Zoe #5 Silver Labrador Retriever Female 2 Years Old ID#2914

Meet Zoe!  This 2 year old silver beauty was surrendered because her family didn’t feel they could give her the time and exercise she deserved.  She is a super sweet girl whose favorite thing in life is to chase balls!  She will happily bring it back and drop it to keep the game going.  Zoe is a bit hesitant when she first meets you, but pull out a ball or toy and she’s your best friend!  Zoe is crate trained, knows basic commands and is eager to please.  She loves attention and will happily hop up beside you and give you kisses.  Zoe is looking for someone who will tire her out and give her lots of love. Please read her blog from the bottom up.

March 9, 2022

Zoe is settling in nicely and is adjusting well to our daily routine. We are happy to state that she is fully house trained, doesn’t counter surf or go into trash cans, only touches her toys and balls, doesn’t beg at the table and is an all around wonderful little girl!  Zoe settles nicely, after adequate exercise of one walk a day and 2-3 rounds of ball play (20-30 mins each) a day. She is super ball focused outside and has to be told when ball time is over, or she will never stop.  While we don’t allow ball play in the house, we do allow Zoe access to her balls inside.  She knows we won’t play ball in the house, but they seem to bring her comfort and she carries them all over.  Just watch your step because there are balls everywhere!!!Zoe had a Vet visit this morning, for bloodwork and a health check to schedule her spaying.  She is in great health and we are waiting on blood work to make sure she can be spayed next week. YAY!Zoe sometimes has a hard time keeping all four paws on the ground when super excited, but she is quickly learning that this is not ok and has started to catch herself in a jump and quickly pull back. We are so proud!!  She does pull a little on her walks and the harness is working best for her.  We are still exploring the grumbling she expresses here and there, but are happy to report that these events are happening less and less, with each passing day.  We can see that Zoe has some minor trust issues.  We believe her grumbling is how she expresses that she is feeling uncomfortable in a situation.  She just needs time to settle in and have trust in her humans. We continue to work with her to build that trust and let her know she is in a safe and loving environment.By the pictures, you can see how much she has improved these last couple of weeks.  Her ears and tail are up and she is just a happy girl!

February 22, 2022

We have had Zoe for over a week now and she is settling in nicely.  She is eating and sleeping well, while quickly learning our daily routine.  Zoe is a sweet, gentle and intelligent young lady.  She is the smartest dog we have ever encountered. If you ask her for a ball, she will get one and if you ask her for a toy, she will grab one.  This is important to note, since she is highly ball focused.  She LOVES playing ball, which we only permit outdoors, since she can become fixated on it. She would play ball 24/7 if permitted, so we have to let her know when it is time to stop.  Zoe has a high energy level and would work best in a family environment that has time to walk and play with her every day.

Zoe loves treats and will sit and give her paw for them.  She can be a little rough taking a treat from your hand, but we are working on that and asking her to take them easier.  She is improving wonderfully with taking treats nicely!  So proud of her:)  She appears to love learning new things.Zoe goes for a walk at least once a day and is walked by her foster Dad.  Her foster brother, Murphy (4 yr old Lab) also walks with her and they walk together.  Zoe is walking using a harness, which we believe is better than just her collar, as she does pull a little.  On her walks, she has had no issues with other people or dogs, who are walking by and on leash. Our neighborhood is filled with dogs and the owners meet up at the park on the weekends. Since Zoe is not spayed, foster Dad has not let her interact too much with the other dogs, since there are two males not neutered; however, she did meet another 2 year old female, that she really wanted to play with, but since we do not know her recall yet, foster Dad did not let her off leash to play.  Bottom line, we see no issues with walks, concerning other dogs or people.

Zoe and her foster fur brother, Murphy have no issues at all.  They eat in separate areas of the kitchen at the same times and leave each other alone at meal times, take treats together, with no issues or aggression for the other’s treats.  She is great with her fur brother and will even lay next to him to take a nap.  Zoe’s fur brother isn’t always up to play, but he will run with her a little in the yard.  They get along great!Zoe has been wonderful with all of the humans she has met.  She has met some kids aged 11/12 years old. and a few adults 18+.  She walks up, sniffs them and allows pets from all.  She will even grab a ball or toy to show to them.  She is less interested in kids, except the initial hello, and more interested in adults.

While Zoe does have a crate, which she retreats too when she wants some downtime, she is reliable in the house.  She has been left alone for up to 6 hours, with her foster fur brother and there have been no issues. She is fully house/potty trained and will tap on the door when she wants to go outside. Zoe does not trash surf either. She also doesn’t touch things that aren’t hers like shoes, socks, etc.  She knows what she is allowed to have and leaves everything else alone.While Zoe is settling in, we have noticed she is still unsure of her foster Dad and foster sister (age 11) at times, even though they both engage her in treat training, walking and ball play.  She will grumble/growl at them sometimes and we are exploring this more to see if we can figure out what is triggering this and the simple answer might just be she is still unsure of them and needs time to adjust and get more comfortable.

For the most part, Zoe is a typical 2 year old Lab.  She wants to play, learn, explore and be part of the family. She is still learning to trust our little family of three humans and one fur brother.

February 12, 2022

Sweet Zoe had a tough time transitioning from her home of two years to another home, so she has been hanging out at Bedminster Canine Kamp, working on her leash skills, meeting a variety of people and having some play time with some furry friends. She continues to love to play ball with any size ball, but also loves playing with a variety of toys.  As you can see, she even loves playing hide and seek!

Zoe loves everyone she meets and has been doing well with dogs who are not “in her face”.  She is also walking better with a harness than a collar – something she’ll need to continue to work on.Zoe continues to win hearts everywhere she goes!