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Thread: Hi! New member.

  1. #1
    Puppy
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    Hi! New member.

    Hi,

    I'm new here. Today we rescued a lab. I found this site looking for guidance on how best to bring this dog into our home. I'm a little tired after wrestling with her for the last several hours - so I am going to unload my thoughts so you guys know where I'm coming from...

    A co-worker showed me a picture of a lab that needed a new home. The family who had the lab got the lab at Christmas time, realized early on they weren't going to be able to take care of the dog and put her in the backyard and left her. Basically, she is in the backyard all day while the family is away then put in an airline crate at night. The dog was going to be put into a shelter. I felt pity for the dog and after talking with my family we decided to bring her home. Let me tell you the picture was great...the in person meeting was not so good. The dog had fleas, was filthy, smelled, had never been on a leash, and barked non-stop. She even did an alligator roll trying to get off the leash. She is so starved for attention if you get close to her kennel she pushes her face sideways up against it trying to get touched.

    After getting her home and making the introductions, she is now bathed, brushed, flea treatment, fed, and plenty of petting.

    Anyway, I'm exhausted, and will be scouring this site for ALL tips on how best to integrate this 8-month old dog into our home and how best to handle her so she begins to behave better. I know it will take time. I'm patient. Just looking for the best techniques for her and want to help her have a family that she knows will love on her and be with her all the time. No more outdoors all day alone.

    Well, aside from that, I'm a web developer, with three children, living a little south of Atlanta on 30 acres. We homeschool, and I am looking forward to meeting all the interesting people on this site.

    Thanks for listening.

    Shawn.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog zd262's Avatar
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    Welcome Shawn! It sounds like you did an amazing thing for this dog, who I'm sure will love you unconditionally in return. At 8 months your pup is in throw throws of his "teenage phase" so you'll probably get some great advice here!

    The tech company I work for has a few web developers also outside of Atlanta...who knew that was so common!

  3. #3
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Hello and Welcome!

    Thank you so much for rescuing. First thing I would get her to a vet for a good checkup. Take any info with you regarding any vacs she may have had/what she needs.

    Next, tons of love and patience. Get her in a basic obedience class, one that uses positive reinforcement. The entire family should be involved, all training the same way so she won't get confused. For the first couple of weeks she will be getting used to you and you to her. You'll need to start with potty training 101 also. She'll learn fast. Labs love to please their family. Train with consistency, patience, love, patience, plenty of treats, love and, oh did I say patience. What is her name?

    Would love to see pictures of her.
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  4. #4
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    Hi and welcome! Thank you so much for rescuing this poor baby. I am sure you will have some tough times ahead but once she realizes she has a family that loves her and will give her the time and attention she deserves she will be the great dog she was always meant to be.

    My best advice would be to get in to a basic obedience class ASAP. In the mean time keep her on a schedule so she begins to feel secure as quickly as possible. Please don't hesitate to ask questions, there are many helpful, knowledgeable members here that will do all they can to guide you on your journey.

    Congratulations and wishing you much luck. Labs are great dogs, they definitely steal your heart!
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  5. #5
    Senior Dog MikeLynn's Avatar
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    Hi, welcome and thank you for giving the poor girl a chance to get the life she deserves. You've already been given some great advice by the people who posted here earlier. When I read your post, the first thing I realized was: an absolutely unsocialized labrador teenager will definitely require a lot of time, love, care, patience, and attention , but believe me it'll be worth it; labs are amazing dogs. Wishing you a lot of good luck and we'll be looking forward to some pictures of your girl; BTW, what's her name? M&M
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  6. #6
    Senior Dog sparky's Avatar
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    Hello & welcome. Thank you for saving this little girl. As others have said she will need lots of love and paitence. Routine is very important, puppy class/ training with the whole family is important. Most of all love.
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  7. The Following User Says Thank You to sparky For This Useful Post:

    MikeLynn (09-04-2015)

  8. #7
    Puppy
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    Thanks for all the greetings. I will see if I can reply to all in this post.

    @zd262 - My wife and I did some quick math this morning and think the dog is more like 10-months old. If they purchased her at Christmas time, you would think she was at least 8 weeks old before she was sent to her new home. So we will go with 10-months old. Still you're right, in the teenage phase. I have two teenage sons - what's one more? Atlanta is a popular spot for tech workers, not surprising to me.

    @POPTOP - Check-up done, everything is good, and shots up-to-date. I have spoken to an obedience trainer about 15 minutes from my house. She uses positive reinforcement training as you suggested. I am not a fan of group classes, so private classes is what I inquired about. I will update more on this once I have the details from the trainer. We have plenty of love, a little short on patience this morning. She wanted to be at my feet while I had my morning coffee, and then decided to leap from laying position into my lap. Needless to say we both wore a warm cup of coffee. My wife got a nice laugh out of it. :-) Her name is Riley, the dog not my wife. My wife is Faith. Here are a couple grainy pictures:



    @Maxx&Emma - I am expecting the tough times. But I had a tender moment last night...I decided to sit on the floor so she can have access to me. She kept wanting to get on the bed, but I'm not ready to allow that, especially without being invited. She was chewing on a bone, and decided the best place to do that was to lay completely across my body, which looked uncomfortable, and chew the bone. It was amusing and heart warming. As far as her schedule goes, we are very regimented about feeding schedules - pretty much same time each day. Going out follows a very close schedule as well. This has worked for us with previous dogs and hopefully will serve us well with Riley.

    @MikeLynn - Her name is Riley. We have plenty of love to offer her. Patience I'm pretty good with, I'm sure there will be some time outs for both Riley and myself. Kind of a "step-back" and take a few breaths situations. No different than dealing with my 13 & 15 year old sons. :-)

    @sparky - Thanks for the advice. I love routine myself and will be glad to provide the stability of routine to Riley. Hopefully she will have some patience for me too!

    Now, I am going to start reading ALL the forums and posting my questions. I'm sure some are redundant and advice has been given before on the topic. I will try to research first and ask second to keep the redundancy down. Thanks in advance for all the guidance. I've had puppies, and purchased fully trained dogs, but never been in a situation quite like this. Never have had a CRAZY, love starved, pet - so this will be a new journey.

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to shawnjanes For This Useful Post:

    MikeLynn (09-04-2015)

  10. #8
    Senior Dog MikeLynn's Avatar
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    I'm sure Riley will love you for everything you've been doing and have done for her, and I believe she already does - lying across your body, chewing on her favorite bone. Some of those positions are really uncomfortable, for me, but I'm so flattered that they love me so much that I just don't move because I don't won't to disturb the serenity of the moment. Some of them are simply priceless

  11. #9
    Senior Dog ChoppersDad's Avatar
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    Hello and welcome to the party. You are going to be fine. Seems like you are well on your way to turning this Lab's life around. Thank you for that. How's Atlanta? I used to live in Midtown Atlanta for 18 years.

  12. #10
    Senior Dog 4Thelove's Avatar
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    Love your story- Hello and Welcome!

 



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