning the world around her and new things are still scary at times like the trash truck or exciting like a tennis ball or a new stuffy!  We are working her through the scary and she keeps me laughing when she’s experiencing joy!

Reese did great at the vet getting microchipped.  She was a little whiny at first in the car on the ride over because she was tethered but eventually settled down and took a nap in the round bed on the seat.  On the ride home, she didn’t make a peep, and slept the whole way! She was ready for playtime when we got back from the vet. She ran around and had a blast with a little candy cane that foster Sammy ripped off a Christmas stuffy.

Reese likes to do a lot of exploring when she is outside, and sprints to interesting spots when she gets the scent of something. She’s found lots of mice burrows, sticks, rocks, and of course deer poo!  Once she is done outside, she runs right to the back door.

Usually after about 30 minutes of playtime outside, she is ready for a good nap! Sleeping with a friend is her favorite!

January 8, 2023

Yesterday, Reese did a great job when we headed to bed around 9pm. She whined a little when I first put her in the small crate that we have set up along side the bed so she can see us at night.  Once the lights went out she settled right down with a big fluffy stuffy.  She slept great overnight and I didn’t hear a peep until 4am.  I took her out and she peed right away, and settled back to sleep until Sammy (our alarm clock) woke everyone up at our usual wake up time of 5:45am.

She did her business again when she went out with the big dogs.  Reese was too excited seeing the big dogs to eat a lot of breakfast but ate a small amount when I hand fed her in between playing with toys, and giving out licks to Sammy and Max.

After some playtime inside, we went outside for some long leash exploring in the yard.  She loved running after Max and Sammy, and followed the around the yard checking everything out.  She did chase after the fabric frisbee and tennis ball but just pounced on it.  We’ll work on bringing it back.  Lol.

After we came in, she settled for a nap in the XL crate while we ate breakfast.  She been doing great in the house today.  No accidents at all, and can entertain herself with toys.  She is easy to have in the house, though she does complain when she gets bored of playing by herself in the crate when I can’t supervise her if she isn’t ready for a nap. My favorite part of the day was when she decided she wanted to take her late morning/pre-lunch nap in my lap! I didn’t mind my forced time out at all!She ate better at lunch, and  after some play time outside, she played happily in my office and then fell fast asleep on the floor while I was writing this up. 

Reese is a happy, playful and certainly snuggly girl who makes me laugh with her antics. Oh, and we discovered today that she also has a great nose, and thinks deer poop might be a tasty treat.  Thankfully, I saw it before she could get a mouthful!

January 7, 2023

My husband and I picked up Reese yesterday from her transport around 3:30pm.  She is the cutest, little girl weighing in at only 13.5lbs.  Right off the transport, she was understandably shaking like a leaf.  After only about 5 minutes in the car, she was taking kibble and playing with me.

She liked to stick close to me in the car, and rode great!  After about 50 minutes of snuggling and playing,  she fell asleep in the car but only got a short nap because we were just about home. Once home, she explored the yard and did her business.  I introduced her to resident lab Max, and foster Sammy outside while holding her and letting them take a sniff.  Since we didn’t get home until 5pm, we moved inside, and let her relax in the XL crate we have set up down stairs.  She played with some toys and while Max and Sammy checked her out.  She was giving them licks through the crate, and wasn’t scared of them at all.  It didn’t take long until she was fast asleep in her crate.

After her nap, and dinner, she played next to me on the couch for a while with a stuffy, and then napped peacefully until we went to bed.

So far I can say that Reese is friendly, playful, loving, and definitely as sweet as a handful of Reeses pieces!  I can wait to get to know her better.