Lana
Lana is an 8 yr. old female who loves to play fetch and get belly rubs!
1/11/12
Sorry I haven’t written in awhile – I am recovering from the holidays! Some big fat guy in a red suit brought me some really yummy treats and a Kong Frisbee! Don’t know who he is, but he can bring me stuff anytime. Only problem was when I came downstairs on Christmas morning my stupid furbrother ripped open my present and was playing with the paper…that’s okay as long as I got to play with my new toy. Sometimes Denver and I play tug with it and sometimes FM throws it to me….and sometimes I even catch it before it hits the ground. FM says she never had a “Frisbee” dog before, whatever THAT is. We had lots of visitors during this time and so I got to meet some new people. Everyone just loved me and I took turns snuggling and getting pets from everyone.
My tail is now totally healed. Although my ear infection is better I still need to have my ears cleaned daily to prevent wax from building up and becoming a problem. I am still doing training in the car and that is going to be ongoing.
I love my foster family, but FM and FD work full time and I get lonely in the laundry room by myself. I wish I could live where someone would be home more often and give me the cuddling and attention I deserve….maybe take some walks or watch some chick-flicks…whatever you want to do, I’m there!
12/13/11
Hey – it’s me, Lana. Last week my pet-sitter, Caralee took some really cool pictures of me and my bud, Denver! She recently graduated from photography school and decided to capture some of my “star” quality I guess. She even got some pics of me jumping up and down on all fours with my ears flopping all around. These made FM laugh out loud!
I have some really good news. Yesterday was the first day that I stayed in the house all day while FM and FD went to work – and other than really having to go pee when FD got home, I did good all day. I just chewed my bone and slept. I am getting better in the car too. We are taking baby steps….I can sit in the back seat with the door closed and be very relaxed while I eat hot dog pieces and get petted. She talks and sings to me which I think is silly – I just want those hot dogs! FM says I am such a quick learner – I just need lots of practice. She says tomorrow we are going to try putting my seat belt harness on while sitting in the car. I will give you an update on that.
My foster fur-brother, Denver has been playing nicer with me lately. Instead of jumping on me, he brings me a tug toy and tries to get me to grab it or chase him. He is such a goof! When he gets too rough I tell him about it…we can usually work things out. If not, then FM or FD takes charge. After a good play session it’s time to “chill” as FM says. Sometimes I decide to turn in early and just go upstairs to my bed for the night while Denver crashes on the loveseat. I hear FM say, “Where’s the yellow one?” ( I think she’s talking about me) – then she realizes I went upstairs. She says I am gaining more confidence since I don’t need to be in the same room with them all of the time.
Well, time to take a snooze. Enjoy the pics!
12/4/11
Lana is progressing wonderfully with having roam of the laundry room while we are out. If my resident dog weren’t such a rough player I would have no problem letting Lana have roam of the house. She does not get into anything that isn’t hers. I have gotten her into the routine of giving her a sterile bone stuffed with treats and peanut butter. She has learned to go to her bed and wait for it just like my dog does. I give it to her as I am walking out the door. Not a peep from her as leave. Upon returning she barks, but it is a normal bark and not a distressed bark.
As for the car, we just started desensitization training today. She ran to the car sniffing and excited like she wanted to get in. I opened the back cargo door and back side door of my SUV and she jumped in the cargo area and into the back seat. I let her sniff around and then sat in the back seat with her feeding her high-value treat – hot dog pieces. She was a little nervous but not over-stimulated like she was when I picked her up and took her to the vet. She got the the point of laying down stretched across the back seat with her front paws on my lap eating hot dog. At this point she was semi-relaxed. I should have stopped at that point on a happy note. Instead, I went back in the house to get something and came back out for round two. This time I let my dog in the car too b/c he wanted treats also. Bad idea. This time around Lana got a little more nervous and started wagging her tail hitting it against the car. Her tail has been doing very well and I didn’t want it to get injured again, so I stopped the session. This is a learning process for both of us. The next time I will do one short session and stop it while she is calm and happy.
In all other areas she is doing fabulous – fitting in like a member of the family! She has her favorite toys and games and is such a snuggler that I can’t walk past her without giving her a big hug or kiss. When I try that with my dog who is very independent, I can almost see him rolling his eyes at me LOL! Outside she still enjoys a good game of fetch or catch. She is so silly when she wants you to throw the ball she jumps up on all four and barks. My husband calls her “hipity.” And since my dog likes to try to hump her, I call him “humper.” So now we have humper and hipity in our household.
Since acclimating so well with our daily routine, Lana has been so easy to foster. The anxiety issues were a challenge at first, but we are taking one day at a time and things are definitely getting easier.
Regards,
Lana’s Foster Mom
11/17/11
Hi everyone – I am Lana and I am a sweet and petite yellow girl who is just full of love. A nice lady from Brookline sprang me from the shelter last night and drove me a long way to meet another Brookline lady who took me home. I was soooooo stressed in the car….I didn’t know what was happening. Once I got to my foster home I met my foster fur-brother Denver and foster dad. I had a rough evening panting, pacing and drinking lots. But I sure got lots of lovin’
Foster mom (FM) said that my first night here went better than expected. I slept on the floor in the guest room and only got up one time at 3am because I had to pee from all that water I drank. When I came I thought it was time to wake up and play, but FM told me differently. When I couldn’t settle, she invited me up on the bed with my bone. I just love to snuggle in bed. I chewed the bone for awhile and then fell asleep snuggled up to FM.
11/18/11
This morning I felt a little less stress then last night after getting a good night’s rest. I ate all my food and took my meds real good. I am being treated for an ear infection and “Happy Tail,” which really isn’t happy at all. You see I am such a happy girl that I wag my tail all the time. In the shelter my tail kept hitting the kennel walls and split open. So I need to take some medicine so it doesn’t get infected and also keep a bandage on my tail which is really hard to do.
I took FM for a walk today. I pull hard because there are just so many smells to smell. FM made me wear this funny looking harness that connects to a leash in the front. Whatever….I still was able to go, go, go.
After breakfast my fur-bro Denver and I played in the yard. This place has some really cool balls and I found one that I really like. It looks like a mini basket ball but it is deflated. I run and chase it and bring it to FM to throw again and again. She laughs at me and tells me how cute I am playing. She tells me I am a typical lab…whatever that is. Denver has this silly green rubbery ball that he likes so he doesn’t bother my ball at all. My ball is better than his.
FM makes such a fuss when I give her kisses and lean in to her for pets. What’s the big deal? Isn’t that what we labbies are supposed to do?
One thing that makes me sad is when FM and FD leave me. I like my crate and go in it ok, but when they walk away from me I just can’t help barking and barking. They are trying some calming aids with me, but they may take a while to work. I also don’t like the car very much and get really upset. I had to go to the vet hospital tonight to have my ears and tail checked and I REALLY did not like that ride. I like the car and will hop in fine, but then I get all worked up and start barking and barking again. As soon as I am out of the crate and car, I am my normal sweet little self!
11/21/11
Today, this guy in a white truck came and delivered a package. Guess what – the package was for ME! It had some really cool stuff in it….like treats and toys and my very own matching collar and leash! I love the fleece tug toy the best! Denver stole the stuffed toy and tried to get me to play with that….but I just took my tug toy and ran! Check out the pic of me and Denver playing tug!
11/22/11
In areas besides the car and being left alone I am is progressing wonderfully. I have settled into my foster home really well. Denver taught me what his routine is and I just follow what he does. FM says I am so fun to play with. I like playing tug and I am really good at it. I pull so hard that Denver can’t even hold on most times…that means I’m the winner!
FM says I have become a challenge because since I have to wear that stupid cone on my head while my tail is bandaged I can’t reach any stuffed Kong or bone she gives me to keep me busy while she leaves in the morning. So we are going to get a trainer to help me realize that no one is going to leave me for very long. FM also thought that having a petsitter come it might help me feel reassured. I met Caralee today and she is really cool. She is going to come tomorrow and Friday and play with me at lunchtime!
11/23/11
Today was the first day that FM and FD both had to go to work all day. I didn’t like that and barked and barked when they left. But Caralee came to see me today like she promised and we had fun! I was really stressed and chewed my bandage off. But as soon as FM and FD came home all was right with the world. Time to play ball!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Hopefully, my furever family will find me soonJ
