Wheeler Black Labrador Retriever Mix Male 4 Months Old ID #3149

May 28, 2024

Mr. Wheeler is ready to find his furever home.  This adorable pup has transformed in the past 2 weeks – he’s become less needy, more confident and I think is starting to trust that we are going to take care of him.  He really is the sweetest little guy.  He loves every person and pup that he has ever met, and he greets every one with enthusiasm!

Wheeler, Wheels, Wheelie – he answers to all of them — has a great demeanor, is a little silly and is as sweet as he is handsome.  He has a beautiful shiny, black coat with adorable white tips on his back paws.  He’s smart and food motivated – generally a good combination for training purposes.

He met lots of new friends this weekend and was great with all of them – young (ages 3 – 15) and old.   Wheeler actually could do well in almost any family setting and he could be the only dog or he could have some fur siblings, he is fine to entertain himself or he could chase a buddy around the yard or play tug or war.  He’s pretty chill and would acclimate.

I do think he would do best if his people were home most of the time. He’s fine in the crate for a few hours, but probably would bark a good bit if he was crated all day.  At night, he settles quickly in his crate and stays that way for 6-7 hours – even sleeping through some pretty serious thunderstorms.

I would say that with lots of potty breaks and a solid schedule that he is 90 – 95% house trained.  His new family will likely need to have a little patience as he gets used to the new lay of the land, but he will soon see his way to the exit door and will let you know that he needs to go.  He enjoys a good treat and enjoys being praised for a good job (just be sure to let him empty his bladder before giving him praise as he has been known to get excited and finish the job too quickly – not fully emptying the tank.  😊)

Because of his frequent trips to go out – he would probably do best with a fenced yard.  He will still expect you go out with him, but once out there he does like to wander and play with sticks.  I think he might also like to play ball, but my resident dog is a bit of a ball hog – so he never really gets to touch the ball.

Wheeler walks well (in a wandering kind of way) on a leash and knows “sit.”  He eats every meal like it’s his last, and probably should have a slow feeding bowl in his near future. We have been working on “sit” and “wait,” but this hungry little dude doesn’t have the patience for the “wait” part.  It’s a work in progress. He loves to munch on a good bone, a rope toy, a kong or sometimes just the basket that all the toys are stored in.  He’s such a lovebug – he’s going to be a fantastic, gorgeous dog.

May 18, 2024

Good morning!  Knock on wood — I believe that Wheeler is rounding 2nd with his house-training!  We’ve gone 2+ days without an accident and he often does go to the door when he needs to go.  This feels like big league progress!  He also understands “sit” and loves to be praised or get a treat for his effort.

He’s tries to engage the older dog a little, but is just as content to entertain himself with a bone, rope toy or just the toy bucket (after he has pulled all of the toys out!)

He still eats and drinks super-fast, but I think he is starting to understand to that there will be more.

He loves everyone he meets and very much likes to curl up next to you on the couch.   He’s a very sweet and happy boy.

I think he will be on the smaller side with a gorgeous shiny black coat.  He’s a love bug that could fit into nearly any setting.

Watch for Wheeler to be available soon!

May 14, 2024

Wheeler is adorable little Velcro pup with the softest fur.  He has been adjusting well to his crate at night.  He goes in for a treat and with much less grumbling he settles down quickly and sleeps until woken up (usually about 7 hours.)

I do think he understands the concept of potty outside, but may at times get too distracted to fully empty his tank. So we are just going out super frequently and that seems to be helping.

He seems to like having my other dogs around, but doesn’t really play with them…we’ll see if that changes overtime.  Now they are kind of blissfully coexisting. He likes to be with people and if possible in your lap.  He’s small so that’s ok too.

We’ll work on some leash skills and continue to try to slow down eating this week.  His food motivation should help with training.

As I’m writing this he walked to the back door and whined to go out.  Yeah Wheeler!

May 13, 2024

Well…this little Wheeler had a better Mother’s Day than his namesake.  And while the Phillies didn’t win today, Wheeler had a really good day!

Yesterday, Wheeler did not enjoy being confined to the crate in the car, and protested loudly all the way from Malvern to Maple Glen.  Thank you, Dee, for the new dog seatbelt, it was a lifesaver on the way to Ocean City…it was a much quieter ride.  Wheels slept pretty much the whole ride…phew!

Intros to the home team went well, and Wheeler quickly learned his spot in the pecking order… it’s last at the moment, but we’ll see how things go over the next few weeks.  I suspect he will move up in the lineup in no time.

He eats with gusto…I have had some fast eating labs, but not like this guy.  His kibble was flying all over like popcorn.  We will work on getting him to slow down — I think he just needs to understand that there is more where that came from and that no one will take it away.

He wasn’t thrilled about the crate last night, but once he settled down he sleep soundly until 5:15 am when he was woken up.  I think he would’ve easily gone another hour or so if my dog didn’t wake him up.  We’ll try a different set up tonight.

He’s done fairly well on the potty training.  Two minor accidents…I’m not sure why since he was outside pretty much all day.  I think he will progress with his this very quickly…it’s day 1…he’s been through a lot of new adventures, so we’ll give him some time to adjust before we worry too much.

So far he’s been a very sweet, soft, and cuddly houseguest! Watch for more updates in the days to come.