Angie Fox Red Labrador Retriever Female 2 Year Old ID #3062

Meet Angie, who along with her mom Tina, just joined the Brookline family.  She and her mom were great passengers and are on their way to their foster families.  Read her blog from the bottom up!

July 23, 2022

Just a quick up date on Angie.  She should be posted soon, but I was waiting until she was completely done with being in heat to make sure that any remaining anxiousness couldn’t be attributed to it.  Angie continues to do well here and has really figured out our routine and become one of the pack.  I could do without the 5:30am wakes, but on the bright side, we’re getting lots done before it gets hot!

She eats with gumption now (no need to mix in wet food as a bribe), goes up and down stairs with ease, jumps up on the bed to say hello and see if she is allowed to stay there (she is fine not being allowed).  She has never tried to get on the furniture and since the resident dogs aren’t allowed, we haven’t encouraged her.

She has been fine with every person and dog she meets.  In fact when she sees a person up ahead on the trail, this normally perfect leash walker kangaroos up in the air in the hopes that I will let go of the leash;  I do not- but do have to brace myself.  To be fair we don’t see people every day, so I’m hoping she gets less excited as she gets used to encountering more people.

Angie does not bark -ever.  Even if you forget to open the gate after she eats (I feed her separately from my dogs) she will sit and wait patiently until you remember.  And the other day she followed me into my office.  When I left somehow the door swung mostly closed and she was left behind.  After awhile I noticed I couldn’t find her and called and called; she didn’t make a peep until I finally looked in!

Angie still has trouble with loud noises, fire crackers/gun sounds and sounds she doesn’t understand.  We had new neighbors move in the other day.  We couldn’t walk anywhere near their property while they were unloading, and she is still very wary looking at the moving cubes that are parked in the driveway.  It takes a lot of coaxing to get her to walk on the path behind their property (how we access the Gamelands).

We have also discovered that she won’t go for walks without at least one of the other dogs.  No amount of coaxing works. So at this point, unless things change, she will need to be placed with another dog.   She will also benefit from a quiet home setting (she’d do so well here – if I only I didn’t already have 3 dogs!) and a yard where she can play fetch (she’s much better about dropping the ball now).

Please reach out to your volunteer if you have questions about this sweet girl.

July 7, 2022

Two weeks later, this girl is still bleeding as part of the first phase of her being in heat, but it seems to be lessening quite a bit and we’re hoping she can lose the fancy pants soon.  She’s very tolerant about wearing them but she definitely doens’t like it.  On good weather days, we try to spend a lot of time outdoors with her so she can air out!

We’re noticing that she has gotten more anxious of late, but I’ve been doing some reading and have learned that anxiety/nervousness can occur when a dog is in heat.  She is still a bit shy but does well meeting people and dogs. My husband and I have alternated (I’m in Maine now) being home of late so I think that’s a bit hard on her too.

While Angie doesn’t seem frightened by people or dogs she meets, she does not like loud noises or noises she doesn’t understand.  For example on a recent walk we walked out our back yard and went on the path behind our neighbors in the GameLands.  The neighbor happened to be loading stuff into the back of his pickup, and Angie absolutely refused to walk by, even though he was at least 150 feet away (see video).  We eventually were able to continue a few minutes after he finished loading up and drove away. We also had a good storm last week and had a lightning strike that felt like it was less than a few hundred feet away, and Angie proceeded to try to hide in the bathroom (along with my male lab) and she continued to shake for over 10 minutes.  Poor sweetie.

She really is the sweetest girl and we’re enjoying her.  She has good manners and does great with our dogs. She is now eating well (it took several weeks for her to eat her meals without having to be cajoled and hand fed).  She loves attention from us, but she doesn’t try to hog it either.  She is occasionally playful with our dogs, but was more playful when we were dog sitting the pup Darcy, as he wouldn’t take no for an answer.   I need to experiment with gradually taking her out into busier settings, but I want to wait until this nervous behavior lessens/she finishes being in heat, so we’re having to take things slowly.

June 27, 2022

Angie reporting in as I decided to take matters into my own paws and update my blog since my foster mom hasn’t.  She may be busy, but I have a lot to say.

First of all, it has been a whirlwind week because of the pup in the house.  Somehow he only really tried to play with me and not the older resident labs.  What he didn’t realize is that I had no idea how to play, and frankly I found his play-biting my ankles and ears very annoying.  I tried to ignore it but occasionally I gave him a strong verbal correction. It’s not really in my nature, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer s oa girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do.  But then once when he bit at my ankles and then turned to run and hoped I’d chase him, I decided what the heck, and gave it a try. And I decided it was FUN.  And then he tried to chase me.  I’m a lot faster so he couldn’t keep up, but we both had a blast!  Yay!

Secondly I went back to the vet as my silly foster mom forgot to get my 4DX done the first time.  My 4D what??  All I know is that I reluctantly went back in, and they poked me and then gave me a pretty pink bandage and said I was a very good girl.  I gave them lots of kisses so they’d do a good job.  Foster mom says the test showed that I don’t have heartworm or any diseases from ticks.  That sounds like a good thing.  They did say I lost 5 pounds since the last visit, and probably shouldn’t lose anymore.

The last bit of news I have is that a few days ago, foster mom said I was in heat and started putting diapers on me, and she has started calling me Miss Fancy Pants.  I’m not sure what I think of that nickname, and isn’t everyone hot in the summer??  I’m not particularly fond of the pants, but mostly I let foster mom put them on.  She ordered a smaller size though, as she said my derriere is not really big enough to keep them on well.  Who wants to have a big butt!  Anyway she said she hopes there will be less clean up once they arrive and I won’t be able to “houdini” my way out of them as easily.

I am still enjoying my walks and I’m told l am quite good on leash.  I get excited when we see someone and sometimes do a kangaroo jump in hopes of losing the halter go meet them , but foster mom know to keep a good hold of the leash.  We did try to go by a house where several men were pulling off the roof shingles and they had a noisy generator running, and I wasn’t having any of it.  Finally I won out and we turned around.

That’s all I have to report for now.  I secretly miss the foster pup, but if you tell anyone, I will adamantly deny it.  At least I can fetch balls without an ankle biter on my tail!

June 19, 2022

Angie is continuing to settle in and we’re enjoying having her around.  She still is sensitive to sudden movements or sounds, but slowly but surely she is making progress.  We’re taking advantage of the wonderful weather and taking long walks and hanging outside, where she is most happy.

She has also taken in stride (mostly) the sudden appearance of a 4 month old male lab that we’re foster sitting.  I was hoping she’d want to play with him since my senior resident dogs are not all that interested, but so far Angie isn’t interested.  She is very tolerant of the puppy antics, but occasionally she appropriately corrects him.

Our biggest challenge is getting her to eat her meals.  She’s really not a fan of the kibble; I have offered her tastes of several but she just is picky and eats a little.  I needed to get her to eat her preventatives though and found that dipping them in cream cheese did the trick. With all the walks she has had, she should be hungry.

June 17, 2022

Life has been busy here, but Angie is settling in beautifully. She is just a lover and wants to please.  And so far she doesn’t want to let you out of her sight either.   She is walking well on leash with only the occasional tug when the resident dogs dart towards a chipmunk or the like on our woods walks.  Fair enough.

Angie also has picked up house training like a pro.  She has not had a single accident, and in fact, it’s been a challenge to get her to relieve herself and not hold it for so long.  But slowly but surely she is relating quick outside visits for what they are – potty breaks!  Angie has shown no interest in chewing what isn’t hers to chew, so she had earned free roam of the house when we’re home.

Speaking of, she has also now mastered the stairs- both going up to the second floor and also down to the finished basement.  She learned going up within a day but it wasn’t until last night that she figured out going downstairs  Foster mom is super relieved about that because at some 50 pounds, she’s a little heavy for carrying safely down the stairs.  In fact foster dad is out of town so foster mom decided to wait it out in the family room when she wouldn’t come down, and sure enough within 5 minutes she came down on her own. Good girl Angie!

Angie has a ball drive but she hasn’t really figured out that if she brings it back to you, a game of fetch will ensue.  Still she loves to carry the ball around.  She is starting to sniff the soft toys in the house and has started chewing on nylabones, so she is doing her job learning how to be a family dog.

She got a clean bill of health at the vet and she is now fully vaccinated.  She’s a on a wait list to get spayed so we’re hoping that happens soon, before she goes into heat.  The only minor health issue we’re seeing is that she is very itchy at times on her side.  It’s almost like the indoors is making her skin dry (dry AC air)?  So we’re going to start her on a high quality sardine oil once she gets a little more reliable with her food.  On day 4 she is still not eating full meals and the only way she is eating most of each meal is if I hand feed her,  leaving it on the counter and feeding her pieces throughout the day like she’s getting treats.  The resident dogs are miffed to say the least.

We’ll work on getting her itch free and also to getting more used to the sounds in the house and movements its people make that can make her skittish.  She is already so much better than she was on day 1.

I’m still having difficulty getting good photos as she is always nearby and when I point the camera at her, I get a lens full of her muzzle before I can take a pic.

June 14, 2022

Yesterday was a big day for Angie who spent a lot of time in the car before I got her home.  First order of business was a bath (although she was pretty clean for an outdoor dog) and then it was time to meet the resident dogs.  Angie did great with introductions  and definitely was more relaxed once she was with some other 4-leggeds.  IT took until dinner time for her to drink, but I’m glad she hfinally figured it out as I knew she had to be very thirsty from her journey with all the panting she did.  Dinner was another matter- she wasn’t interested in her kibble, not even when I mixed it wet food.  That’s not at all uncommon for these dogs whose lives have suddenly completely changed, and I know she’ll come around.  This morning I added a little chicken I poached and hte smart girl but picked out the chicken.  Who’s training who?!

Angie wasn’t ready to contemplate the stairs when it was time for bed so we picked this petite little lady up, and she slept the might in a crate in our room without making a peep.   This morning we went for another walk, and while she zigged and zagged, she did pretty well. When we got home low and behold she followed foster dad up the stairs.  Good girl Angie!  She had to be carried down, but if she’s already going up, it won’t be long before she can come down.

As I type she is resting in a crate in the same room (she wouldn’t stop pacing when she was loose so I thought a nap might be helpful).  She didn’t want to go in- not even with a smoked knee cap to chew on- but she is OK now that she is in.

Angie is the sweetest pup and I am so happy to be help her get ready for her furever home.  Hopefully I’ll get better photos once she stays in one place long enough for me to snap some photos.