+ Welcoming Your Rescue Home

Please keep in mind that change is stressful for your new furbaby. Stress can be exhibited by panting, pacing, marking, and/or barking. Give your rescue time to adjust. Stay calm and consistent. Do not overwhelm the pup with new introductions to neighbors, friends, and extended family. Take your time with these introductions. The pup needs to learn about his/her new family and learn to trust. Conversely, you, the family, needs to learn about your pup. How will he react in new situations, on walks, with traffic, with loud noise, etc. Be proactive and think ahead to what could happen in varied situations. Double leash if you are unsure. Do not leave the yard unattended. Ensure that doors are not left open. Until the pup realizes and appreciates that he/she is ‘home’, he/she will be looking for his/her next meal elsewhere. Be vigilant, calm, and patient. Before you know it, you will not remember the day this pup wasn't part of your family.

+ Initial Feeding

It is wise to transition your new pup to a high-value food of your choice. To that end, the foster will tell you which food they have been feeding your rescue. This transition should take a week or two dependent on how sensitive your pup’s digestive tract seems to be according to the following schedule:

Day 1 and 2, 75% current food + 25% new food

Day 3 and 4, 50% current food + 50% new food

Day 5 and 6, 25% current food + 75% new food

Day 7, 100% new food

+ Crate Training

Crate training your lab teaches them responsibility and calms anxiety. Lu's recommends crate training guidance published by the Humane Society of the United States

+ Housetraining

Most puppies can be house trained prior to 8 months of age using traditional methods. But for older dogs that are still having accidents in the house, the umbilical cord method should be used. This method has worked on the most difficult housetraining cases and can be used with dogs of any age.

When the owner makes a commitment to success and is consistent with its application, the success rate using this method is very high.

Dogs do NOT eliminate in the house because of anger, spite, jealousy, boredom or mischief. With the exceptions of territorial urine marking, illness, or (rarely) separation distress syndrome, dogs go to the bathroom in the house for one reason: they have never been properly housetrained by the owner.

There are some common mistakes that owners make during early housetraining attempts that can exacerbate the problem:

• the use of puppy pads inside the home

• too much freedom too soon

• punishment after the fact

• using the wrong cleaners to clean up the mess

• not using a dog crate

But even if the above mistakes have been made, any dog can be housetrained!

Lu's recommends housetraining guidance by the International Association of Canine Professionals.

+ Leash Walking

Teaching your dog loose leash walking in public is incredibly important, yet it can be daunting.

What makes it difficult is simply that you must take time to practice properly several times per week, with incrementally increasing levels of distraction for your dog.

Lu's recommends working with your Lu's Labs-approved trainer to master loose leash walking safely and effectively. For starter information, see Loose Leash Walking in The Zebra.

+ Microchipping

All Lu's Labs are equipped with an AKC Reunite Microchip prior to being adopted out. Within 7 days of adoption, a member of the Lu's Labs Microchip Registration Team (Microchip Registration Coordinator) will be in touch with you via email to add your information to your dog's profile as their adopter. Once the Microchip Registration Coordinator has successfully updated your information with AKC Reunite, a copy of the registration will be forwarded to you. There is no cost to the adopter for registration or lifetime enrollment in the recovery program.

If you have any questions about your dog's microchip or the registration process, reach out to Shari Young, Director of Post-Adoption Follow Up at BrettandShari.LusLabs@gmail.com

Note: As an additional safety measure for expedited recovery of lost dogs, some adopters opt to include their dog's microchip number on collar identification tags. This enables a dog's identification number to be searched without the use of scanning equipment at a veterinary office or animal shelter. Additionally, it is a safeguard in the event a microchip is not/cannot be located with a scanner due to migration in the body (this is rare).

Adoptions Prior to 2020

If your dog was adopted between 2015-2019 they may not be equipped with an AKC Reunite chip but should have been registered/transferred under your name with another reunification service (e.g. HomeAgain) within one week of adoption. If you have questions about your dog's non-AKC brand microchip please reach out to Shari Young, Director of Post-Adoption Follow Up at BrettandShari.LusLabs@gmail.com and we will do our best to assist. However, Lu's Labs is typically not a manager or contact on these accounts and you may need to visit your veterinarian to have the chip scanned if you have lost the information.

+ Spaying & Neutering

Lu's Labs is committed to reducing the population of unwanted animals by requiring that all rescues are spayed or neutered. Lu's spays / neuters all of-age intakes prior to adoption (with very few exceptions for medical reasons).

If your rescue is less than 6-months old upon adoption, you are required to have your lab spayed/neutered by 9-months of age (males) or 6-months of age (females). This is non-negotiable and adoption is not finalized until this requirement is met. You will have been charged a $50 deposit that will be returned to you upon submission of a spay/neuter certificate from a licensed veterinarian. Alternatively, you may choose to donate your deposit to the rescue. Detailed information is included in your contract’s spay/neuter addendum.

Always follow your veterinarian's explicit instructions when caring for your lab post-surgery.

+ Heartworm Prevention & Treatment

Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease. However, it is preventable and treatable. It is caused by foot-long worms (heartworms) that live in the heart, lungs and associated blood vessels of affected pets, causing severe lung disease, heart failure and damage to other organs in the body.

Lu's Labs follows the The American Heartworm Society's guidance for treating heartworm disease. Learn more about heartworm prevention and heartworm basics.

+ Creating a Scent Bag

In the event that your dog gets loose, a tracker can use a hair sample to help track the lost dog. Creating a scent bag is easy; simply take a few swipes of your dog's coat with a grooming brush. Take the hair from the brush, insert it into a ziploc plastic bag, seal it, and write the dog's name on it. Store the bag somewhere safe where you can find it in the event of a lost dog emergency.