Shadow #12 Silver Labrador Retriever Female 2.5 Years Old ID#3357

Meet Shadow! She is a pretty silver/charcoal former breeder Mama who has luckily received an early retirement from the farm.  Please read her blog from the bottom up to learn more about her while in foster care.

August 9, 2023

Shadow’s personality continues to come out more and more each day and you can tell she is a completely different dog now that her treatment for the tick borne illnesses are complete!!

She has been much more active in playing with resident pups Remi and Gunner! Also I am so proud of her because she has realized that it’s ok to share toys and that she’s not going to lose them! She has allowed Remi and Gunner to come take toys and she even went and stole her favorite toy back and won at tug! We haven’t had a single incident with resource guarding over toys in two weeks!!!! She even allowed Remi to try and wrestle a toy from her! She also realized playing with kongs and balls is much more fun then shredding stuffies to pieces. We’re working on her manners and while she seems to be a slow learner on that front she has learned sit, or at least her version of it! Sometimes she sits and sometimes she lays down completely for the sit command!Walks are getting better but loud noises still spook her  which is rough in the city. My girlfriend brought her dog (chihuahua/min pin mix) down for the weekend so I could try introducing a new dog to Shadow to see how she does and the intro went amazing! They spent the weekend together with no issues from Shadow so it seems like her issues early on may have truly just been from stress and not feeling great.Her favorite thing to do is still snuggle on the couch. She has had two accidents in the house but over all her potty training is still on point. I’m trying to teach her to use the bell like my resident dogs so she can alert me when she wants to go out instead of relying on when the resident pups want to go out. She much rather cuddle than learn new tricks though and I don’t blame her!

July 23, 2023

Since my last update Shadow has gotten past the steps for our walks. We’ve been doing short walks just around the corner and don’t go to far in case something spooks her. I’ve realized it’s best for me to take her out either early morning or late night when the hustle and bustle is died down and there’s not too much going on. On one of our afternoon walks Shadow did so good and even met the mail lady! She was skeptical of the bag holding all the mail but once she put that down she went straight in for kisses and belly rubs! Shadow was complimented on how beautiful and sweet she was! Shadow does not pull me at all instead she walks right by my side and periodically checks up with me.

She did so well until we past by an outdoor fast food place that had music playing on a busy intersection. The sights, sounds, and smells started to spook her and before I could calm her down someone blasted their horn which sent her into a panic. Thankfully she had on a well fitted martingale collar so she couldn’t run or back out of her leash. I think a rural or suburban home would be best for her as the city setting seems to stress her out. The tv is still her biggest enemy and she usually growls at it whenever I play call of duty or when the Phillies play which is interesting. She growled at Trea Turner but he was playing kind of crappy so I’m guessing she’s a big baseball fan!!  She does not like kangaroos on the tv at all, it was kind of comical but she settles down once you reassure her!

Gunner has become her best bud they play wrestle and get the zoomies whenever they’re in the yard and are Bonnie and Clyde and steal my pizza crust in the house. Little did they know I was going to give it to them anyway! Shadow has been great with her potty training as well as long as you keep to a routine! She is such a sweet girl and has come a long way from the farm! She is now available and will make  one family very very lucky to adopt her!!

July 16, 2023

Since my last update I’m happy to tell you all Shadow has figured out what toys are!! Her care package came at the perfect time too! She was initially skeptical of the box but got very curious once she saw the toys and smelled the treats inside!I threw a few toys and she chased after but she didn’t quite understand what to do with them. I’m think she may end up being more of a chew or bone kinda gal because the stuffies she has shown interest in she chewed to shreds almost immediately. For a quick minute she thought my couch pillow was also a stuffie and I caught her trying to nibble on it and she was corrected. Thankfully a stern no was understood by Shadow and she has left my pillows alone except for to sleep on!She’s such a good girl and redirects very easily with correction. She is still afraid of the cat and still avoids him like the plague but he can be grouchy so I don’t blame her! I went to take her on her first walk since she is doing very well going out in the backyard now without getting spooked by sounds but a potato chip bag crossed our path as soon as we got down the steps and it spooked her and she ran right back up the steps. We’re gonna do baby steps with that since city life is all new to her and super scary. Her favorite thing to do is still nap on the couch all day, she seems to be the perfect couch potato!The first few days she was here was a bit touch and go with my two resident labs Remi and Gunner. Shadow seemed to be really stressed and would snap at them. Luckily she has decompressed and the last few days she’s been a completely different dog with none of those issues! Now you can find her cuddling up next to one of my guys or getting super excited to try and play with them!She’s still figuring out what play is but Remi and Gunner will no doubt show her the ropes!

I am a couple of blocks from the Phillies stadium and Friday night they had their second 4th of July fireworks show. Shadow was absolutely terrified and pretty stressed from the fireworks. She trembled and shook the entire time despite trying different things to help calm her down and reassure her. Even Remi and Gunner laid next to her to show her it was ok. Thankfully she bounced back pretty quick after they were over. She is still doing excellent with potty training, she’s eating a little less but I think it may be due to the medicine since I’ve seen that before with doxy. She is at least eating one of her two meals a day though. She is also still a perfect angel when it comes to cleaning her ears and applying the ear drops. She has learned the routine and lays down for me as soon as she sees the bottle in my hand. I wish my two guys were that good about getting heir ears cleaned and medicated!!! Shadow is making progress each and every day so I will continue to update you all as we go!

July 11, 2023

Since my last update, I pretty much had to rip the bandaid off a bit with her in terms of new sounds and experiences. We had a plumbing malfunction and had to have some immediate work done. Shadow did absolutely amazing through it all. I brought her up to my bedroom and sat with her while they used power tools and what not and she was not phased at all by the tools which I was really thankful for. The TV on the other hand seems to be her current arch nemesis. When I turned it on she got spooked and ran and hid in the kitchen. She is slowly starting to realize the big bad scary TV actually isn’t so bad.She was afraid of the cat and avoided him like the plague but last night and this morning she has been much more curious and going over and sniffing him and being friendly. While she still doesn’t understand toys she is learning quickly that the couch is very comfy and it has become her favorite place. She doesn’t quite understand that she has to have manners and can’t just walk all over furniture. She jumped up on the couch and jumped on top of the crate (it has a solid wood crate topper) and stood there like Mufasa on pride rock. It was hysterical but she was corrected and took it very well. She is learning quick!She does jump up here and there for attention but she’s figuring out she gets more love and attention when she keeps all four paws on the ground. I started working the command down with her when she does it. She is very slowly getting more comfortable and starting to explore more. She is still unsure of going upstairs to the second floor and just pancakes and the bottom of the stairs when everyone goes up. She does fine with stairs I think it’s just the fact that it’s new.With time she’ll be just fine! She did good house breaking wise since my last update with no accidents so fingers crossed she continues this streak!! Last but not least she is very much a velcro pup. She wants to be with her person. She constantly checks in with me when we’re outside and usually opts to sleep behind me or right next to me on the couch. She’ll lay right down and show you her belly for belly rubs!

July 10, 2023

Since my last update, I introduced Shadow to her crate. She didn’t want to go in but readily followed a treat inside so now to get her in, I’ll throw a treat or a piece of her food and say crate as she goes in so she hopefully starts picking up on the command crate. She was very vocal about being in her crate and howled a bit but she did settle down fairly quickly. It mostly seems like she doesn’t like being in there while I do my chores and can’t supervise her but she can see me and doesn’t like that.As far as over night she did great! She slept soundly in the crate and didn’t have any accidents. She has had two accidents in the house but both were immediately after coming in from being outside and was the opposite of what she did in the yard. So my plan is to keep her in the yard a little longer so she does all of her business out there and not in the house.Shadow really is such a sweet dog and she seems to smile at you while she has the wiggle butts and happy tail. She pushes my guys out of the way for pets and attention and is loving all the belly rubs and scratchies. She certainly has a big adjustment from farm to city life and lots of the sounds still have her quite jumpy. When the central air unit turned on she got scared and beelined for the door to go in. Later on, a pick up truck backed down the service alley and she got a little skittish of that but when she does get scared or spooked by a sound she runs right to me and stands at my side with her head on my leg for reassurance. Once she gets accustomed to the sights and sounds of city living I think she will thrive!She still has no interest in toys and doesn’t take them or know what to do with them yet but she loves tasty treats! When it was time for me to clean her ears and apply her medicated ear drops she laid down and rolled onto her side for me and let me do it with no problems. This morning when I grabbed her ear drops she did the same, she laid down and allowed me to give her the medicine with no problems.I had to run out this morning for work obligations and was gone for a few hours and Shadow did amazing in her crate. I kept checking the camera and she slept and didn’t howl or cry while I was gone. She is eating with no problems and taking her medicine easily. I’ll keep you guys updated on her progress!

July 8, 2023

Shadow is an absolute gorgeous 72lb but short breeder mama that was sprung from the farm today.

She was nervous in the car but she did very well considering she lived her first 2.5 years on a farm. Our first stop of the day was a self serve dog wash just to be sure she didn’t bring any extra friends from the farm along for the ride. She was initially afraid of the bath but once she realized the water and massage felt good she was super well behaved and let me bath her. She was very scared of the blow dryer so we didn’t even bother we just towel dried her which she thought was the greatest thing ever! Her little tail wagged so hard and she had wiggle butts the whole time while giving kisses! Our next stop was the vets office to get checked out and thankfully we did!While she is generally healthy her 4DX testing did come back positive for Lyme disease as well as Anoplasma. I have never heard of the second but the vet spent some time explaining that it’s pretty much similar to Lyme and is another tick borne illness dogs get. Thankfully the treatment is exactly the same as Lyme so Shadow will be on 30 days of Doxy! Her teeth were absolutely pristine which blew both my mind and the vets! Her ears were another story, they were extremely dirty and she has a double ear infection so she has two weeks of ear medicine to help clear that up. I’m still waiting the results of her fecal but I wouldn’t be surprised if it came back positive with all the other stuff she has going on!Despite all this stuff she is the sweetest thing! She enjoyed meeting people at the vet and gently sniffed and introduced herself for some pets. She did meet a few dogs and was good but she did growl a few times when the dogs came back for more sniffs. She is very skittish and afraid of sudden sounds, movements, and touches. I brushed up against her while walking to the vet and she almost jumped out of her own skin. So needless to say this girl will need some time to decompress!Right now I have her separated from my guys sectioned off and relaxing that way she can decompress. So far she has not been interested in toys or food at all but I think she’s just stressed out, it also doesn’t help that she seems to be very stressed by thunder. I’ll keep everyone updated over the next few days.