Zeldie Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 6 Months Old ID #3440

July 29, 2024

I think someone is bored and not appreciating the shorter playtime in the yard as the temperatures increase in the afternoon!

July 23, 2024

Zeldie loves exploring. Although FM told her it wasn’t a great idea, she still ran up to the woods edge to check out the buck that was grazing. Once she realized FM wasn’t right behind her, she turned tail and ran back to the patio! On a later walk through the woods, she found the buck again and they just stared at each other, from a distance, until Zeldie decided to give chase. By the time I caught up with her, she had realized she was alone and was heading back to the house. I know deer can be aggressive, but the buck seems to be as curious about Zeldie as she is about him and he doesn’t seem threatened by her. The deer are not afraid of people either, I guess they feel safe on our property.

Zeldie’s chase behavior is very half-hearted. Although she chases anything that moves, I don’t think she means the critters any harm, and since she isn’t running at full speed, it’s unlikely she could actually catch a critter.  I think it’s more curiosity on her part. Last night she started to chase a young bunny but gave up before going too far.  The bunny felt safe enough to continue munching clover.

Considering it’s unlikely she ever had a chance to play at the farm, she is really good at fetching and retrieving anything I throw for her.  This girl is happiest when exercising, so multiple games of fetch throughout the day help to tire her out.

She has finally gotten in the swimming pool and although she doesn’t stay in it for long, she does seem to enjoy the coolness of the water. She also appreciates having an oversized water bowl!

As long as Zeldie gets lots of exercise throughout the day and a 1-1/2 hour nap mid-day, she’s a chill pup at night when we’re watching TV. She continues to sleep quietly through the night in her crate, which is a bonus FM wasn’t expecting but truly appreciates. Zeldie is going to be a wonderful addition to some lucky family!

July 21, 2024

Zeldie continues to thrive in a home environment.  This morning as I enjoyed my coffee on the back porch, she entertained and exercised herself by making a dozen runs up to the woods and back, obviously seeing something in the woods that I couldn’t see. When I got up to check on what might have intrigued her, I found out that she and the young buck in our neighbor’s yard were playing chicken on opposite sides of the fence to see which one of them would retreat first. Needless to say, it was Zeldie! At least she got a ton of exercise! She also entertains herself well playing with balls and toys on her own.

She spent 6 hours crated the other day while I was out. Although she is fine being crated at night and for 1-1/2 hrs. for a nap during the middle of each day, she would not do well being crated for longer periods of time as she was incredibly stressed when I returned home. She still pees every hour, so she will need to be placed with an adopter who works remotely or is otherwise home more often than not. She can’t have free roam without being monitored for now since she is going through her puppy chewing phase. She also is a professional counter surfer, often stealing things that normally would not hold any interest for a dog (such as the tweezers on my bathroom counter which she seems to be obsessed with).

There might be “service” in her future; whenever I open a drawer to my bathroom cabinet, she jumps up and closes the drawer with her feet. I thought it was a fluke the first time she did it, but she’s done it again since then. She does have incredible focus which will help with her training.  We have been working on “sit” but have only made minimal progress. She knows the word “crate” and usually will crate herself when I ask her to.

July 17, 2024

Fostering a puppy can be demanding, especially when the puppy comes from a farm. There’s a reason why people say “it’s a good thing puppies are so cute”! But, fostering a farm puppy is also very rewarding as we watch the pup’s world expand.

As puppies go, Zeldie has been an easy one. She housetrained herself, which surprised me. Zeldie will go to the back door (yes, I have to pay attention for her cues). If I’m working at my computer, she will join me for a few minutes and then, if I don’t get up, she’ll back up towards my dining room and let out an incredibly loud bark. I quickly learned (yes, I’m learning too) that’s Zeldie’s way of telling me “I need to go out NOW”!

Unlike many farm dogs, Zeldie quickly took to playing with toys. She found my resident Lab’s toy box and has been having fun working her way through it.

I threw the Chuck-it ball for her a few times in the early morning (before the heat of the day) and within minutes, she realized if she picked up the ball, brought it back, and dropped it at my feet, I would throw it again for her.

She can be a ball of energy and loves to run, but she is more of a sprinter than a long-distance runner.

When she tires herself out with exercise, she puts herself down for a nap. Last night she decided her best napping spot is under my computer desk, which brought back bittersweet memories since my Lab, Gracie, whom I lost last year, favored lying at my feet when I was at my computer.

Zeldie has been watching Buzzy in his dog pool and finally decided to give it a try herself.  Of course, I didn’t have my phone with me.  In the meantime, here’s a video of her walking around the pool with Buzzy enjoying the cool refreshment of the water in this heatwave.

Although she cannot jump up on the couch by herself, Zeldie enjoys snuggling in the evening when I watch TV. She sleeps through the night in her crate next to my bed, without a peep, for 7 hours.

As we enter day 5 in foster care, her mischievous side is surfacing, although her behavior is no different than what I expect from any puppy. She will chew on non-dog items (table and chair legs among other items), so you need to pay attention. She hasn’t shown much interest in dog chew toys, so I’ll keep experimenting with substituting other items that are appropriate for her to chew on. She does respond to “EH-EH” but it’s still a learning experience.

She’s a thief and will steal things if she can reach them (she stole a pair of tweezers from the bathroom and tried to steal my towel when I was in the shower). If I don’t prep her meal quickly enough, she will counter surf. “Off” is a work in progress. She’s beginning to learn her name (she didn’t have a name at the farm) and will come running when I call “Zeldie, come”!

My resident Lab is her comfort zone, but when her puppy antics become too much for him, she readily responds to his correction. She has shown a prey drive in the yard, chasing squirrels and the fox, so I’m not sure how she would react to cats or other small critters.

Zeldie is a joy!

July 13, 2024

Meet Zeldie, one of the three six-month-old puppies that joined us from a breeding farm this weekend.

Zeldie is very tiny at just 22 lbs. She is acclimating well to life in a home and has been accident-free, letting me know whenever she needs to go outside. I was pleasantly surprised that she didn’t object to sleeping in a crate her first night with me, and she slept for a solid seven hours without a peep! Everything is still very new to her, so it is going to take a bit more time for her to settle in and become comfortable. For now, resident Lab, Buzzy, is her comfort zone and she loves playing with him.

She is very friendly, curious, and so laser focused. When the time comes, I have a feeling she will do well with training and learning new things. She loves following me around our 3-acre fenced/wooded property as long as she can be leash free. Once she settles in, we’ll start working on leash walking. More to follow as I get to know her better.