Ryder Yellow Labrador Retriever, Male 15 months old

September 26, 2019

Ryder was a really good boy during his recovery from having his tonsils removed. It has been 11 days and he could not have been a better patient. We had a follow up appointment with his surgeon and there was good news and not so good news.
The good news is he is completely healed from his surgery, the not so good news he still “honks” from time to time. The “honking” only happens when he gets really excited but it does not impede his breathing. The surgeon thinks this might a physiological issue and our boy will have to continue to live with the honking. Ryder says it doesn’t bother him and we are all making a big deal over nothing.

Ryder continues to adjust to our house and routines. He walks great on a harness and loves to meet other dogs and people. Ryder will pull when he sees other dogs or small animals. Ryder and Ozzie have become good friends and they spend a lot of time playing in the backyard. There has been zero aggression between them and they do not like being apart. Ryder has not been destructive in the house, he plays nicely with all his toys and does not destroy them. The only issue we have with Ryder is every few days, when he is bored, he decides he wants to play keep away. He has done this with a TV remote, a pillow, a bucket or a shoe. He gets very excited but when we don’t play along he drops the object within a minute. Ryder knows the basic commands and we are working on him being more consistent. Ryder will need an experienced new owner/family to continue his training. He would be good as an only dog or with another active dog. We have not had him around cats but he does have a high prey drive with birds and rabbits. He crates easily and sleeps through the night.

Our plans are to make him available in the next few days, he is going to make someone a great companion.

September 12, 2019

Ryder is an owner surrender, and he is an fifteen month old yellow ball of energy! Ryder came to stay with us a few days and he has kept us on our toes. Did I mention he is a ball of energy….. Ryder was surrendered by his second owner because he has a breathing issue. From time to time it sounds like he is honking. He is going to see a specialist on Monday in to have a scope so hopefully we will know what is going on. The “honking” does not stop him from playing and he usually only makes the sound when there is pressure around his neck area( we are using a harness).  We do not think it is Lar Par ( we had a dog with this condition) but we’ll know more after he sees the specialist.

Here’s what we can tell you about this handsome pup so far:

Ryder is about 65 pounds and is a gorgeous yellow American Lab.
He is very fit and athletic. He goes on (2) 45 minute walks plus hours of chasing our Ozzie around the yard.
He will allow us to groom him.
He walks great on a leash and harness.
He know the basic commands.
He sleeps all night in his crate with no complaints.( we have looked forward to bedtime the past few days)
He can be very obstinate.
He likes to pester our resident lab.
He loves to play keep away with our shoes and remotes, he is very good at keep away.
He is mouthy
He is a counter surfer.
He has started to play with toys, especially squeaky ones.

And we’ve had a breakthrough!  Ryder has been so much better today. He has started to give our resiendet dog some peace and quiet, he plays with his toys or if one of us is cooking he lays by our feet. He now wants to engage foster mom and dad for play and pets. We are spending our time working with him on commands inside and outside the house to try and cure him of his obstinance. With a little polishing, Ryder is going to make someone a great companion.

September 18, 2019

Ryder has been with us for eight days. We just picked him up from the specialistwhere he spent the past 24 hours. Ryder had an exploratory scope to try and figure out what was causing him to honk from time to time. The good news is that Ryder does not have Lar Par; rather he had inflamed tonsils and a few small polyps on the Larynx. The doctor removed the tonsils (who needs ’em anyway)  and the polyps and confirmed he definitely does not have Lar Par.

Ryder was a good boy at the hospital and we received a few inquiries from potential adopters who work at the vet hospital who are interested in adopting this boy. I think Ryder is going to be a very popular boy.

Prior to going to the hospital for his procedure Ryder was making good progress. He has stopped bugging our resident dog in the house and has been entertaining himself with his toys or coming to FM or FD for a game of tug. He has been making good eye contact with us and is listening much better. Ryder and our dog are playing nicely in the backyard and Ryder walks well on a harness. The only thing we have not made much progress with is when Ryder wants to play keep away. We have decided he is too good at this game so we have decided to not play along. Eventually he will drop the object. He does not chew or destroy the object he just wants you to chase him. We were told by one of the vet techs that he played keep away with her sweater on his morning walk.  Oh Ryder!

We will need to keep Ryder calm with limited activity for the next two weeks while he recovers. He is so active we think this is going to be hard on Ryder but hopefully the time will pass quickly.