Harry's possible new Labradoodle friend/rescue - help please!
 

Good afternoon everyone! :)

My daughter Anna has just driven 100+ miles to rescue an 18 month old labradoodle little boy.

His 'skin-mummy' died yesterday, and none of the family were able, or wanted, to cope with him. He was going to be put to sleep tonight. She is taking him home, to her house, right now.

Anna is taking him to her vet tomorrow morning (he's very thin) - and then to the groomers, as he is very badly matted (underneath all that fur!). She's stopping at a pet store on the way home to buy absolutely everything he needs (or she likes! :D). We've had labradors - and we've had poodles - but never the mix!


Anna works full time (although a certain amount of it can be done from her home). She also has 2 Persian 'house cats' - but a lot of support from her family/friends. What I please need to ask you is - any advice/tips for both her and me?

Thank you! :) Sally + Harry x

I have no experience with rescues or labradoodles, but I did want to say how amazing you guys are! That is just so wonderful that you are rescuing him. I know he will be so happy! I hope all goes well!

Good luck Sally and Anna..i have no knowledge of labs except my DD has one and they adore him, i have had poodles and love them but no not mixes..

Thank you both! It's the interaction with the cats I'm worried about for her too....plus the working....:) Plus everything else! :D

I have experience with rescues and and Lab mixes, and know two Labradoodles. They are gorgeous dogs and very smart. The two I know are trained service dogs.

Obviously, a trip to the vet will put your mind at ease regarding health issues, and I encourage you to do that.

I do not know how bad the new baby is, nutritionally, but my worst was so bad she was very emaciated, dehydrated, almost dead and couldn't hold food down. I gave her very small amounts of concentrated eggnog at first, smearing it on her mouth so she'd lick it off, and when she could hold food down, gradually increasing the amount, then adjusting her food both in volume, type, and substantial-ness. That's a new word I just made up, but I seem to recall the next step was really soft barely cooked scrambled eggs for the natural EFA's, etc., then stuff like gently baked/boiled chicken, then adding a high protein dog food, etc. to get her energy levels up and build her muscles etc. She recovered nicely and was a great dog, loved little boys, and we found her a wonderful family with two little boys...boys and dog bonded immediately.

As far as the cats are concerned, I had Shep/Labs and 'inherited' the feral cat who 'owned' the house when I bought it. Take no aggression toward the cats in stride...always intercede...no" is a great word! My Shep/Labs were natural hunters, but also naturally sweet, and naturally people pleasers...they learned very quickly what I wanted and obliged me...even going against their natural instincts. I cannot promise that will happen though. Depending on how bad the dog is now, you may not have any issue at all...my last rescue was a Shep/Lab and he never had any issues with the kitties even though he was also a great natural hunter, and I have photos of how much the kitties loved him. They would snuggle with him until he had to leave 'cuz he wanted to sleep and they wanted to nuzzle and kiss.

You can do this...and bless you all for taking this project on. Good luck! Take care!

Thank you Cat, for all your wonderful, sound advice :)

Apparently the new little boy 'Luka' travelled home brilliantly to my daughter's house, all snuggled up in his new bed and blankets, as good as gold in the boot (trunk?!!?) of her car....we shall see. The poor little boy's probably in shock...wondering what on earth's going to happen to him next....God bless him :) Thank you. Sally + Harry x

That's wonderful! Sounds like he's settled in and already believes he is in a better place! One thing's for certain, whatever happens to him now has an excellent chance of being better than what he's just come from! Take care! :)

It's great that your daughter is helping this poor dog. If you and she know how to teach basic obedience then you have a good sound foundation on which to start. Sit, stay and down are basic and help so much when dealing with any dog. It sounds like this guy has been neglected badly for a while so he may need all kinds of help.

Hope things go well for all of you.

That's wonderful of your daughter. I'm sure he'll be very, very happy in his new home.

Louie is a rescue, and we have only had him for 5 days, but he's already started to settle in well. I think with rescues it all takes time. Their experiences in life have all been tinged with uncertainty or fear, so they need some extra love and spoiling to realize that they have finally found there "fur-ever" home. Good luck to your daughter and God bless her for saving the life of an innocent!

What an awesome daughter you have for saving this pup! It souns like he has been through alot and not taken care of as he should have been. A friend of mine has a goldendoodle and she is an absolute doll....easy to train also - I think that is the poodle part! Best of luck to her and her new furbaby!

That's great that your daughter went to rescue him. Sounds like he will settle in to his new home quickly.

How great that your DD would take this young dog in:D. I had standard poodles prior to Yorkies and they were super dogs. Hope this one has a good disposition and is easy to love!

I am guessing that Luka is a very lucky big boy :D:D:D

Good morning everyone! :)

Firstly, thank you all for your wonderful comments and input, which I've passed onto Anna.

Just a quick update - apparently it ended up with Luka and the 2 cats all asleep in Anna's room! She had put Luka all cosied up in her kitchen - but at midnight the cries were so pitiful that she brought him into her room, in his own bed though, he's too big to share! And then there was peace until 7 a.m.!! :D

Ted (the more outgoing cat) apparently woke Luka with a swipe of his paw on his nose - but I've said to Anna it's early days yet, and Ted's probably establishing the pecking order?!!

He has the vet appointment in half an hour, then straight to the groomers (poor boy - he must wonder what on earth's hit him!!) and then I'm popping over to meet him - but not Harry, not this time! :)

So it seems to be going as well as it can for less than 24 hours - thanks again everyone - will keep you posted! Sally + Harry x

I bought my kitties a climbing tree, so they have a place to get up and out of reach of the Yorkies. I think too, that they actually fight less due the kitties feeling less threatened and knowing they can get away and not be hounded. Of course, the kitties are mostly bigger than the Yorkies, which will not be the case at your daughter's house, lol!

Labradoodles were the first of the 'designer' breeds, the original breeder tried to create a hypoallergenic dog to be trained as a service dog for the handicapped.

Best of Luck with and Congratulations on the new family member!

Thank you! :)

Yes, they do have one of those climbing trees - it's enormous actually, almost up to the ceiling, so that's in place if need be - and labradoodle-proof as it's on a very heavy base so can't be 'knocked' over!

I've also suggested she gets a tall baby gate for their spare room? The kitties are Persians - but that's mainly fluff as you know! :) So they can get through/over into 'their' room should they need to get away from Luka!

He appears to be a very good boy (so far!) - no accidents indoors and things still seem to be going very smoothly :xfingers: (they're probably all still in shock!!) Sally + Harry x

I met one Labradoodle at Petsmart last summer... he was beautiful... but huge! Very calm though... I thought he was some kind of wolfhound, he was very tall!

We do have a lot of them 'over here' - but they seem to vary in size enormously (I suppose depending on whether they're more 'Labra' or 'Doodle' !!!) :)

I saw one a couple of weeks ago who was also enormous - but one of the most handsome looking dogs I'd ever seen, people were stopping him (and the owner!) in the street.

Apparently 'Luka' is brown (I only saw him briefly last night, in Anna's car, in the dark, on their way home!) but will be meeting him properly in about an hour - woo hoo! Our dog prior to Harry was a girl labrador - very pale gold and small for a lab, but at least Anna's more used to slightly larger dogs!

Oh, I do hope it all works out for them all - but at least Anna can rest assured that she's saved his life, and that she's now doing all she possibly can to get him back to health and sorted out! :D Sally + Harry x

He sounds like a doll and hopefully everyone will continue to get along nicely. Wish Anna (and Luke) good luck at the vet's and the groomer's today!

This is so exciting! I hope things work out too! Keep us updated.... will you be taking your camera with you?

Thank you everybody!

Oh, me and cameras don't get on at all! :D I've only taken about 4 piccies of Harry (and they're all rubbish!) so I leave it to everyone else! I daresay Anna's taken loads already, on her camera and her phone.

I've got a funny feeling he's going to look very strange for a while yet though - he's going to have to be shaved as he's so terribly matted - I don't think he's ever been taken care of properly at all :( Sally + Harry x

Give that new grandpup hugs from us :)

Aaaah! My new grandpup! :)

Oh, he's a funny looking thing at the moment - he did have to be shaved, almost completely, what a mess he was in! He's brown, and looks like a large shaved lamb!

Anna was so worried about him feeling the cold (after all those curls!) that we had to go and buy him a nice winter coat - and then the new lead didn't match the coat - and on it went...!!! :D

He has beautiful eyes, and a very sweet temperament. I told him to sit - and he did. I told him to stay - and he did. Someone's taught him some things along the way :) Apparently he's eating well (he needs to!) and potties outside. He's thin - but not emaciated at all. Thank goodness for that.

His health check went very well - just needs to put some weight on. Anna's waiting to receive Luka's paperwork, then any jabs that he needs will be done. She has booked him in for training classes starting in 2 weeks time, to give him a chance to settle down/in first - actually with Harry's groomer who does training/agility etc and agility at Crufts.

So that really is the story so far - my only concern now is Anna going back to work tomorrow, but she's doing the morning only then working from home in the afternoon. Her neighbour is going to keep an ear out, and also pop in to let him out so he can do his business. Fingers crossed everybody! :)

Thank you all for your interest and concern - I'll let you know of any updates if that's ok? Sally + Harry x

That is definitely wonderful news!!! :D Glad to hear it is going so well.

Sounds like this guy has a guardian angel to bring him from the point of being put down to living in a home that loves and cares for him so much.

It made me think that many of us should make arrangements ahead of time for our animals in case something were to happen to us. Sickness and disease, accidents happen and most of us are never planning for it. Who would take care of our furry family members if we were not here to do it? I''m sure Luka's original owner never intended for him to be put down when they died.

Just a thought. It's not a pleasant thought but one everyone should consider.

Can't wait to see pictures of this very blessed fellow.

Thank you :)

It was such a convoluted story as to how Anna ended up even knowing about Luka's plight - involving her partner, her partner's sister (who's a zoo keeper at London Zoo) and various other twists and turns. Goodness only knows how many millions of animals are inadvertantly put to sleep - due to lack of forethought :(

I truly don't mean to sound like a 'know-all' - but I must admit I have made provision for Harry (and actually our previous dogs) should he survive both Andy and I - of course after much discussion with my family and friends. It's written into my Will - and an amount has been put aside to provide for him, for the rest of his life - or any other animals I might have at the time.

I'm sorry to sound morbid (I'm not usually!!?!! :)) - but you're quite right to bring this up - thank you. Sally + Harry x