Owen
Lab Mix | male | 2 Years Old | 61 Lbs
QUICK FACTS: ✔️ Loves people! ✔️ Potty trained! ✔️ Good with dogs! ✔️ Good in the car! ✔️ Good with kids! ✔️ Walks well on a leash! ✔️ Good for beginner dog owner!
Owen found his family on 2/26/2023!
Updates
VIDEOS
Check out these videos of Owen - Chase! & Playin’
PUPDATE #3
Sweet, sweet Owen. We are shocked he hasn't had any interest yet, he's such a good boy! There are just a few things to update. One is that the resident dog has been at "Camp Papa" for several days, as opposed to the busy 36 hours he was previously out of the house, so we've really got to learn what Owen is like on his own. Owen has tons of energy when he wakes up, so he eats breakfast and then he makes it quite clear he's ready for his walk. He practically throws himself at the front door! Then, if I'm home that day, Owen basically doesn't move. I am kinda hoping some of his chillness rubs off on the very attention-needy resident dog! Owen also makes it clear later in the day that he wants another walk or two. Truly, he'd probably like 20 walks a day, but he mostly just gets excited when he can tell that I'm getting ready to go on a walk and he's hoping that includes him.
If I have to go to work, he is crated. I've been spying on him with the Dog Monitor app and sadly he is still crying after I leave, but a) it's over in 45 min and then he's laying down sleeping and b) he's not barking loudly, it's really just an intermittent whine and occasional howl. I've had dogs with bad separation anxiety who bark all day long, and Owen's is nowhere near that level. I don't know when it will be gone for good, but he's been through so much in his short life already, I'm happy with where he's at.
The one other update is that we've been letting him outside less since he's not thrilled with the tie-out, but we can't trust him to stay in the yard :) But Owen was never thrilled that much with going out in the backyard anyway! Most mornings, I'd let both dogs out and Owen wouldn't leave the deck. He often would wait until our walk to potty anyway. So, he doesn't seem to be missing anything by not being a backyard explorer, and he has no issues with not going out to potty until it's walk time. If only he weren't a little whiny when his humans leave, he's so close to being the perfect apartment dog!
Owen is definitely getting braver, too, which is cute to see. Now he can walk down busy streets without panicking at the traffic noises. Only the sudden hissing bus noises concern him now (me too, buddy). And he no longer follows me around the house everywhere — if he knows I'm home, he's happy to stay on the couch instead of keeping tabs on my every move. I love how easy he is to take care of, but also shows all the enthusiasm in the world for walk time, so he's not a boring dog. Also, with the resident dog gone, Owen has been able to snag the spot next to me on the couch, and we get some great cuddle sessions in. This dog just wants to be loved!
PUPDATE #2
We've learned a lot about Owen in the past week! First, the resident pup went to some friends for the weekend (to see if they'd want to dogsit him, not because we needed to separate the pups) so we got to see how Owen does alone. He was lazy, as expected! He's not a total bump on a log — he practically demands a couple of walks each day — but as long as he gets a little exercise, he's pretty content to sleep the day away.
Next, we introduced Owen to two cats. It went...okay? He was very interested in them, but his concentration could be broken and he never lunged at them. At one point one cat walked near him and he politely (while still on leash just in case) tried to sniff it. It swiped a paw at him (as cats do to give a warning sometimes) and Owen was scared! But then he just growled at the cat. He never went after it forcefully, but I'm not sure if that growl was defensive or offensive on his part. When we left my friend's house, he was clearly trying to avoid the cats. This cat interaction was very short, maybe 5 minutes, so it's hard to say 100% for sure either way if he will be good or not with cats. But, there were positive signs there.
Lastly, Owen started sleeping in his crate peacefully again. He forced the issue when he learned that our bedroom door doesn't latch shut and he could push it open when he wanted to get in (sometimes at 6am!). That next night, I put him in his crate and he has been quiet at night. Maybe it helped that he had been extra tired from the weekend and that I finally took a chance that he might not shred a dog bed and gave him something comfier to sleep on.
Crating when I leave the house is a different story. He still cries when we leave. The bad news is that he hasn't learned to just settle down. The good news is that he does eventually settle down — he is laying down when I am able to peak in the window when I get home. We think he cries for about an hour, just based on the times I've left but my boyfriend is upstairs working still. I'm working on a few things to try to get his crying under control (just got a citronella spray bark collar to try out for shorter times to start, will try leaving through a door where he can't watch me, and will try covering his crate with a sheet) and will report back as I learn more. Owen may not be great for someone in an apartment or shared wall living situation, or he needs someone who will work with him immediately on his mild separation anxiety.
We have learned that he can and will jump 4 foot fences :( Now that he's learned he can, I can't keep him in the yard. The good news is that he's not running away! He just wants to explore, and comes right back when I come out front to get him.
We're really happy Owen is our foster, and he and the resident dog are just the cutest together. Owen is clearly the elder statesman of the two, which makes me chuckle because he's either the same age or younger. Literally the only time Owen shows tons of excitement is when he knows he's going on a walk...and when he reluctantly gives in to the resident pup's unending requests for play sessions :)
PUPDATE #1
Owen happily sleeps until I say it's time to get up for the day, and then he greets the day with a decent amount of energy. First, he has to say hi to the resident dog (Owen is uncrated at night, the resident dog is still crated). Then it's breakfast time, potty time, and, finally, Owen's favorite part: walk time! This dog lives for going for walks. Usually he and the resident dog wrestle and play tug while I'm getting ready for the day, or working from home. But I suspect if the resident dog weren't here, Owen would just sleep the rest of the day. When I go to work, both pups are crated. Owen is getting much better about going in his crate (the peanut butter kong helps), but he cries for a little while after I leave. Once I'm home from work, we mostly repeat the morning: food, walk, wrestle time, crash.
Owen is such a lover of people. He wants to greet everyone, but in a polite manner. He'll lean on strangers or try to cuddle in their lap. I don't know what it would take for Owen to not love a human.
Owen has had limited interaction with kids, but he has met several outside while on walks and done great with all of them. One day, the young neighbor kid came barreling out of his house because he wanted to meet Owen for the first time, and Owen was just like "cool. hi kid. please pet me!" And wasn't at all alarmed by the energy. That said, I don't know how he would do with kids in a house. I would say he shows signs that he would be good with kids (he's so sweet and gentle, though timid), but I cannot make any promises.
Owen goes from having all the energy in the world to play with the resident pup and go on walks, to barely moving at times. I'd be interested to see how lazy he is if he didn't have the resident dog goading him into being playmates. I suspect he'd be pretty lazy!
Owen has done very well with almost all dogs he's met, on leash or off. He was a bit put off by the resident dog's unrelenting energy the first day, but by day two, the resident dog had worn Owen down and they were friends. He's gone on multiple playdates to neighbors' houses with their dogs and hasn't had any issues. He did have two dogs he met on a walk that he's low growled at, and one of those he gave a warning snap to (I would call it a warning and not an attack or aggressive). I mention this to say that he should be great with almost all dogs, but in general he needs a little time to warm up to them.
Owen does not have exposure to cats.
Owen is left alone at night out of a crate and he does very well. He is crated when the humans are gone from the house, and though getting him in his crate is pleasantly less of a fight each day, he still whines at least for a little while when we're gone. He does get over it, though, because he's calmly sleeping when I get home. I do not know if he can be left free to roam when the humans are gone — for example, does he cry because he's in his crate, or because he has mild separation anxiety and he'd cry out of his crate? But Owen is a dog I would certainly consider slowly starting to test how he does free roaming during the day.
Owen is one of the sweetest, but saddest, foster dogs we've ever had. You can see him trying to be brave, but mostly he just wants to cuddle with you and know that you're there for him. I don't know if Owen will ever be the life of the party, but I do know that with a patient, kind forever family, he will definitely thrive. I don't think Owen needs to live with another dog, but he is doing really well with our very confident and zero-anxiety resident dog showing him the ropes.
Owen has evidence of potential gunshot wounds, and he was found with a huge abscessed infection on his side that could have been from one. That wound is all healed now! The WI vet also thinks Owen might have broken his forearm, as it's a bit crooked. You'd never know from watching him run, walk, and play though! He's not at all mobility limited, and the vet said that no medical intervention is needed at this time.