the breeder closing adoptions.

Just to recap. 16 dogs. Tracy (livinlabs) took 3 (queen, chrissy, and june--queen still needs a home), an all breed rescue took two labradoodles...they are still up for adoption, we had 4 here in Mt. Pleasant, and all have been adopted out, and there were 4 in Three Rivers with the nice folks of Huntmor Labs. We've been slow at adopting those 4. Razz went last week, Maggie went on the 4th of July, Shelly went today and we think that Waco will finally be adopted out tomorrow.

Please keep good thoughts and prayers for Queenie to be adopted out soon...she deserves a great home...and I am crossing my fingers for the labradoodles too.

Thanks again everyone for watching this story and all of your support.

:)

Glad to hear that it is all going so well with them.
Any word on the couple of dogs that the breeder kept and you saw advertised later?

Hi there! I just joined the board. We brought home Shelly today (renamed her Hanni [honey], because we already have a human Shelley in our lives). I have a 4 y.o. female, Mausi (the one with the darker nose in the pics), that I adopted two years ago. She likes other dogs, but has been pretty cool and aloof with Hanni today. Seems pretty nervous, too. Hanni is also nervous, but she's 1.5 years and , and I think she'll adjust just fine, with time. But what about Mausi? Any tips on helping her bond with Hanni? We're taking them 'up north' all next week, to stay on the lake, swimming and playing. I'm hoping this might help. Other ideas? Thanks - Julie

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Julie, what a great surprise to see you here! Welcome! I loved the pictures of Hanni and Mausi you sent via email. It will take a couple of days to get into a routine, but they will both come around. Make sure you and Harry spend time with each dog individually and toghethere (them too) so that they feel special and they feel part of a pack. You have to remember that Hanni's whole life has been overhauled drastically in the last month...TWICE. :)

Eating for Hanni will probably come slow...so don't let her free feed. Give her 15 minutes to eat (may have to hold her bowl) and that's it. She won't starve herself.

Otherwise, have fun...set houserules and life will get normal soon. :) thank you for adopting that cute girl!

Congratulations! Hanni sure is a pretty girl :) Dani gave you great advice. I hope we get to see more photos of your two together after your trip.

:) Sent positive thoughts for Queenie & the doodles!
Martha

Mausi is starting to warm up to Hanni. If I initiate play with Hanni, and then call Mausi over, Mausi will come by and start, too (tug of war with the stuffies). Then I back out and let them two do their thing. Lots of happy tails and piggy grunts. There seems to be some rules, Mausi can step in and offer to play with Hanni, but not reversed. This will last only a few minutes, and then everyone collapses for a quick nap.

Hanni also has been having a hard time settling down and falling asleep. We still don't have a crate for her (I'm trying to avoid it, but I'm thinking we're going to need it). She is tasting just about everything in the house, and gaining perspective from the tops of all sorts of things. She listens, but if I'm not here, uh, I'm worried about what that's going to look like. She has clearly not been exposed to much in life, poor thing.

Queenie goes home this weekend too. She is going to go live in the boonies above Ludington. Older guy, in his late 60's, used to be a high school history teacher for one of our local "upper class" public school systems.
He's an ornery old fart, that has chose to retire in the middle of nowhere after his wife passed about 3 yrs ago. He lives in a camper with water and electricty (yes, I was shocked they had power & plumbing that far into god's land)

Queenie really liked the guy and he likes the fact she has the hunting/handling training. He doesn't plan to hunt her, but she handles so nicely for him cuz he knows the same "language" she does.

I took her up there to visit his land and his chosen lifestyle, Queenie was suprisingly relaxed out there. None of her anxious "two-stepping" I see alot of here.
Interesting thing.... when Queenie was out there... she acted like a relaxed and "at ease" DOG! Can you believe it?

I am very happy for Queenie and I have no doubt that this lifestyle with this man is certainetly what she wants!

That is great news Tracy! WOOO HOOO for Queenie!

Julie, yeah, I would highly recommend a crate for hanni for now. From the other dogs, it seems like that has become their safety zone...a point of normalacy. And you are right, they haven't been exposed to much...but her fun loving personality will help her overcome her insecurities. It's one day at a time, one exeperience at a time. :)

Keep up the good work, and I hope your vacation is fun! :)

Dani

Were are the Labradoodles? I am interested in adopting them

I can't believe no one has snatched up Trusty, he looks like a total sweetheart!

I can't believe no one has snatched up Trusty, he looks like a total sweetheart!

Oh me either! I'm wondering if people are thinking he is one of those "too good to be true" situations.

Oh boy you went and changed your sig...he looks even sweeter in that pic.

****running away before I decide 3s company**** lol

Oh boy you went and changed your sig...he looks even sweeter in that pic.

****running away before I decide 3s company**** lol

:brow:

Go Deneen go. Go get Trusty! I can't believe he's still available. He's big; he's a beautiful shiny black, and his personality and temperament are perfect. He's what I call an uncomplicated dog; he's easy to love, easy to have in your life.

Who would have the thought the Queen's taste in castles would be so humble? I'm happy for Queenie!

Susan

I can't believe no one has snatched up Trusty, he looks like a total sweetheart!

He IS a total Sweetheart!!! and Great with other dogs. I had the good fortune to meet him with my Payton. He is Beautiful!! He was so good with my pesty, "jump on top of any dog" puppy. I wish my DH would say yes to us taking him! :( He keeps saying not right now. I just love Trusty! I feel like a stalker...I am keeping tabs on him!
Tracy, thanks for loving him at your home right now. I just hope someone out there can love him as much!
Suzan

This is just a wonderful thread....thanks to all who took such excellent care of all these wonderful labs!
It is so great that Hanni's mom joined the board...we get to see her beautiful Hanni learn to play and be a "real" lab finally!!!!











'

Hanni's Mom...Just a word of advice...when you go away with Hanni, make sure you keep her on a leash at all times. You'll probably want to let her off leash to run around, but she may run off and not come back to you. When I got Lizzy from the pound, I thought after 3 months that she would come back to me in our unfenced yard...WRONG! She took off and I had to chase her down for at least an hour! Just be on the safe side and keep her leashed. It takes them awhile to get used to you and to come to their new name.
I'd love to see more pics of your yellow babies!!!

Hi - We just got back home. Drummond Island was beautiful! Hanni's had a few ups and downs (and thanks for the advice, we kept her close). She's learned so much in just a week. I'm convinced she's never been in a home, everything was so new to her. She had quite a bit of anxiety about going down the stairs - I pretty much had to peel her off of the floor. She just shut down, frozen on the floor and whining. So I marched up and down the stairs with Mausi, so she could see, coaxed her, bribed her, everything. But she wasn't moving. I left her alone for a few minutes, to see if she could figure it out, but that made her panic more. So I had to drag her like a mule down the stairs. Then I marched her back up and did it again. Round #5 she did it all by herself, and now she has this cheesy grin and runs up and down to show off. A new staircase did the same thing to her, but I dragged her up and down again, and she only needed one round of that to conquer those, so I think she's learning!

She's really sensitive with things, though. I can't quickly get her to do anything, she just shuts down and stops moving, and we're back at square one.

The best part was going down to the lake. We walked out on the dock and I said to Harry: "I wonder if she likes.... [SPLOOSH]" she was already in the water. They swam everyday, and we had a lot of fun exploring all the beaches. Drummond Island is pretty remote (off the eastern tip of Michigan's U.P.) and we often had the beaches all to ourselves. It's a great dog-friendly place. Pretty much everyone we ran into had two, three, four dogs with them. People without dogs were always coming up to us to meet them. Oh, they loved the foam retriever toys from armadillofoam.com

My other dog is playing tug with her, but that's about it. Hanni nips at Mausi's ears and legs, trying to get her to play more rough, but Mausi ignores her, or runs to me for help. Mausi's been pretty clingy, but slinks off rejected when Hanni butts in and pushes Mausi away from me. She also looks quite rejected when Hanni beats her out in fetching something. How should I handle these things? I've been ignoring it so far, letting Mausi set her own boundaries of what she wants. But look at some of these pictures, doesn't Mausi look sad in the car? She is normally not like that.

I still need to go out and get her a crate, though. She piddles wherever and whenever she wants, even when I'm sure her bladder must be empty. I don't know if it's nervousness, or she just doesn't know where to go, or what. This hasn't improved over the week, so it's something to keep working on. I'm open for ideas on that, too. Anything, really.

We're also still working on getting her to look and listen. She doesn't seem to perk up and want to listen to our voices. I don't think she's had much interaction with people talking to her. We've been working with her name (call name-eye contact-praise/treat), commands "come," "sit," "down." She's gotten pretty good with sit and down (as long as I guide her into the position), but her name or "come" draws a blank. She's relaxing on my feet right now, and when I lean down and say her name, she doesn't bother to look at me. It's like she doesn't know I'm talking to her, or doesn't know that it means "look/listen."

But on a positive note, she's learned SO much, I'm really proud of her. In a little over a week, she's learned how to manuever around a house, play, fetch, meet new people, "sit," "down," swim in deeper water, climb the stairs, "no," got to taste all sorts of new things (probably bad on my part...but they get tastes when I'm done eating - the funniest was seeing her with ice cream, grape tomato, marshmallow).
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Julie,
She has never been in a house other to whelp her litter before. She does need a crate...that is her safety zone...it will also help with house breaking. It will be okay for Mausi to be uncrated and Hanni to be crated while you run out or at night....If you don't catch her piddling...clean it up and ignore, if you do, NO! and bring her outside...then praise her like a new years eve party when she correctly potties outside.

These guys need a lot of self esteem boosting...and they need to learn full fledged trust in humans. We are pretty sure that they were all hit at one point or another.

What is key with Hanni (actually would be true of any new dog you bring into your pack) is that you should spend time alone with each dog and then time with them together...training, loving, etc. There will be shuffling around for status, but it will calm down...they are going to have to adjust to your regular home now that you are there. Don't coddle Mausi when she comes to you and seems dejected. Coddling will reinforce that behavior and it's not a desired behavior...you want the dogs to get along and interact.

You are doing fine. Transisition will be continous....patience and love will get everyone settled in.

Oh and the stairs...it's exactly what I do to get dogs accustomed to them. YOu have to drag them up and down a few times, but they get the hang of it...just like pottying...she'll get the hang of it. It didn't take long for the 4 girls that we had in my house to catch on.

Thanks for the advice + info. I don't know why my pics aren't showing. They are also posted here: http://fraujoolie.blogspot.com/
I just came home with the crate. She's actually been sleeping really well with us, so I think I'll stick with that routine.
Man, this girl loves to play. I guess there's more to life than being a mother, huh?

Love the photos! Look at that HUGE smile on her face! :)