Blake has now been with us a week. He is between 18 months and 2 years old. Working line yellow labrador. From the Dali pound in Cyprus where he had been since early June this year. So he has spent around 3 months in a very hot and stressful environment. He has had health issues, which delayed his journey to the UK..and for a time I thought he wouldn't make it. He weighs 21 kgs, he should weigh for his age and conformation around 30kgs. All these are important factors when considering how to best rehab Blake, and get him to a point where he is ready for his forever home. Although already incredibly attached to him, he is being fostered here. So we are treating him very much like a puppy...with crate training and house training. We are keeping him safe, by that I mean keeping him away from anything that will cause stress/excitement. So no other dogs, strangers etc. He has been in a pound, in a different country a huge amount for him to process alone, without the challenge of other dogs or strangers. The last thing we want is to be in a situation we can't control, eg: other dogs barking/rushing him, at a critical time with Blake...bearing in mind he has been recently castrated. Crate training is going well, he doesn't mind the crate, doesn't see it as a bad place and settles very quickly. He has been kept in there for 1 hour - 1 hour 30 mins. He then has short sessions in the kitchen and garden, before being enticed back in his crate with kongs, chews, treats His crate is in the kitchen, we did this to create comfort and distance. He gets used to "his" place, and then (hopefully) doesn't develop a habit of following us around from room to room. He gets all his food, toys, chews etc...then without a fuss we quietly leave the kitchen. He did bark initially, and that was hard, leaving him there, every instinct in me just wanted to smother him in cuddles. Now only occasionally does he bark, maybe once or twice before settling for a snooze. We have really slowly introduced him to our other two labs, Casper who is nearly 7, we adopted almost a year ago, and Benson who will be 2 next month. Casper has been very stoic about the whole thing, a quick hump, followed by a hoolie. Benson is thrilled to have a new playmate, although as they are both youngsters and Benson entering his older adolescent stage he made it clear that Blake should not push his luck, then rather graciously offered Blake his purple hippo. On a note, we keep all toys /kongs out of sight if the three are together, toy possessiveness can be a problem with rescue dogs, so would rather not tempt fate! Blake has nice manners, despite everything his resilience and trust in people shines through. He likes people, isn't frightened and that is good. He respects Casper, and is great with Benson, backing off when he gets a warning growl. I think they both have a calming effect on him being the straightforward dogs they are. So what are we working on? At the moment nothing. He now understands his name, will sit. for a treat, or a ball./frisbee, big clue to his personalty here! We taught a sit..mainly because a sit is useful as a cue. It helps understand how excited he is...if he s calm he will sit. If not, I have to think about how to reduce his excitement threshold. So much is going on in his head right now, but despite that he is really keen to "do" stuff! He adores walks..loves roaming around the fields. He is off lead, naturally at the moment staying close so we are reinforcing this with the clicker. he is really driven and is a super keen retriever. Limiting his retrieving now for 2 reasons, he gets very excited...really excited..and I don't want too much stop/start on his joints at this stage, until I am happy he is fit enough. I think he has the potential to be a tennis ball driven lab if not careful! Healthwise, he is going from strength to strength. Fitter everyday. He has been to the vet for a check, and we are treating an nasty abscess on his back. He is so trusting he lets me clean this x3 times a day. He being fed mainly a raw diet x 3 times a day supplemented with eggs, salmon oil, home made treats, fish chews. He is also still on ant-biotics In summary he is doing incredibly well, a testament to his super temperament. . A few photos Blake 3 days by Kate Hart, on Flickr blake 1 by Kate Hart, on Flickr The Three Musketerrs 1 by Kate Hart, on Flickr the three muskateers 2 by Kate Hart, on Flickr
He's making such good progress and your boys are helping settle so well. He us going to make someone a fantastic companion
I am already dreading it. Whilst I adore my two boys...Blake is very different. He is just beautiful to watch, so fast and elegant.
Oh he is beautiful. What a marvellous thing you are doing for him. You should write a book about him.
It will be tough no doubt. I'm sure he'll go to a wonderful home though and you'll have made that possible. Then you'll have room for another needy soul xxx No one would blame you if you kept him though
Hubby is in between work assignments so luckily we had time for one last foster this year I am sorely tempted to keep him. Who ever applies for Blake has got to be really special!
He is a very lucky boy to be fostered with you. Can really understand how tempting it is to keep him, he is such a lovely boy. Perhaps it's just as well I'm not back in the UK at the moment otherwise I would be fighting to get to the front of the queue for him , not that my OH is aware of that .
Do you have any say in choosing his new home? I'm sure there will be people lining up to take him. You're doing a very good job at "selling" him
Oh yes, although I hate saying no to people,..I don't think it will be a problem to train a "wee on shoes" cue..:
