Ronnie Silver Labrador Retriever Male 4 Years Old

November 12, 2019

Ronnie’s had an eventful couple of weeks, the main thing being a solo adventure that aged his FD a couple of years and has been previously reported (for a dog finders point of view check out Hound Hunters NJ on Facebook).  The other big news is that Ronnie is cat tested, cat approved, well maybe tolerated, cats never really approve :-).  He was with 2 cats and actually touched noses with one, so we’re calling it a big success.  He accompanied me to the township offices last week to pay taxes.  The folks there had helped get the word out when he went missing and I thought they would like to see him in person.  He’s still not doing stairs so we used the handicap ramp, and once inside he was very popular.  Later in the week, we met the neighbor’s Labs in our yard while they were on a walk and happy chaos ensued.  Did I mention that he loves other dogs?  He has learned how much fun the zoomies are, so we get that now pretty regularly.  He’s been going on car rides and has come to really like them, especially McDonalds runs.  He loads and unloads by himself whenever I open the back door of the car.

In general, the last couple of weeks have really seen him expand his horizons and personality.  I believe he is ready for his forever home and hope to have his last call out in the next day or two.  Until then, Ronnie sends his regards.

October 26, 2019

Well, Ronnie’s big news is that he was neutered on Thursday.  His recovery so far has been amazing, it’s difficult to keep him from running and jumping.  If his progress continues we’ll start looking for adopters in a week or two.  We finished his Prednisone and medicated baths for dermatitis last week but the vet said he still has a skin infection so we’re doing a week of antibiotics for that.  Also, his ear infection hasn’t resolved so we are doing ointment and cleaning for the next week.  He got his toenails trimmed, anal glands checked, and the distemper booster while he was out.  His teeth were great and didn’t need any work.  When I picked him up on 10/4 he weighed 74 lbs and looked to be skin and bones, so for two weeks, I gave him 4 cans of high-end dog food daily.  He looks like he’s filled out a little, but at the vet Thursday he still weighed 74 lbs.  Somehow the phrase ‘good eater’ isn’t adequate.  Lastly, his fur is beginning to fill in, which is good as, of course, Winter is Coming (for you GOT fans).

His personality and comfort with new environments and experiences continue to evolve.  He is slowly venturing into more areas of the house, but no steps yet.  When we went to the vet I figured I’d have to carry him in and even had people opening the doors for me, but he marched right in like he owned the place.  Go figure.  I started out having to lift him into the car but he’s starting to do that by himself now and he soon will be an expert car rider.  He has started chasing deer, squirrels, and the occasional windblown leaf, but he does go back the next day and expects them to still be there.  Leash walking is not yet in a straight line but he does little or no pulling so overall not too bad.  He has started watching TV, the Subaru add with the dogs driving is good for a bark or two, and I was watching a National Geographic show on wolves and he got positively excited.

Overall it’s been a joy to have him and watch him expand his world.  He has a gentle soul (as all farm dogs I’ve been around do) and will be a great dog for a deserving family.

Ronnie looking forward to his bath:

October 14, 2019

Ronnie’s been with us for over a week now and as has been said often, it’s taken him 4-5 days to settle in.  We’re seeing his personality come out, and it’s a typical farm dog, sweet, friendly, loving, and curious about the new world.  He has ventured into my office, shop, and guys’ room in the basement (accessed from outside) but we haven’t done any more rooms upstairs, and stairs are still no go.  This is a little funny as he can easily jump the equivalent of many of our stairs.  It’s a work in progress.  He still jumps at loud or unexpected noises, but he’s getting better with exposure.

House training has gone well with one disastrous exception of diarrhea, undoubtedly caused by the rich food (by farm dog standards).  It hasn’t recurred and we are thankful, as that’s been the only accident in over a week.  He is still eating four cans of high-end dog food every day, and he wolfs it down like he’s starving.  We have tried a host of treats, all of which have been rejected.  Any protein, though, beef, pork, chicken, fish, is eagerly taken from the hand with a little licking and nibbling to make sure none is left on your fingers. I have been holding off on the training hoping to find a motivating treat; it looks like I’m going to have to take a roast out with me. 

Ronnie knows no commands whatsoever, but he has a great recall.  If he gets a ways away from you all that is needed is a “Ronnie, come”, and he raises his head to find you and then bounds over for pets.  This is probably more his wanting to be with you than any understanding of a command, but we’ll take it.

On Saturday we did his first leash walk down our road.  He was great, doing loose leash most of the time.  He is afraid of the noise of cars coming down the road and shies away, which is actually a good thing.  We met our neighbors and their pack of 4 Labs, and Ronnie loved everyone, the lady dogs a little too much, but that used to be his job, so….

Our plan for this week is to finish up the Prednisone and medicated baths so we can get that fur growing before winter and get in some training.  Next week will be neutering time and after recovery starting to look for a forever home for some lucky folks.

October 6, 2019

Ronald is a male silver farm dog who has been rescued by Brookline.  Autumn and Nelson picked him up from the farmer on 10/4 and took him for shots and work up at a local vet.

First off, the name.  The farmer had named him Ronald but we tried and that is just not a dog’s name, so we are using Ronnie as an informal name, partly from a theory that dog names are best when they end with the ‘e’ sound.  It seems to be working so far.  We did get his birthday, 2/22/15, so he is a little over four and one half years old

So we met at the vet and identified his issues.  First off were the fleas and the flea caused hair loss.  We gave him a Nexgard around 12:30, and by 5:30 they had all fallen off and died.  We’ll be doing Prednisone and medicated baths to kick start the hair regrowth

He had ear infections so he had cleaning and ointment at the vet for that.  He also got de-worming pills that I gave him yesterday.  Lastly, we got herbal supplements for a hematoma in his ear.  Whew!

The ride home from the vet was over 2 hours but Ronnie handled it well.  He was pretty stressed so we walked around outside for a while before going into the house.  He was not house trained so we had some marking incidents in the house but that’s improving (just once today).  He would not eat anything, treats or food until I happened on some leftover prescription canned G/I food that he wolfed down!  That let me give him some of his pills.  He is very skinny so I’m giving him 2 cans of food (I found others he liked) morning and evening.  Hopefully, we’ll get some weight on him.

House exploration is going slowly but we’re not rushing.  He’s OK in the kitchen, laundry room, and a little bit in the dining room, but the foyer and beyond is very scary.  We tried leaving him in the laundry room the first night, but he ended up in the kitchen dog bed with me in the recliner.  Last night, though, he stayed in the kitchen by himself, so we’re gaining.  He didn’t know what dog beds were for so he would stand up beside my chair while I pet him until he fell asleep on his feet and fell over.  The first time this happened it scared me until I figured out what was going on.  I had to physically place him in the dog bed a few times until he got the hang of it, now he’s pretty comfortable in them.

We’re going out pretty regularly and he is enjoying touring the property with Linda and me.  Lots of marking and peeing, which is good outside!  We’ve seen chickens and sheep, which may not be new to him, with no reactions.  He prances when he trots which is a joy to behold.

In general, he is a very sweet dog and considering all he has been through he is doing great.  We’re not rushing things, and he is making progress daily.  We have other things to do, but our priority now is getting him happy and healthy.  He is laying beside me now and says “Thanks Brookline”.