Caroline Black Labrador Retriever & Hound Mix Cincinnati, OH

Notes from Caroline’s foster family:
Caroline is doing well. She has been free of accidents in the house for a week now. We let her out frequently, but she will go to the door to go out if she needs to go. She is good with “sit” and “down”, and working on “come”. She plays independently outside in the yard. She loves “frisbee” and will bring it back after a throw but doesn’t “drop” it. Typical lab behavior. She loves to play tug of war and we try to only use appropriate toys for this.

Inside, she settles down on a rug beside us when we have lunch or dinner. She enjoys a Kong Bone toy with peanut butter or cream cheese filler. She also likes to play independently with a plastic bottle with kibble bits inside (no lid). We pick the bottle up when empty because she likes to chew and will bite pieces off the top. She has several nylon bones she likes to chew and we have given her smaller snack size chewies (not rawhide). She likes squeaky toys.

She likes to snuggle when she is finished playing and will curl up on the sofa or on her pad to rest. She sleeps through the night on a bed in our bedroom. She is reasonably compliant on a leash for a walk. She is distracted by cars, other dogs, squirrels, and other people which I feel would be easy to resolve with some training. She plays well with other dogs and with children. She may be “excited” at first, so I would recommend a warm-up time. She has a crate and is crate trained (although we do not use it). She has only been left alone for a couple of hours. She was allowed access to our living room during that time with no problems.

She took some time to get to know us. Not unusually long, just don’t expect a first day kinship. She is still very puppylike, this is most likely due to her spending the majority of her life in boarding. When tired or frustrated she may jump up and play with your shoes and pant legs. She thinks this is a fun time and is learning that is not an appropriate way of playing. She also likes to play at the door and not always come in right away. That seems to be a fun game labs like to play as they are known for this. Adding a long leash that can be stepped on and redirecting Caroline to come in is a great way to work on training her out of this.

Caroline has come a long way and has shown great progress. She is a true example of what rescue is in our book. Taking in a foster and teaching her how to be a dog when so many people didn't give her a chance has truly been a reward in itself.

Who wants to continue helping Caroline be the best version of herself? If that is you apply at https://www.rescueahart.org/!

All HART dogs are spayed/neutered, microchipped and up to date on all vaccines, including bordatella and rabies. They are heartworm tested and on preventative for heartworm, fleas, and ticks. If you are interested in any of our pets, you must complete an online dog adoption application at www.rescueAhart.org . The application will put you in touch with this wonderful dog's foster family so you can schedule a meeting. Thanks! www.rescueAhart.org