Introducing:

Taken in: 2012-12-30

Hello there! Thank you for reading my bio! I'm a sweet and polite two-year-old Chocolate Labrador Retriever. You can think of me as 91 pounds of pure fun! Even though I'm a big boy, don't let that fool you. I'm still pretty much a little kid and all I want to do is play with my toys all day. It's normal for me to wake up from a dead sleep and then grab my tennis ball if I notice there's someone nearby to see if they'd like to play fetch with me, so be sure to have lots of toys available when I finally get to come home with you so I can have a fun time figuring out which one to start carrying around in my mouth.

My foster dad was told that I used to be a purely outdoor dog before I got here. Nevertheless, I've been very good once I started staying with him - not a single accident in his home ever! I'm a natural when it comes to indoor living; I'm patient and obedient at all times, and other than my constantly wagging tail (I'm always happy and grateful to be with such kind humans!) occasionally bumping against the walls and making a "thump, thump" sound, it's possible you may even forget that I'm there at all because I'm so quiet and hardly make any sort of fuss.

I enjoy attention and there's nothing in the world that I would ever want more than being able to give free kisses to everyone! (I've got plenty to spare! Would you like some?) But in spite of that, I'm not needy. I may come up to you on occasion to see if you'd like to join me for a game or two of fetch, or perhaps you might be interested in giving me a hug along with a tummy rub. But if you tell me that you're busy at the moment and don't have the time, then I'll leave you alone and won't take it personally. I'll just go back to what I was doing previously (most likely carrying my tennis ball around from place to place) and entertain myself that way.

BACKYARD
It'd be great if you have a backyard with an open space that I can use to run around, which I will do on occasions once I'm comfortable with my new home and feel reasonably safe in it. I can run really, really, really fast!!! I'll sprint in a big circle three or four times - at super-duper speed! - especially during those times when I'm particularly giddy playing with my toys. Then when I'm done you'll see me trotting back indoors for a quick drink with a goofy smile on my face the entire time, enjoying myself, just happy to be there.

If you happen to have citrus fruits in your backyard, from time to time I've been known to eat one or two that drop to the ground, and so on occasion you may see an orange sitting by itself in the middle of your kitchen floor. I left it there; I'm saving it for later so I can munch on it as part of my afternoon snack. I'm also a pineapple aficionado. I've never been one to do any sort of dirt-digging or fence scratching or any other sort of messy activities like those while here in my foster home, but if you do happen to have a pineapple planted in there somewhere, there is a possibility that I may eventually end up pulling it out one day and carrying it around in my mouth just because they smell so good!

By now you probably have noticed a pattern in that I like carrying things around and moving them from place to place. One thing I'm also known for is picking up a shoe that's laying around in the property and bringing them inside to show to you. I've not been known to do anything destructive with them, I just like transporting stuff. But my foster dad is paranoid and so he hid every single one of the footwear and placed them out of my reach once I started carrying them around a few times. But yeah, you can definitely train me to bring a pair of slippers to you, if you like. I really enjoy doing that sort of thing.

OUTDOOR WALKS
My exercise is a very important part of my daily routine, and so I hope you'll be able to take me out for my daily run. Twice a day would be ideal, but at the bare minimum I will need to go out at least once. If circumstances are such that we really can't go out for a certain period of time, I can probably make do for a while by burning up some of my excess energy with my backyard sprints and with simply playing with all the toys you have for me. But eventually I'll get antsy without any outdoor activities because I rely on it to help keep me in shape and so my perfect, ideal human would be one that is an active, outdoorsy-type person.

Another thing to note is that I used to be a major puller whenever I'm on a leash when I first arrived at my foster home - I'm a very strong boy and so back then you'd need to be pretty sturdy yourself in order to be able to keep me in check. But as I said I'm a lot better now, and so these days you'll be able to enjoy a leisurely time with me whenever we go out without having to worry about needing to do any sort of pulling or resisting in order to keep me in control. I do have fairly long legs though, and my normal gait is something that approaches a quick trot, so it'd be perfect for both of us if you're a regular jogger. That way, you get to do your exercise and now you'll have a running buddy to accompany you. Otherwise, I'll end up having to constantly outpace you if you prefer to simply walk. It's no big deal in terms of the pulling issue; at this point all you'll feel is a slight tug once the leash runs out of slack. But my ideal preference is to get around at a relatively quick pace. I can go about a mile without slowing down. In fact, I can probably even go a lot farther than that but my foster dad is a slowpoke and out of shape and so we can't really go too far without having to stop multiple times in order to give him a chance to catch his breath.

Another very important thing to consider when we're out for walks is that I will chase any kind of small animal that we may end up coming across - squirrels, little dogs, and so on. This is when I sometimes forget my training and revert back to my old pulling days. You will need to be ready and brace yourself because I will lunge with all my might and start to go after the little critters scurrying away. Be assertive and remind me that it's a no-no. You may need to enroll me for some formal training to help me completely extinguish this trait. When it comes to seeing other big doggies, I may also start to pull because I want to meet them and say hi, but it won't be as bad. You're still going to need to rein me in though if you don't want me to go near them.

PLAY TIME
Among my host of special talents, I'm able to stuff two tennis balls in my mouth! Haha! But I only do it on rare occasions so you won't get to see me do it a lot. With the way I have the balls arranged in my mouth, I can actually even put a third one in there, but I've never tried that particular trick yet.

On occasions, I may come up to you with a play-growl sound with a ball in my mouth as I approach. It's just my special way of asking if you'd like to join in on the fun because I would really, really like it if you could play with me at that moment. Don't be scared! I wag my hips and tail the entire time as a way of telling you I'm happy and enjoying myself. But if you're not in the mood or otherwise can't participate, that's okay. Just let me know, I'll find a nice corner somewhere and play with my toys by myself. You may want to stock up on extra tennis balls by the way (among other toys), because I've been known to play rough with a few of them to the point where I will sometimes rip off the cover of a tennis ball. So if I have lots of them lying around, then I can use one or two of them as my personal chew-toys and rip and shred away to my heart's content, and leave the rest for chase and retrieval practice!

SLEEPING ARRANGEMENT
I sleep on the floor. My foster home has a crate available for doggies like me to use so that we'll all feel nice and comfy and secure while we're staying there, but I never use it. I went inside it one time for a few seconds and sniffed around just out of curiosity and then immediately came back out and never went near it ever again after that. It's just not my thing. I usually start to get sleepy around 8pm, and will attempt to find a quiet place to curl up and sleep by 8:30. But don't let my sleep schedule inconvenience you, though. I'm quite resilient and don't get bothered by noises, so just keep doing what you're doing and I'll be fine.

In general, I'm okay with loud noises in and of itself. For example, the humans use a vacuum cleaner next to me when cleaning the house and I will tolerate it. Not super crazy about it, of course, but it's not a big deal for me. One important thing you may want to take note though is that my foster dad was told that I am very scared with fireworks and will freak out and try to escape if I ever hear them! One night, I was sleeping all nice and comfy in my own little corner while my foster dad was still up watching some action film on TV when the scene turned into this major firefight with guns and explosions everywhere! The volume happened to be turned all the way up, which normally doesn't bother me, but in this particular case I woke up and came up to him with a worried look on my face. Just try to reassure me (and you may want to turn the volume a bit lower during any sort of explosion scenes) and I'll calm down and go back to sleep.

MEAL TIME
If you accidentally put too much food in my bowl, I won't try to finish it all just for the sake of eating! Once I'm full, I'll leave whatever's left alone and will eventually just come back to it at a later time once I get hungry again. That way, I get to keep my slim figure -- streamlined for fast running! But you may not want to keep overdoing it just out of habit as I may develop the tendency to just gorge myself and will end up gaining too much weight as a result. "Everything in moderation'' is a good policy to go by. I came across that motto one time on one of the fire hydrants nearby. One of the neighborhood dogs wrote it.

It's always been a fascinating time for me when it comes time for the humans to eat their meal: all the wonderful smells, the fascinating sights, the vibrant colors! ... okay, I was just joking about that last one (I can only see fifty shades of gray). I am in fact quite tall and my head is higher than the top of people's dining tables and so I can see all of their interesting dishes, steaming hot and ready to eat! I don't beg and I don't rear up or put my paws on the tabletop, but do I tend to sit very close to their table in order to closely observe the goings-on in the human feeding ritual. Eventually I'll get tired of looking and leave you alone to play or sleep or otherwise deal with my own affairs. On occasions, I may come over and lean my head on someone's chest as an endearing gesture while you're eating. But it's just a trick! It's my excuse to be able to get even closer to all of the food that's on your plate, so don't let me get away with it. Just discourage me if I ever try to do it, and don't give me any of the scraps so I never ever learn how to beg for them.

BATH TIME
I like baths. I enjoy them. Give me warm water to bathe in and I will stand there still as a statue while you pour water all over me. I am very polite and considerate and will never attempt to shake water off my fur while my human is next to me applying the shampoo or rinsing me off. But the part that I absolutely looove the most is when the actual bath portion is over and it's time to bring out the towel so I can dry up! Oh, happy days! Towel rubs are FUN!!!

SOCIALIZATION
My foster home has no kids or other animals in it, and so my foster dad doesn't know how I will react to living with them (but see my notes about encountering small animals and other dogs in the ""Outdoor Walks" section above).

When it comes to complete strangers, I consider every single one of them as a friend that I just haven't had a chance to meet yet. As such, it will be a very poor decision if you ever try to rely on me to guard your home and protect your valuables. My main calling in life is to be a family companion, and will never be a good guard dog in any situation. In fact, I don't even bark whenever people knock on the door or ring the doorbell at my foster home (although that may change once I get a chance to stay with you for a long enough period of time and start to develop some territorial instincts). So yeah, no security details for me, please. I'm more of a ''welcoming committee''-type of dog.

COMMANDS
I understand ''sit'' and ''stay'' reasonably well, as well as ""come'' (with a beckoning wave of the hand) if I'm at the far end of the room and "''go'' (as in, "''go ahead, keep walking'') if I'm standing next to you -- this last one can be a bit tricky to use though because if I'm not completely sure which direction you want me to go, I may not move at all. You may need to preface the commands with my name if I'm distracted or am otherwise not looking at you in order to catch my attention first (e.g., "''Corbin...come''").

When we're out jogging, you can say "''go this way'' to let me know that you're changing directions (you may need to accompany this with three slight tugs on the leash if you think I'm distracted and may not be otherwise paying attention). I generally get the idea when you say ''"stay on the sidewalk''" if for some odd reason I happen to step off onto the side of the road during our jog (again, as with all the other commands, be sure to preface it with my name if you feel I'm somehow distracted and may not be otherwise listening, and/or use the three-slight-tugs reminder). I have been taught to automatically stop at every street corner and wait for the "''okay, go"'' command before proceeding to cross the street. But I just recently learned this and so in order for this behavior to become completely permanent and second nature, from time to time you may need to keep reinforcing this with a "''wait''" command along with the accompanying three slight tugs if there ever comes a time when I seem to forget and want to just cross the street on my own without waiting for approval.

MEDICAL
I developed symptoms of kennel cough about a week after I moved in to my foster home so I had to take some medication for a while, but now I'm good to go. I'm current on all my shots so no need to have any of them again until next year. I was recently neutered but I developed internal bleeding afterward and so the days immediately following were a very painful experience for me. Ouch. I had to take medication for the pain and to help stop the bleeding. It hurt a lot.

CAR RIDES
I am a good passenger. I am quiet during car rides and tend to simply sit back and either just stare out the window at the passing scenery for the duration of the trip or will curl up and go to sleep if I get tired of it. I'm not really the "'wind in your face"'-type of dog so I don't tend to stick my head out the moving car if the windows are rolled down. Nevertheless, out of an overabundance of caution, you may want to keep the windows rolled up, for the first few weeks at the very least, until you can be perfectly sure that I won't go and do something crazy like try to jump out of the vehicle or otherwise create a huge ruckus if we ever come across provocative situations such as seeing another dog, especially little ones, walking by the side of the road while we're out going someplace.

An important new development happened after my latest trips to the vet: I am now extremely wary and apprehensive of getting inside a vehicle because I ended up associating my most recent car rides with the traumatic experiences of the neutering and the painful after-effects that resulted from it. If you ever want me to join you for a car ride, please be gentle and encouraging when trying to get me to hop in, so that I don't feel pressured and be even more stressed out about it on top of what I'm already going through. It would be great if we can go out on trips to nice faraway, fun places for hikes and nature walks with the car rides from time to time -- as opposed to only using the vehicle every single time as a way to take me to the vet -- so that I can learn to once again come to appreciate (or at the very least, not be apprehensive or fearful of) the car rides, because I really did used to enjoy riding in them before.

TRANSITION TIME
My first few weeks with you will be a period of adjustment and learning what with a new environment, unfamiliar people, and different routines and schedules to deal with. So it's very possible that I might be somewhat nervous and hesitant during this time.

I may end up resorting to teething as part of my coping mechanism to help me deal with the stress. For example, when I was still staying at a boarding place before I moved to my foster home I was frustrated and tore off my collar in half. And as I mentioned, during my latest car ride to the vet I was scared and fearful of what to expect when we finally get there that I ended up chewing off my harness while we were on route. I guess it's like with people gnawing on their fingernails; it helps calm me down when I have things to focus on during those first few confusing days at my new home - especially if there are any soft and chewy items like tissues, paper towels, or comfy blankets that are within reach. Be firm and consistent and let me know which behaviors are not acceptable and do provide me with chew toys to play with so I have a natural outlet to release any sort of tension that I may be feeling. You won't need to be harsh or aggressive with me at all because I am an obedient boy and am always very eager to please and would love nothing more than to meet with your approval. I just need to learn the ropes at the very beginning and figure out the set of rules that are unique to your particular home.

So are you all set for our walk yet? Make sure you have a nice pair of running shoes ready to go so we can get started with our daily run! Looking forward to meeting you very soon!

Love,

Corbin