Toby #11 Black Labrador Retriever Mix Male 1 Year Old ID#3003

Meet Toby!  This adorable 1 yo Labrador Mix was brought to a shelter in SC by his owners and was at risk for euthanasia.  Luckily for Toby, shelter volunteers reached out to Brookline to see if we could help.  While Toby waited for a Brookline foster home to open up, shelter volunteers in SC took him to their homes so that he would be safe.  Please read Toby’s blog from the bottom up to learn more about this handsome guy!

October 22, 2025

Toby and I have been continuing to work on his ability to remain calm-ish in stimulating scenarios. I recently had him over a friend’s house with her nieces and nephews around. Toby is very interested in young children. I’m not sure if he knows that they are little people. I kept him at arms length because he really wanted to jump on the kids. I had each of the kids come over and say “hi” letting him smell and lick them, but the second I let go of his collar, he wanted to jump all over them, and didn’t want to stop jumping on them. He gets a curious look in his eyes when kids are around. I don’t think he understands his size, and he just doesn’t seem to understand what they are.

We have been continuing to use the gentle leader and switching between that and the slip chain. Toby will walk with the gentle leader but still struggles with it and really wants to pull it off. He continues to walk really pretty well unless there’s a sniff he wants to smell or a squirrel he wants to chase. And Toby continues to sit on command and waits really well.There have been improvements on Toby’s focus in stimulating environments for sure, but his still can get highly aroused at a moments notice. Toby seems to be responding quicker to commands of “settle”  in the situations that arouse him. Toby can settle for a bit but it is an on going work in progress to keep him settled. He is a young dog with all the puppy energy so all in all, I guess he is doing ok. But he does need to be controlled by keeping him on leash or restrained in these situations, otherwise he could be a knock down factor with young children or the elderly because of his size and how he isn’t really aware of his size.Toby still loves playing tug of war and fetch. We have been working on him giving other dogs personal space at the park. Toby does get in other dogs space a little too much for them at times and it can get them very frustrated. For the most part Toby will be submissive, keeping him on leash in this situation does seem to make him frustrated. I have been allowing him more time off the leash at the park, but I have to be aware of lower fences he might be able to jump. It’s very good for him to interact and play with the other dogs, but his energy level can be a bit much for other dogs. I usually walk him around the park for a good 30 mins or so before we go in to the off leash part to try and get some energy out.

October 2, 2025

We have been working on using the Gentle Leader with Toby on walks this week. I’m happy to report that Toby has done great and walked successfully all week.

September 27, 2025

Toby and I have been working on using the gentle leader harness on our walks. It has been a challenge, getting him to feel comfortable on his snout. At times, he doesn’t remember it’s on (like when there’s lots of stimulus), but other times he does remember and strongly disapproves of it by trying to paw it off. It’s another work in progress, and we’re doing our best with delicious treats as motivation.

Toby has been allowed free roam of the house any time I leave for work or occasionally when I’m not at my house. He still has been doing pretty good, though at times he cannot resist the occasional piece of mail to chew up, or occasional trash to get into (he can be rather clever when he wants something and you might be sleeping).

Toby continues to love to play fetch and tug of war. He’s improving with “drop-it” and strives to sit before it gets thrown. He’s always been very good with sitting on command. Other very noticeable improvements are when we travel in the truck. I use to have to hold his leash while driving because the restraint system I had for him, he could still go from one side to the other of the truck bed, barking at passersby. But he has really calmed down from doing that, and often listens when I tell him to “leave it” when he starts to whine. His mouthy-ness is still present but has toned down a lot. He still has strong issues with stimulation, but I feel like “leave-it” is helping him to slowly process things. Goal is to continue working on the gentle leader.

September 15, 2025

Toby is still struggling with being over stimulated out in public, but after talking with the trainer, we’ve been working on making quick turns and circling to try and distract him from the stimulation. I’m hoping that there will be some improvement in the near future. His walking is still very good when he’s not overstimulated.  I also received the gentle leader from the rescue that the trainer also recommended trying with him.  I will start to work on getting acclimated to it. The big adjustment that has recently happened just yesterday and today, he is free to rome my house. I wanted to see how he would do outside the crate, and for a few hours yesterday, and today at work, he did very, very good. The only casualty was a knocked over plant that may have been done accidentally.Toby really likes to play fetch, and his skills when told to ”drop it” have really been getting much better. Almost to the point where I can throw him the ball, he’ll run after and get it, and then excitedly bring it back, and let go on the first couple times of saying “drop it”. He is proving to be a good boy inside the area of my house where he is familiar and where stimulation might not be that high.

August 26, 2025

In the past week, Toby has been getting better with “leave it” on walks when other dogs or squirrels appear. He still has difficulty with being overwhelmed at the dog park with other dogs and is still learning about social cues from other dogs at the park. Other dogs do correct him when he gets too much but he is still trying to figure things out.He’s is improving everyday with walking and barely pulls when he is in familiar territory. When encountering new environments, or catching a scent of another animal, or vermin, Toby goes into scent tracker mode, and can revert back to his sled dog persona which makes him more difficult to handle on leash. Correction, and treats help to bring him back to walking without as much pulling, but it can be difficult at times.He is quicker to calm now, and his mouthing (thought still present) is more easily redirected.  He has even graduated to playing without getting so overstimulated that he mouths on me and just sticks to his toy.Fetch with a tennis ball or stuffed toy is Toby’s thing! He has improved immensely with “drop-it” and letting go of the ball or toy. That took some work, but he really has been doing a great job with it.  This new skill comes in handy when Toby’s mischievous side comes out.  Toby does enjoy exploring some non-dog items, especially when it comes to tissues and stuff from the garbage. The easy solution for this is to not have the cans accessible.Toby is a sweet boy that is continuing to learn a lot while in foster care!  Look for him to be available shortly.

August 18, 2025

Toby and I have really been working on socialization. I have been bringing him to parks and hardware stores and I just have him sit, lay, and just hang out. He still gets overstimulated at times, but there has been a noticeable improvement on getting his attention, getting him to sit/lay, and getting him to “leave it”.I have been easing him in to playing with other dogs at the dog park because this can also get him overwhelmed a bit. He’s just so excited to meet everyone and everything. Sometimes because he’s a bit bigger, he can be a little off putting for other dogs and they can bark/growl at him. I usually try to keep him on his leash until his recall ability improves.

I have been leaving Toby outside his “bed” (crate) more and throughout the night he is free to roam my house. He hasn’t done anything but sleep. His usual spot on the stair landing has moved around a bit, but he remains a good boy throughout the night with his freedom.Toby really loves to play, especially tug-of-war. That’s his absolute favorite. He likes to play fetch also, but getting the ball/stick/toy back can be a challenge. I have really working on getting Toby to “drop it”, and sometimes I have to put my hand in his bottom jaw to hold him in place so he’ll eventually drop it. This is a work in progress, but he seems to be getting a little better.My dog walker has told me she has noticed a big difference in Toby walking much better with even less pulling. He is a good boy and does want to be better. You can tell. He’s just so excited some times to be out and about. All typical behavior for a young dog just learning all his manners.

Toby really likes to cool off in the water!

August 11, 2025

Toby traveled to his new Brookline foster home from South Carolina about two weeks ago and is learning a lot. Toby is a good boy. He can get a little excited on a walk when there’s other dogs around, but he responds well when told to sit and “leave it”. He may whine a little but doesn’t pull very much and remains pretty calm. He’s starting to learn that he can’t go over and play with every dog that he sees on a walk.I have been working with him and bringing him to social environments such as Lowe’s, and various parks having him sit, and lay, and try and get used to all of the action around. He’s really pretty good on the leash. Whenever asked to sit, he mostly responds very well. I have been working on getting him to lay down when asked. It’s a work in progress, but after some good activity (run, hike, dog park) he’s usual tired and will lay down.

I have been keeping Toby is his crate during the day and have a dog walker and friends stopping by to let him out around lunch. At bedtime,  I have been having him lay in his crate, his “bed”, but I leave the door open for him. He usually sleeps in there a while but when I wake up he’s usually sleeping in the same spot as always outside of his crate. He can be trusted to be left outside his crate when sleeping; I have had zero issues and he usually stays in the same spot all night.I have been working on leaving him alone in the house, outside the crate. I’m only doing really quick trips right now (max 15mins) to try and get him adjusted. So far Toby has been very good when told to “stay” with a hand gesture of “stop”. Often when I return he’s in the same spot as when I left.  He’s making good progress.

Stay tuned for more Toby updates!

July 1, 2025

Toby has been staying in temporary foster care in SC.  While in foster care there, we learned that he has the following great traits:

-housebroken

-good with cats and other dogs

-vaccinated, neutered, microchipped, Heartworm negative

-knows commands, sit, stay, shake paw

-crate trained- is in crate overnight and when current foster goes to work.

-walks good on leash

Toby is young, lovable, goofy boy who enjoys attention.   Toby is playful and would do great with another dog or family who is active as he still has lots of puppy energy.

He is a great dog, that just never had the chance to be in a home with a family so as a result is just a big puppy that is working on his self-control and exuberance.  He is very trainable and responds readily to correction so with continued guidance and exercise,  he’ll be the best boy in no time.