Our local animal shelter (kill shelter) has a gorgeous 10 month old boy available to rescues only due to his high risk behavior. When I read over his description, much of his behavior seems to be quite normal for a 10 month old lab, only exacerbated because he's been astray and then kenneled at the shelter. I'm writing to ask for advice. My 25 year old son has been looking for a young black lab to adopt but they're rare to find here in our area (NC, USA). This boy looks to be a gorgeous, full-blooded English type--so uncommon to find in a shelter. I'm posting the shelter's description below. We do not have unlimited resources for behavioral therapy, but can certainly give love, attention, socialization, exercise and good training to the right dog. Is this dog too big a risk? This beautiful pup is at high risk of being euthanized this month unless a rescue takes him this week. We would rather not risk any dangerous situations as we have two older other female labs here and at our neighbor's house too. Please advise! " Gaston County NC: Available Pets in Animal Control January 22 · · Pet ID: 40607032 PAST DUE 1-25 ***new photo in comments 2-4 from AC---POTENTIAL EUTH 2-6 rescue only, behavior. Bean is a typical young Lab that is very excited to be socializing and finding ways to be active! He is happy to meet everyone and becomes very hyper when he is getting attention. Bean can jump straight up into the air when he is seeking attention or begging for treats. When he is in a stimulating situation such as being around the public and other dogs, he becomes overly excited and barks. He is not neutered yet so he likes to mark the environment he is visiting. This dog needs plenty of exercise and ways to expel his energy! Although he knows the sit command, he could use additional instruction with manners during human interactions and socializing with other dogs. Bean does not kennel well here at the shelter. He can become overstimulated when seeing or meeting other dogs. He barks at dogs passing his run and he vents his frustrations in his kennel by fence fighting with his neighbors. He was allowed to go home with an employee to get a break from the stress of the shelter and he did not behave well with their Labrador. He initially acted like he wanted to play, but then became too overly excited and his "play" turned reactive and too aggressive for the other dog. Dog testing at the shelter went smoothly but we could see that Bean comes on very strong. He acts excited and playful to meet another dog but wants to "pounce". He will also poke the other dog or grab their tail. There was never any growling or biting but it seems Bean was never taught to "play nice". It is highly recommended that any rescue interested in Bean understands that this dog needs time to decompress from the shelter, be exercised prior to dog interactions and when introduced to another dog(s) it is closely monitored and done in a slow manner. 1-20 intake, stray, 60 lb Breed: Retriever, Labrador / Retriever, Labrador Age: 10m 2d Gender: Male Color: Black Spayed/Neutered: No Size: Medium
Hi Claire, does your son live with you or would this dog just be meeting your dogs (and your neighbours) on visits?
Hi Claire, Maybe you can bring the dog to the attention of Lab Rescue of the LRCP - their coverage area includes part of NC, though which part I'm not certain: https://www.lab-rescue.org/ They can usually get the dog into a foster home and so get a good idea of the dog's needs. Depending on their evaluation maybe your son could adopt him? I adopted my lab mix Johnny at 4 mo and he was poorly socialized to put it mildly. At 2.5 yrs he's still a work in progress, specifically I've had to do a ton of work with his response to frustration and over-threshold behavior which he expresses by the fun (not) game of barking, circling, and nipping. I'm not sure how successful I would have been if I was introducing him to other dogs in the home so Pippa's question is very important. Sending good thoughts and let us know how things turn out.
You're right---this pup needed much more individual attention than we could give. He was rescued by a labrador rescue (Save the Labs) and put with an experienced foster. I wish we'd been able to foster but not possible. I agree that he will take a good bit of time to socialize and train but hopefully he's with a foster who is devoted to his success. Thank you for your response.
Our son is living with us for a few months until he moves into his new house. We decided we couldn't safely take on this dog even as a foster. The good news is that he was saved from the shelter by a rescue group and is with his foster family now. I'm very glad we made this decision, especially after learning that it make take years not just months to socialize him. Good ending for all. Thanks, Pippa!
