Vince Chocolate Labrador Retriever Male 7 Years Old ID#3038

Vince is a 7 year old, chocolate Labrador retriever farm boy who finally got his retirement from stud work. He is so friendly and handsome!  He is on his way to a bath, some vaccinations and meeting his foster family. Please read Vince’s blog from the bottom up.

March 1, 2022

Since Vince’s last update, he received good news—his electrolyte levels and resting cortisol levels were normal so that means no Addison’s disease. That good news cleared the path for his neuter surgery last Friday the 25^th. Vince is healing very well and tolerates the cone easily although the furniture and walls are taking quite a hit. The vet suggests keeping an eye on his kidney values through routine bloodwork. Otherwise, Vince is a big happy sweetheart chocolate boy.He greets visitors calmly and without jumping and easily settles on the floor nearby. Included is a picture of handsome Vince wearing one of Brookline’s beautiful ties found on the Etsy store!

February 8, 2022

Vince enjoyed last month’s snow and had fun exploring the neighborhood park and wooded area. Here’s a short video of the handsome boy in the snow. It’s easy to see him in the snow with his beautiful chocolate coat.

At his vet visit last week, he was a very cooperative patient while getting his blood pressure checked. And good news!  He’s no longer hypertensive. The medicine, Benazepril, has lowered his blood pressure. He takes 20 mg once a day tucked into a piece of cheese. So far, the medicine runs about $7 per month using Good Rx. Also, his blood work and urinalysis still show slightly elevated kidney values (creatinine and BUN) but no worse than late December values. Later this week, he gets 2 more tests to help pinpoint the cause of the elevated kidney values. However, Vince doesn’t exhibit any of the typical signs of kidney issues—his appetite is great, he drinks a normal amount of water, and doesn’t have any accidents in the house.Vince continues to be a great dog. He’s a total love and cuddle bug, is happy to just hang out with me whatever I’m doing (see laundry pic), and has acclimated to home life easily. He still doesn’t bark at the door bell and has grown accustomed to the TV, vacuum cleaner, and garbage disposal sounds.

January 24, 2022

It’s hard to believe that Vince has been with me for more than a month. In the month, he’s experienced many firsts and he’s aced them all. He’s now used to the TV and only shows interest in what’s on the screen when animals appear or there are loud animal sounds. Early on, while watching a TV show, he followed a flock of sheep as they exited screen right–Vince traveled around the corner to the room behind the TV as if he was looking for the sheep. Funny boy. Since he’s not a fan of the vacuum cleaner, he watches from afar but doesn’t bark or try to attack it. He quietly hangs out with me in the kitchen while making meals or in my home office, snoozing on his dog bed, during the work week.Vince is definitely a Velcro boy and is always by my side—even in bed at night. He’s a cuddler. He continues to meet other dogs and neighbors in a friendly way during our walks. As for toys, he’s not shown much interest except for a few hard bones which he occasionally chews. He hasn’t touched anything that isn’t a toy; my slippers and shoes are safe on the ground. Vince gets along really well with his dog friend, Colin, who comes to visit.After he completes a preventative round of Doxycycline this week, Vince will have his blood and urine checked again to assess his kidneys. He has tolerated his once daily blood pressure pill well; hopefully all this will produce kidney values. Fingers crossed.Vince is a calm, laid-back dog who loves being with his person and occasionally gets the random zoomies.

January 4, 2022

Vince is into his 3^rd week as a family dog and living full-time in a home–he’s made great progress in a short period of time.Vince no longer needs a belly band in the house and he hasn’t marked had any accidents in the house since the second day. He continues to enjoy his dog beds, my bed, and discovering how fun dog toys can be. Vince now jumps into the car by himself and is getting used to riding in a car. He’s come a long way from his first car ride home!Vince loves taking walks and still continues to greet people and dogs in a friendly manner—no jumping or barking. On Christmas day, he calmly rested by our feet during meals. So far, his only barking is reserved for alert barking if he hears or smells something in the yard. In his spare time, Vince enjoys chasing bunnies and squirrels in the yard. He also likes to help with whatever I’m doing. Here’s a picture of him napping after helping wrap presents.At his recent vet visits, Vince was well-behaved and calmly tolerated his ears being swabbed and blood pressure taken. Bloodwork and urinalysis showed that Vince has some high kidney values and protein in his urine. As a result, he’s on a blood pressure medicine (Benazepril) which hopefully will help his kidneys. At this time, neutering is postponed until his blood and urine are checked again. The vet suggested Royal Canin Renal Support dog food and he seems to be enjoying it. His ears are much cleaner after a week of daily cleaning and drops. Vince likes dairy products but isn’t interested in peanut butter, bananas or blueberries. He LOVES chicken.Since I’ve been at home for the holidays, Vince and I haven’t been apart for long. But to work on separation anxiety, I’ve been leaving the house for short periods of time while not making a fuss coming or going. So far so good. I have no doubt that Vince will be fine when I do have to return to the office.

All-in-all, Vince is a great dog. My first farm-dog experience has been a very rewarding one so far. Vince is a real sweetheart and I look forward to watching him blossom even more over the coming weeks.

December 19, 2021

It’s been a little more than 24 hours since Vince left the farm and has been in his foster home. Vince is a very sweet boy. He frequently gives gentle kisses and loves to lean in for hugs, pets, and kisses. For probably never being in a house before, Vince has done well. He’s very curious and interested in anything I’m doing. Hardwood floors are no problem for this boy and he mastered the steps to the 2nd floor and to the scary dark basement easily. He enjoys exploring the fenced backyard and met the barky next-door neighbor dogs through the fence with interest and a high tail but no barking. Vince has not yet barked.
So far, Vince is not a fan of car rides. He made it from the farm to the house but would probably prefer to skip the car. Vince is a marker and power kicker after going to the bathroom. We’re working through his desire to mark right angles in the house whether they’re wood, fabric, or dry wall 🙂  Hopefully his new belly band will help. He hasn’t eaten much but tonight he ate some kibble with some ground turkey. Vince likes chicken and ground turkey as well as Milk Bones and Nudges chicken jerky strips. Not a fan of the beggin strips.
Vince has done surprisingly well on a leash and walks around the neighborhood. He’s enjoyed two walks each yesterday and today and likes checking out all the new smells–he’s been very active leaving his own social media posts and p-mail around the ‘hood 🙂