Acadia is a 70lb, 2-3 year old male, chocolate lab that came to us via a vet's office. He was found wandering in a busy neighborhood and taken to a local vet's office when his owner was not located. He lived at the vet for about month before he came to us. It looks like he has had a hard life. He has a scar across the top of his neck from an embedded collar (it is hidden by his fur but you can locate it by looking at the gray hair surrounding it and lifting the fur back) and some pretty thick calluses on his knees probably from being chained and living on concrete for most of his life. It was apparent that his experience with other dogs had been through a fence or the bars on a cage. He did not have any idea how to react to another dog. He didn't recognize submissive licking, play bowing or even show interest in sniffing another dog to become acquainted. He responded to all dogs with an uncertain, "I don't know you, stay away from me growl". He has made remarkable progress in just two weeks in his foster home with his new pack of 5 dogs. Instead of growling at every dog that comes within five feet of him, he now greets other dogs with his ears back and his tail wagging. His new pack has showed him other dogs are not scary, alien creatures to be feared and they ignore his occasional lapses. He loves to play with people and he wants to play now with other dogs but he still is not quite sure how to go about doing that yet, though his foster mom caught him playing tug of war with her 15 week old puppy recently. He hardly ever growls now unless he is surprised or caught off guard and responds immediately with a mild correction (no or sharp tug on the leash). He loves the water and will play fetch with you. He is very affectionate and calm in the house and will trail at his foster mom's heals and lay down next to her whenever she stops for a moment. He has learned to walk fairly well on a leash and usually will not travel far from your side. He does not enjoy the crate, but he will settle down in it at night with no complaints when you are ready for bed, but when you get up in the morning he whines and can hardly contain himself waiting for you to let him out. If you decide not to use a crate, he settles on a pillow as close to your bed as he can get. He also tolerates his foster mom's mean cat. He knows the sit command and will go "down" for a dog treat. He will make any family a good pet. He would do great in an only dog household or in a house that has a laid back, easy-going pack. | 
