Twila #5 Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 5 Years Old ID #3396

Twila is enjoying the new backyard birdfeeder at her foster home. It’s attracted not only squirrels but other critters who leave amazing smells behind. As soon as she hears the back door opening, Twila is ready to shoot out as fast as possible and race in a loop checking all the bushes for animal friends. She hasn’t actually met any bird, bunny, groundhog or raccoon friends, but she’s so hopeful and enthusiastic! Once she’s done running around, she spends a lot of time sniffing the grass and trying to track the animals. It’s nice she has a new outdoor activity, since she is only occasionally interested in running after a tennis ball.

Twila absolutely loves to visit the local hiking trails and check out all the smells and new dogs. Her favorite part is wading into the stream to retrieve (big) sticks.

She brings the sticks right back to her humans, even though she rarely does that with balls. She would fetch sticks all day long, it seems. Out of her “home” territory, particularly at the stream, she is friendly with other dogs and sometimes tries to engage them in play.

Twila remains anxious while at home but is definitely less reactive and panicky than when she arrived, even without meds. She doesn’t like unknown male visitors (like the HVAC repairman) and barks so fiercely to protect her favorite human (mom) that it’s best to put her in a different room with a closed door–which isn’t her favorite place to be but overall, less stressful for all. She also barks briefly at car alarm beeps and sudden loud noises, even if they’re distant. She’s gotten used to about 10 frequent visitors and settles down quickly (and remembers not to bark when someone stands up or enters the room again).

Twila continues to be the snuggliest dog ever. She enjoys behind-the-ear rubs and will often roll over her back and wait patiently for someone to give her a belly rub. She will be a wonderful companion for a human who enjoys a devoted and loving pup—particularly if that human like, sharing the couch and bed with a furry friend! She is patient and happy to lie near her people, and if you look at her or talk to her, she hops up for patting and attention. If she wants more pats, she adorably nudges arms and hands with her head.

She is improving her reception and acceptance of strangers/unknown males. She’s happily taking long walks with a non-family member as long as her favorite person isn’t at home (in which case Twila prefers not to be farther than a few feet). Twila enjoys “birdwatching” at a new feeder.

Twila is enjoying family life, which mainly involves following her people around and making sure she’s in the center of an activity! She is a happy pup as long as she has a trusted person around to pat her and talk to her (she perks up and wags her tail if we just look at her). She is happiest racing around the fenced in area off-leash sniffing and “hunting” at top speed. On our last off-leash walk she explored the stream and showed definite interest in playing with one of the other dogs, which was a first for her.

It’s hard to tell which dogs she’ll be interested in and which she’ll ignore and walk past. Twila is practicing walking with a non-family member every day. Some days take a little more coaxing than others, and she still won’t leave the house if her favorite person is home, but she’s worked up to 45min, which is a big milestone!

Twila recovered beautifully from her surgery and is now waiting for her belly hair to grow back. At least she’s cooler for the summer! Now that she’s feeling better, she’s enjoying longer walks and occasional jogs. She can easily walk for miles or happily lie around in the yard–although if she gets hot, she’ll try to push the door into the house open for air conditioning! She’s also been visiting new spaces (she’s not thrilled about elevator rides but is getting used to them) and working on not barking at people she’s met before. Twila still prefers to start the day with a snuggle in bed, and she will sit on her favorite person to demand space and attention.

Today Twila accidentally stepped on a bee while in the yard–one of her favorite pastimes is hunting for flying insects, in and out of the house.  She’s also started pulling toys and chew treats out of her basket, which is fun to watch. She likes yak cheese and anything that involves licking cream cheese out of a silicone toy.

Hello, everybody! It’s time to re-introduce Twila to the Brookline Community. After the shock of leaving the farm and a tough recovery from her spay surgery in February, Twila moved to a second foster family where she could enjoy her preference as the only dog in residence. Twila immediately bonded with her FM but needed plenty of opportunity to adjust to living in a home with a family, barking at anyone who wasn’t FM every time they entered, or left and re-entered the room, especially her FD.

With time, she has proven to be sweetest, snuggliest dog her foster family has ever met – she is happiest being velcro’d to FM wherever she sits or lays with at least one paw touching her at all times. In the absence of FM, she will consent to doing the same with the remaining members of the family. She takes a bit of time to warm up to strangers, but once she becomes comfortable with a new person, she will almost immediately roll-over and demand belly rubs. When she wants attention or head scratches, she is not above nudging a hand or forearm with her nose, or placing her head directly on a knee. And if allowed on the bed, she would prefer to sleep with her head on a pillow cuddled next to her favorite human, though she can be trained to sleep through the night at the bottom of the bed, and only wiggle her way into a snuggling position next to (or on top of) her favorite human AFTER the sun comes up, or it becomes obvious that the humans are awake.

Twila doesn’t play much beyond the very infrequent zoomies, but is an energetic walking partner, and seems happy with any amount of walking – she’s happy to walk long distances, often at a near trot with only the expected amount of sniffing and distraction. She has on occasion demonstrated a mild interest in at least chasing a ball, though the returning part of fetch still hasn’t caught on with her. Twila does pretty well with her leash manners, but would be thrilled to live somewhere she can walk off-leash easily, as its obvious how much she likes to move about and explore untethered. That said, Twila is sooo bonded to her current favorite human (FM) she has been known to outright refuse to walk with anyone other than FM if the latter is at home, exercising her full protest by flopping down dead weight, and refusing to move beyond the front porch. This can be overcome with high value treats (e.g., hot dogs) and a lot of coaxing, and generally once primed to go she will walk along in her usual manner but it can introduce some challenges to the daily schedule and routine.

Last month Twila required a follow-up surgery to remove an ovarian remnant left behind from her spay, but has been a pretty model patient and is almost all healed. More recently she also had her ears treated for an infection which has cleared up nicely. While the vet is very obviously not her favorite place to go, she has done just fine with her visits.

Twila came into foster care as a very disinterested eater who initially turned her nose up at several foods and a number of special dog treat staples – peanut butter, cheese, and Greenies. This has definitely turned around, and Twila now will eat almost anything in her bowl with most meals consisting of kibble (softened with a little water) and sometimes a little flavor extra mixed in – a spoonful of wet food, some chicken pieces, etc. She demonstrates pretty good table manners, sitting nearby and showing interest in what the family is eating, but never whines or begs.  Twila will counter surf if left unattended with food in the kitchen and has helped herself to some bread, meatloaf, and cherry pie, though this never happens when humans are present.

Twila is taking daily meds for anxiety, one of which (beef flavored) she doesn’t seem to mind and currently she eats it with her regular food. FM has been working with the vet to find the best option for a second med since she doesn’t appreciate pill pockets and is an expert at eating around all other pills when hidden in basically any other food.

A note about the anxiety: Twila continues to improve on her family-living skills – she still alert barks inside the home but not nearly as often as she did when first off of the farm and generally not anymore with her immediate foster family or routine visitors. Outside while walking she pays little attention to other passing dogs, though she does keep track of squirrels and bunnies, and loves to chase after bugs. She enjoys car rides, doesn’t seem to mind longer ones and settles quickly as long as she is with her people. Twila has shown she can become testy with other dogs, but generally in the presence of FM, which seems to be a jealousy/resource guarding behavior. Twila’s most significant challenge is the bond to her FM and separation anxiety she experiences when FM is not around. When medicated she remains pretty calm, but ensuring adequate time for her to become properly medicated does require a bit of planning ahead.

Twila would live her best life in a household with someone who is around most of the day–either retired or working full time from home. Ideally, Twila would like to be a constant companion for a family willing and able to take her along for regular day-to-day errands, or on vacation. Though it hasn’t been attempted, her personality suggests she would not do well boarding while the family jets to far-off destinations. Twila doesn’t mind older children as she enjoys all the opportunities to receive physical attention but really would love to be an “only child” without any competition for the affections of her favorite human.

Twila has been off the farm for 9 days now and it’s been quite the whirlwind.   First 3 days went well and then she was spayed last Thursday (2/8).

The vet said she did well and she snoozed on her way to our home.  She had a quiet evening but then started having issues with vomiting and diarrhea starting at midnight that landed us at the vet the next morning and then to the ER at 3 am on Saturday.   She came home on Monday and the vet and staff said she was a charming patient.  The internal medicine vet attributes her condition to either anesthesia reaction, GI manipulation during surgery or perhaps stress.   Good news is she has a plan to get her GI back to snuff with some meds over the next 10 days.

Since she has been home, she has been a bit stressed.   While she clearly remembers me, she has to readjust to being here.  She is doing great with Crinkles, my disabled dog but has been telling Freda when she gets near that she needs space.  Freda is chill and she backs away and gives her space.  Twila had a bad experience on the farm with another dog and feels like she is transferring those feelings to Freda.

Twila is super Velcro to me – she loves belly rubs and pets.  I do think she would do best as an only dog as she is clearly a people dog.

She loves her walks and doesn’t pull.  She looks happy while she walks with her tail always wagging.

She should be ready for adoption in about 10 days once she is fully healed.   She will make a family very lucky to have this gorgeous, cuddle bug for a pet.

Twila’s foster mom here.  Twila is currently at the vet getting spayed – her puppy making days are officially over 🙂

She did not want to get out of the car this AM as the many barking dogs frightened her but I coaxed her in and I know she will do great – I’ll update you all tomorrow.

To update you on her progress and her personality after being in our care for almost 4 days now.  She has come a long way in a short time!

She was fearful of barking dogs on our walks and now will walk by with a bit of hair raised

She and my 2 senior dogs are peacefully coexisting – they make great office mates for me.

She has mastered the stairs like a champ!

She loves to walk but mostly does her business in my backyard and will signal by pawing at the back door when she has to go.

She sleeps through the night – I am still sleeping on my first floor with her and the other two dogs

She eats well – I do have to feed her on a flat surface as she hasn’t mastered ‘the bowl’ yet

She doesn’t seem to be drinking as much water as she should – any tips?

She’s a cuddle bug and velcro to me!  She will jump up on my lap during work calls and she will lie on her back offering her belly to me for rubs

She is a BEAUTY!  She is short in stature and can definitely stand to lose about 5-7 lbs. to tone up.  Her color is gorgeous – primarily cream colored with some honey yellow on her face and along her back.   She is mostly shaped like an English Lab but you can see she has some American Lab mixed in.

She’s a joy to foster to date!  She is fearful of people on the street and learning to like Foster Dad.  Given how quickly she has adapted so far, I know she will continue to impress.