Carbón's Big Adventure (aka Labratour Part IV)

It's been a while since I posted, so I just did a little photo retrospective of Carbon's journey so far. He's doing really well, amazingly smart and still reliable goofy. He's looking super healthy on his raw/fresh diet so hopefully his test results that we'll do at the end of the month will come back with a resounding thumbs up.

What's not going so well? Recall. Sigh. A dog that can now walk on a hands-free leash and do a 10 minute downstay in a crowded square. But recall? We're still in pre-school for that!

Here's a look back at Carbon's adventures so far...

Very first (rainy) walk together at the shelter in Spain


Walking with Paul, Carbon's cage buddy at the shelter


I spring Carbon for the shelter for the first time and take him to the beach


Carbon officially becomes a foster dog and discovers Kongs and sofas


Paul 'comes home' too as a foster and we start doing day trips, like this outing to Barbate


Paul gets adopted in the UK and we all three take a road trip together to get him to his new home. Here the pair are on Cathedral Beach in northern Spain.


A final run together at Calais before crossing the Channel


Fun at @Beanwood with Remy the Cat and Casper


On the road again with Carbon and Bunny after Paul's adoption


Currently enjoying a 100% Bavarian summer!

 

Lovely boy! It was so great to have him visit. And Emily too, of course

 

He certainly is! What lovely photos Thank you for sharing!

 

I still owe you the bread story on here, @Rosie , even though Pongo already shared his own version. I think it may be may be my all-time favourite Carbon story, despite the unfortunate gastric results.

 

<snortle>

 

Lovely! Carbon is obviously thriving with you. It looks very GREEN in the last photo

 

Wonderful - looks like a very happy dog, what more can you ask

 

Oh that's fantastic to see it all laid out in photo order. Lovely boy.

 

Unlike the brown UK, we've actually been getting a thunderstorm or two now and then. But it would be nice for us ALL to get some cool air soon!

 

great read Emily. Cassie and I are so happy to have met him !

 

Well done, Emily! Carbon looks so relaxed and happy!

 

Last week we had a wonderful day out thanks to @Naya. An area of Bavaria I hadn't been before and a nice sit down chat with Harley's mum next to a clear blue lake. What could be better?

Before meeting up with Ternaya, Carbon and I had a lakeshore walk. In my search for a loo, I ended up in a public park that was full of shady trails and little coves. The only downside was that it was on-leash only, so I ended up wading into the water up to my undies and then letting Carbon swim circles around me on his leash. Seeing as it was over 30 degrees that day, I didn't mind the resulting wet trousers in the least.

I was VERY proud of Carbon. Even though the environment was very exciting - ducks, kids, bicycles - he did very nicely on leash. If I may say so, I was proud of me, too. Whereas 'PF' (pre-forum) I would have dragged him away from things he was reacting to, this time we did LAT training. The park provided some great opportunities for Carbon, from other dogs barking at him, to kids whacking around a tennis ball, to some very cheeky ducks.

We went through gobs of low cal treats but in each case by the time we walked away to the next area, he was sitting nicely and calmly looking at whatever set him off.

The tennis ball being tossed around was the hardest and we had to start from fairly far away, but he got it in the end. The ducks were the funniest because we started on shore, then waded out to (my) hip level and eventually the ducks were swimming right up to Carbon as if just daring him to try anything. But hey, if Carbon can fall in love with Remy the Cat of Unusual Size, surely he can make friends with a duck?

Then it was time to drive to meet Ternaya at the local youth hostel. Carbon was SO happy to see her and had to sit in her lap for cuddles. He also made friends with her dog-loving colleague, who took him for a walk along the lakeside. It was a great treat for me to talk to Ternaya for a couple hours. When it was time to say goodbye and make the two hour drive back home, I had to stop myself from driving on the left side of the road - I'd really felt like I'd had a mini day out in the UK!


All the photos on Flickr


Carbon doing his best "I am an elegant gundog" pose



Fishing!



Lake Starnberger (just south of Munich)



Carbon's "I'm just a cute puppy" pose



"I luuuurve Harley's mum"



"Yep, that's the spot..."



Getting a personal tour around the lakeshore from a new friend

 

Stunning photos.
"PF" - love it!

 

It's been ages since I've posted here, but I thought it was time to start catching up with some more recent photos of our adventures. So here goes!

Here are a few photos of Carbon during our walkies is Abensburg, Germany. He's looking like a real Labrador these days, no?

 

Wonderful Emily

 

He is looking amazing! Fabulous shiny coat and just look at his dear face...

 

His coat is indeed glorious. I've seriously been thinking of chugging down some salmon oil daily, as that seems to have been the key to Carbon getting his coat mojo back!

 

He's a lovely dog. You've had him for a while now haven't you? Are you really going to give him back?

 

He's looking amazing, Emily

 

That's a good question and yes, I've known him for six months and had him as a foster for four. I've had fosters in the past for up to a year, so that's not really all that weird for me. I do realise it seems VERY weird to others!

At this point, while I don't think he's 'my dog' and still consider him a foster, I'm also having a very hard time fixing a date for his potential final adoption. Talk about stuck!

I had to adopt him myself to get him out of Spain, so legally-speaking there's no other authority such as rescue group or shelter breathing down my neck, though thanks to @Beanwood he has the full backing of an excellent long-standing rescue in the UK. So our Carbon is in a rather unique situation.

Right now I'm going day to day with the idea that his placement will be sometime this autumn. He learns every day and we're nibbling away at the vestiges of the physical and behavioural effects of living in a box from the age of 3 months. So I figure while I may be selfish in keeping him longer than strictly necessary as a foster, hopefully both Carbon and his forever family will reap the benefits.