Stella #5 Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 5 Year Old ID #2828

Stella is a fairly large 5 yr old yellow unspayed female who never had puppies while with her Amish breeders.  She is on the shy side but seemed to be warming up to her new Brookline friends while in transit.  She has a very sweet personality.  More to come once Stella settles into her foster home. Please read Stella’s blog from the bottom up. https://www.petfinder.com/dog/stella-52428137/pa/warrington/brookline-labrador-rescue-pa06/

July 30, 2021

Stella continues to blossom into an amazing dog. There are only glimpses of the scared girl that arrived almost a month ago. She does have her moments where a sudden noise or quick movement will startle her, but it’s becoming less and less. She continues to play well with her two resident roommates and is doing amazing with the electric fence. She loves fetching tennis balls and running around the yard! She is protective when a FedEx or UPS driver comes our way. What dog doesn’t bark at those trucks right? Although, she barks and then runs to the garage for cover. She just has to let them know she is here!She loves her daily walks and does not seem to mind other dogs who bark from their yard. She will give a look and a little gruff, then moves on with her cute self!  She will tug towards another dog walking by us and will bark, but does not jump towards them, nothing concerning. She does quiet well on her leash and is a pleasure to walk!

My son has made an effort with her once we realized she is not fond of men and had been avoiding him. With small amounts of cheese and slow movements, she will now let him pet her. Baby steps!

Stella has become less of a picky eater too and will now eat dry kibble, although she prefers it mixed with canned food.

She’s a becoming quite a happy girl!

July 19, 2021

Stella continues to amaze me with how far she has come in a little over two weeks. She went from being scared and shy to downward doggie stretches and running down the stairs when she hears her leash! She loves her walks and walks quite well. She does does not pull. She will do the occasional zig zag from left to right to make sure she doesn’t miss a scent! She was charged by another dog who was not fenced in nor on a leash and she didn’t lunge or react negatively. Luckily the owner came out pretty quickly; I was impressed by how well she did.  She is not reactive to other people or dogs walking by. She will give a little gruff and watch them but no aggressive barking at all.There is not one bad thing I can say as far as behavior or demeanor. She’s the sweetest of sweets. She has good house manners, no chewing on rugs, walls, furniture or shoes, which is something my resident dogs used to love to do. The only challenge for me is her lack of interest in dog food. She will only eat wet food for now. She is starting to warm up to doggie biscuits but will walk by kibble all day long. I guess it’s hard undoing 5 years of whatever she was fed on the farm.She gets along well with my two resident dogs and would love the opportunity to run full speed after them but I do not have a fenced yard. I know she is dying to do that!!She still get s little jumpy or startled at loud sounds or quick movement however, it is light years ahead of where she was. Once she is in her forever home, she will blossom into an amazing dog I’m sure!

July 11, 2021

Stella is the sweetest of sweets. She met 3 little neighborhood boys yesterday who came over to swim and seemed to enjoy them. She had tail wags and sniffies for them. They didn’t actively play with her as we did not want to overwhelm her but seemed excited to see little folks. She is getting more and more confident and is starting to show her personality. She’s a gem. She is full body wagging in the morning when I come down to say good morning to her and is excited to get outside. She continues to get along well with my other dogs and even lets my Teddy join her in her down time! LOL.

We are starting to work on basic commands…..stay tuned for that update.

July 9, 2021

Stella is doing great. She is getting more confident everyday and is getting used to the sounds of a home. She loves tennis balls and her daily walks. She really isn’t interested in any normal dog food yet. I thought I had found her favorite with wet food mixed with kibble but that was short lived. She is only interested in people food, the little diva. LOL.While she is working on getting through some minor health issues she is still the sweetest girl. She sleeps a lot, but I think she is decompressing all the rough years on the farm.She has found her favorite place to curl up at night and likes to be near my dogs.

July 5, 2021

Stella is a sweetheart. She gets along well with my two resident dogs. She walks nicely on a harness and has mastered going up and down stairs. She doesn’t mind if she is crated for a little during the day and is quiet in her crate all night long. No accidents in the house.She did well with fire works. She will bark at a passerby either by themselves or with another dog but doesn’t seem too bothered by them, just curious. She has not eaten yet. She will take a biscuit but will not eat dog food from a bowl or by hand. She spits it out, so that’s a challenge.

She will be a great family pet with our without dogs. She has not been around younger children but I suspect she will do great. She has a very good disposition. Just a little skittish with sudden movements.