Wonderful 16 Month Old Labradoodle Available for Adoption!
Echo is a wonderful dog with a loving, silly, fun, and enthusiastic personality! My husband I absolutely adore her and she has brought a lot of joy into our lives since we brought her into our home as a puppy. Echo is a dog who loves her family dearly and wants nothing more than to spend time with her “people”. She is the type of dog you can take with you to a variety of places and for a variety of activities. Echo is a dog you enjoy, have fun with, and, in-turn, she makes whatever you are doing together exciting, and often entertaining as well! Echo is enthusiastic about life and enjoys new adventures and activities, as long as you are there joining in with her. However, as much as Echo loves exercise, activities, and fun, when she has been properly exercised/interacted with, she is just as much fun to cuddle and hangout with while you watch TV or read a book. Echo likes to be near her family members but is not clingy or demanding of your attention (unless she has not been properly exercised/interacted with). She just wants to be close to you, but not right on top of you.
Once Echo has been introduced to a new person, or has explored a new place, she is both friendly and curious. She can be a little nervous/shy in new situations and around new people. Echo is most successful in becoming her sweet, silly, and loving self with a new person when given the chance to meet people at her pace (i.e.- have a new person put their hand out in front of them and allow Echo to come up and sniff/interact them). Likewise, she needs time to explore a new place on her own terms (i.e.- being allowed to sniff around the area without being commanded to do something specific). Echo warms up to new people very easily and is generally quick to be friendly and affectionate towards them as soon as she has been given the opportunity to “check-them-out”.
Echo enjoys playing with a variety of different toys (all of which will come with her to her new home). Echo has had a flirt pole (metal rod with a bungee rope attached to the pole and a felt braided rope for chewing attached to end of the bungee rope) since she was a puppy that she loves to play with two or three times a day. This is an interactive toy that you use together with her to play chase and tug-of-war. Check out the YouTube link to see her having a blast with this favorite toy of hers! Echo also always has a special toy that she has chosen to be her “sleeping toy”. This is always a stuffed, plush toy that she only gets when she is ready for a nap or going to bed a night. It’s a very cute habit and she’s had a “sleeping toy” since she was a puppy!
Echo requires a moderate amount of exercise daily and benefits from a variety of different types of activities for short but intensive bursts of play/work/exercise (physical exercise, obedience training sessions, enrichment activities, nose work exercises, and interactive games with us using different toys). She enjoys a lots of physical exercise options, such as walking through her neighborhood, going to the beach (check out the YouTube video of her splashing in the waves!), hiking, and even standup paddle-boarding! Echo is also participates in different enrichment activities with provide to her, including eating her meals from puzzle-based feeders, getting frozen foods (like peanut putter) and treats out of Kong toys; and chewing on non-edible, highly durable bones (such as DuraChew Nylabones) or edible bones/treats that are rawhide-free and durable, such as bully sticks. All of Echo’s enrichment toys (puzzle-feeders, non-edible bones, Kong toys, etc. will come with her to her new home).
Echo participated in obedience training starting at 10 weeks old and we have continued to provide her with daily trainings sessions since then. She has mastered many training commands.
She is fully crate trained and sleeps in her crate at night (this is also where she stays when we are not home).
Echo has been socialized around a variety of people and other dogs within a variety of different settings since she was a puppy. She is social and enjoys interacting with familiar people outside of her family and home and especially loves getting to play with other dogs. To provide Echo with continued socialization and play opportunities she goes to a doggie daycare 2-3 times per week (3-5 hours per day). Echo loves going to her doggie daycare and is highly successful interacting with other dogs in this setting. She has developed close friendships with several of the dogs she interacts with regularly.
Echo is being rehomed with all supplies included!
YouTube Videos of Echo!
https://youtu.be/-N14JPqqQi8
https://youtu.be/X2DgzxTt3sE
https://youtu.be/UuPB99r1voM
Is there anything else you'd like your pet's new family to know?:
Echo needs a forever family that has experience with training and/or managing dogs with resource-guarding behaviors, as well as living with a dog with a sensitive personality. Her new owners need to be able to provide to the daily training and behavior management Echo requires in order to be safe, healthy, and happy. This new forever family needs to understand the responsibilities they are committing to by adopting Echo. This may sound like a of work, but some of her behaviors (i.e.- food-guarding) are situational and her behavior is likely to be different in a home environment better suited to her needs. Plus, she is worth it! Regarding her training needs and behavior management, Echo needs a family who: • is able to commit to the continuation of her training • offer a consistent daily routine • can be firm (but still gentle and kind) and consistent with setting (and following through on) behavioral expectations within the home, • a family who will be patient and gentle with her. Adoption of Echo is contingent on her enrollment in training with a certified CCPDT and/or IAABC qualified professional to assist Echo with transitioning the basic skills, manners, and commands she has already learned to her new owners. However, we will pay for Echo’s initial training session with a certified dog training professional located near Echo’s new forever home. Daily physical, mental, social, and emotional exercise, stimulation, and/or interaction are all important components of Echo’s behavior management so her new owners need to have the time and energy to provide Echo with this in order for her to be a less anxious and well-adjusted dog. There also needs to be time for snuggling, cuddles, and unstructured play together. Echo would do best in a home without children and should not be placed in a home with young children (due to their unpredictable nature and the risk of them touching her food). While Echo may be successful in a home with teenage children (who are old enough, and willing, to be active participants in training and caring for her), because of her sensitive personality, Echo would be most comfortable in a quiet home without frequent movement and activity going on. Due to Echo’s dog-to-dog resource guarding behavior she should be the only pet in her new home. Being the only pet in the home will help to naturally reduce Echo’s food-guarding behaviors directed towards other dogs and should also help her to be calmer and more relaxed. Since Echo enjoys many physical activities and adventures outside of her home (i.e.- going to the beach, hiking, etc.) her ideal family will be physically active and excited about bringing her along for the fun! The examples of ideal owners for Echo could include (but isn’t limited to!): • A younger retired couple who have the time in their daily schedule to spend with her and enjoy being physically active. • Recent “empty-nesters” where one spouse is at home • A younger or middle-aged couple with flexible work schedules (or one/both of them working at home) who do not have children and/or do not plan to have children. Echo is a dog who loves the people in her family and would not do well in a home where her “people” are gone for long hours of the day or frequently traveling. There are, of course, times in which Echo may need to be alone for much of the day, or her family is taking a vacation. During these times, it would be wonderful if she could continue to attend her doggie daycare (she gets so much enjoyment from spending time there!). She has also been boarded at her doggie daycare and did very well during that time. Echo is used to running around and exploring in her backyard, so a decent-sized yard that is securely fenced-in would be ideal for her life-long health and safety. Echo would not do well living in an apartment or condo and should be adopted into a single-family home Most importantly, Echo needs a forever family who are aware of her behavioral challenges and physical/social/emotional needs and are happy and willing to commit to providing her with ongoing love, comfort, care, kindness, safety, and a long and happy life! Echo needs a forever family that has experience with training and/or managing dogs with resource-guarding behaviors, as well as living with a dog with a sensitive personality. Her new owners need to be able to provide to the daily training and behavior management Echo requires in order to be safe, healthy, and happy. This new forever family needs to understand the responsibilities they are committing to by adopting Echo. This may sound like a of work, but some of her behaviors (i.e.- food-guarding) are situational and her behavior is likely to be different in a home environment better suited to her needs. Plus, she is worth it! Regarding her training needs and behavior management, Echo needs a family who: • is able to commit to the continuation of her training • offer a consistent daily routine • can be firm (but still gentle and kind) and consistent with setting (and following through on) behavioral expectations within the home, • a family who will be patient and gentle with her. Daily physical, mental, social, and emotional exercise, stimulation, and/or interaction are all important components of Echo’s behavior management so her new owners need to have the time and energy to provide Echo with this in order for her to be a less anxious and well-adjusted dog. There also needs to be time for snuggling, cuddles, and unstructured play together. Echo would do best in a home without children and should not be placed in a home with young children (due to their unpredictable nature and the risk of them touching her food). While Echo may be successful in a home with teenage children (who are old enough, and willing, to be active participants in training and caring for her), because of her sensitive personality, Echo would be most comfortable in a quiet home without frequent movement and activity going on. Due to Echo’s dog-to-dog resource guarding behavior she should be the only pet in her new home. Being the only pet in the home will help to naturally reduce Echo’s food-guarding behaviors directed towards other dogs and should also help her to be more calm and relaxed. Since Echo enjoys many physical activities and adventures outside of her home (i.e.- going to the beach, hiking, etc.) her ideal family will be physically active and excited about bringing her along for the fun! The examples of ideal owners for Echo could include (but isn’t limited to!): • A younger retired couple who have the time in their daily schedule to spend with her and enjoy being physically active. • Recent “empty-nesters” where one spouse is at home • A younger or middle-aged couple with flexible work schedules (or one/both of them working at home) who do not have children and/or do not plan to have children. Echo is a dog who loves the people in her family and would not do well in a home where her “people” are gone for long hours of the day or frequently traveling. There are, of course, times in which Echo may need to be alone for much of the day, or her family is taking a vacation. During these times, it would be wonderful if she could continue to attend her doggie daycare (she gets so much enjoyment from spending time there!). She has also been boarded at her doggie daycare and did very well during that time. Echo is used to running around and exploring in her backyard, so a decent-sized yard that is securely fenced-in would be ideal for her life-long health and safety. Echo would not do well living in an apartment or condo and should be adopted into a single-family home It is impossible for me to fully describe all of the wonderful aspects of Echo’s personality in this space, except to say that she is a great adolescent dog who could grow into an exceptional adult dog if adopted by a forever family who will commit to providing Echo with the training, support, love, healthy environment, and opportunities for continued social/emotional growth and development that we have strived to provide her with during her time with us. Most importantly, Echo needs a forever family who are aware of her behavioral challenges and physical/social/emotional needs and are happy and willing to commit to providing her with ongoing love, comfort, care, kindness, safety, and a long and happy life!
Rehoming reason details (if necessary):
Echo has MODERATE-SEVERE DOG-TO-DOG RESOURCE GUARDING OF FOOD. She is highly possessive of food (i.e.- kibble, edible bones, treats, etc.) around the other dogs in our home. Echo’s food-guarding is environmentally managed by feeding her separately from our other dogs in a metal playpen and giving her special treats (stuffed Kong, bully stick, etc.) only when she is secured in her crate. While these environmental modifications successful in managing any aggressive food-related behaviors the majority of the time, there have been infrequent incidents where Echo accidentally got a hold of food outside of her playpen or crate (our fault). During these incidents Echo bit our other dogs if they approached her when she had the food. None of these “possession aggression” incidents have resulted in broken skin, bite marks, puncture wounds, or any injury to our other dogs. However, there is a significant size, age, and health difference between Echo and our other three dogs that makes this situation in which the potential for Echo to injury one of our other dogs exits (even though we, and our behavioral consultant, do not think this is her intent). We needed to consider the health and safety of all of our dogs, Echo included and have come to the realization that any risk of physical harm is not fair to our other dogs in the home. Echo is NOT DOG AGGRESSIVE and successfully plays with other dogs outside of her home (where there are no resources to worry about guarding) Echo has never showed aggression toward people. Like many dogs, if Echo is in her crate with a high-value treat that a person is attempting to take from her she will retreat back into the crate (away from the person) and will growl defensively. She has “air snapped” at us twice (bit at the air in front of our hand) in these instances but made no physical contact with us. We have learned not to put Echo in a position where she “trapped” (such as backed into her crate) and feels like a special treat may be taken away. Additionally, Echo has a mildly sensitive personality that makes her more aware of and alert of what is going on in her environment. Echo is vigilant about our movements, as well as the movements of our other dogs around the home, and this higher level of awareness to sounds and movement in her environment can cause low-levels of anxiety. In order to reduce the chance of becoming anxious, and management her food-guarding behaviors in our multi-dog home, all four of our dogs are currently restricted in their access to our entire home, the yard, interactions with each other, and attention from us. This does not give any of our dogs the quality of life we so want to provide each of them. Echo is a wonderful dog, we love her, we are heartbroken about having to let her go, but we recognize that keeping Echo in our home would be selfish of us and does not offer her, nor our other dogs, with the best life possible.
