Meet Our New Addition, Luka!

[.sarah]

Well, it has been done, and early too! My parents surprised me tonight with a trip over to pick up Luka (formerly Lulu)! She has been here for about an hour, and she is loving it just wonderfully. She and Nova have been playing since she came and I kid you not us three are all on the bed right now. They are rough housing, and making it very hard to type this. I'd be paying attention to them but they want to play with each other right now :)

Her background is very odd. She was purchased from (as I've been told) a VERY good Lab kennel. She was (apparently) a very good puppy and they wanted to keep her to breed but she has a "birthmark" on her front leg. It's just a 3-inch sized spot of chocolate-colored fur. There is a picture of that below. I don't have her papers, but I will get them if we do decide to keep her. Anyway, a man who was just out of jail purchased her & she lived with him and his wife and their pack of WOLVES. They did not train her, they let the WOLVES train her. She was given up to our humane society when she tried to challenge the pack leader. They were afraid in no time she'd be dead (no kidding, don't put a LAB in a pack of wolves -- we're talking totally opposite end of the spectrum here). Her foster mom got her in January. In March she was adopted out to a family with kids. After three months the family's child had medical problems and was constantly at the hospital so she had to be given back up. So she is back with her foster mom & has been with her for a few months now. She has quite a few training issues but to tell you the truth Pam (foster mom) has done such a WONDERFUL job training her that you would never know that she was raised by wolves. She said she thinks that she is probably 500% better, which I can totally believe.

We haven't introduced her to Mandy yet. Mandy has sniffed her out on a lot of different things and has been wagging her tail the whole time. She's downstairs sleeping right now. Tonight I will put Luka in Nova's crate in my bedroom and let Mandy sleep on her bed right outside the crate to smell her alllll night long :D Nova will sleep in bed with me since it will be too much of a pain in the but to get another crate set up tonight.

She was SO skiddish when we got her here, but having a Labbie buddy has TOTALLY gotten her comfy. She just jumped off the bed to sniff around some more :)

And what do you think of the new name?? I hadn't thought very hard but I was tossing back and forth between Luka and Loki. I wasn't sure which I liked better but somewhere along the ride over I decided she was definetly a Luka. She's having no problem responding to it, either, since it's so close to her old name.

Wish us luck with Mandy & her tomorrow! Pictures will come soon since LUKA JUST ACCIDENTLY PRESSED THE ENTER BUTTON AND POSTED MY UNFINISHED POST!! hehe

EDIT - Pictures have been added to a post below!

[sugandsam]

I admire your dedication to animals in need of rescue.


http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cf23b3127cce955f88117a4600000016108AZMmbVw3auE

[areias]

First of all, congratulations on your new dog. :D However, in your other post you said that Mandy was very dominant, you wanted a submissive dog, and Luka was submissive...Luka's not very submissive if she's challenging the leader of the pack of wolves. This means she's already dominated every dog under the leader...please be careful with the two, and do not leave them unsupervised for a long time.

I only mean this in the best of ways, I don't mean it to be condescending, I was just a little concerned. Anyways, congratulations, I hope it all works out. :)

[.sarah]

It scared me a little at first, too. However she's been very well socialized in the last 10 months, and she only has problems now with unneutered males. Pam said she hasn't had problems with dogs (except for unneutered males) in months.

[areias]

Okay, I was just checking. :) Have fun with the newset member of your family, and remember-lots of pictures.

[LuvGold00]

Congratulations, and Welcome Home Luka! :D

[Jessika]

YAY congratulations!!!!

But I don't see a pic of her birthmark hehe!! :P

[poofy]

enjoy your new home Luka.. :D

[.sarah]

These aren't all the pictures, I'll try to add the rest tomorrow, but I'd like to go to bed now :)

Click for a larger view.
http://nova.zoto.com/img/24/be2387d43dd2df670449170b548697f1-.jpg (http://nova.zoto.com/user/image_detail/IMG.0.be2387d43dd2df670449170b548697f1-_CAT.0/date_uploaded-desc/0-30) http://nova.zoto.com/img/24/f1fe3e4566fde6c04bde6281cd6337a7-.jpg (http://nova.zoto.com/user/image_detail/IMG.1.f1fe3e4566fde6c04bde6281cd6337a7-_CAT.0_DET.1/date_uploaded-desc/0-30) http://nova.zoto.com/img/24/de28abc1c38845b01a14709265331221-.jpg (http://nova.zoto.com/user/image_detail/IMG.2.de28abc1c38845b01a14709265331221-_CAT.0_DET.1/date_uploaded-desc/0-30) http://nova.zoto.com/img/24/71ed8e2c0e448507946b034f136c0276-.jpg (http://nova.zoto.com/user/image_detail/IMG.3.71ed8e2c0e448507946b034f136c0276-_CAT.0_DET.1/date_uploaded-desc/0-30) http://nova.zoto.com/img/24/286706f819c68daf0c281cde37730881-.jpg (http://nova.zoto.com/user/image_detail/IMG.4.286706f819c68daf0c281cde37730881-_CAT.0_DET.1/date_uploaded-desc/0-30) http://nova.zoto.com/img/24/13d12a40c538a06076237255fa25b1ba-.jpg (http://nova.zoto.com/user/image_detail/IMG.5.13d12a40c538a06076237255fa25b1ba-_CAT.0_DET.1/date_uploaded-desc/0-30)

MORE COMING >>

[.sarah]

http://nova.zoto.com/img/24/d0afd392f2a908eabd1d4c81793cb5b3-.jpg (http://nova.zoto.com/user/image_detail/IMG.6.d0afd392f2a908eabd1d4c81793cb5b3-_CAT.0_DET.1/date_uploaded-desc/0-30) http://nova.zoto.com/img/24/bf5e3927fca44ffa75e8780dfda16d2e-.jpg (http://nova.zoto.com/user/image_detail/IMG.7.bf5e3927fca44ffa75e8780dfda16d2e-_CAT.0_DET.1/date_uploaded-desc/0-30) http://nova.zoto.com/img/24/338935428f9c41cb5a5748bec86130f4-.jpg (http://nova.zoto.com/user/image_detail/IMG.8.338935428f9c41cb5a5748bec86130f4-_CAT.0_DET.1/date_uploaded-desc/0-30)

And the ever famous birthmark.
http://nova.zoto.com/img/24/66768f98dcb638d0f160b441f79d6afb-.jpg (http://nova.zoto.com/user/image_detail/IMG.9.66768f98dcb638d0f160b441f79d6afb-_CAT.0_DET.1/date_uploaded-desc/0-30)

It's been 3 hours and Nova and Luka STILL won't stop playing :rolleyes:

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

I'm glad everything is going good so far! Both Luka and Nova are absolutely gorgeous. I love their pigment colour, it's especially nice with Luka's dark coat:) I seem to be attracted to reddish coloured dogs with pigment that blends with their coat, that's what had originally attracted me to Tollers. lol I think I've finally decided on my favourite Labrador coat colour....

[Jessika]

AHH she looks so happy!!!!! Awww Sarah, you're soo lucky! :(

[Oggyflute]

Luka is a beautiful looking pup, well done. :)

[buttercup132]

shes so pritty and shows off the lab smile very well lol that birthmark is very cool

[Ginger's Mom]

I am so glad Nova and Luka are getting along. :) How did the night go? Did you get any sleep at all? ;) Hope that things go as well as Luka and Nova get to know each other.

[pitc9]

Oh what a cutie pie!
They look like they are going to be life long play buddies!
Oh.... how cute they are together!

[IRescue452]

I want to play too! What a sweetie. Congrats! That coat and that nose look more like a chessie I think.

[anna_66]

She's adorable and they really look like they're having a great time playing together:D

[pnance]

congrats! :D

[Jadapit]

She is so beautiful! All of them look like they are having a blast. I hope everyone stays friends. :D

[.sarah]

I'm glad everything is going good so far! Both Luka and Nova are absolutely gorgeous. I love their pigment colour, it's especially nice with Luka's dark coat:) I seem to be attracted to reddish coloured dogs with pigment that blends with their coat, that's what had originally attracted me to Tollers. lol I think I've finally decided on my favourite Labrador coat colour....
Yeah, I am the same way. When I got Nova I was so excited that she had the brown nose. And then Luka's totally blends in with her coat, it's gorgeous. It's against breed standard but it happens whenever there are both chocolate and yellow puppies in a litter, or if a chocolate dog is bred to a yellow who has all yellow puppies, they will all have chocolate pigmentation like that.

I took them outside to play after I posted the pictures (or maybe it was before ... I can't remember) and let them run around. They were outside running for 10-15 minutes but that didn't do the trick. I finally just said "that's it!" and I put Luka in the crate and got Mandy & Nova in my bed and went to sleep. I'm going to bring up the other crate today so that Nova will sleep in it, and Mandy will sleep on her bed on the floor.

I took Luka up to work today to give her a bath. She smelled AWFUL, and now my room smells like work (which smells like poo, blood, urine, etc. all mixed together ... mmmm!!! :rolleyes: ) She smells great now, and after we finished talking to friends at work we went to PETsMART. I bought a ton of flavored Nylabones, Greenies, P-nutz, etc. to help Mandy settle down. She's got mild anxiety so bringing a new dog into the house isn't exactly easy on her. They're so expensive, and I gave her one right after I got home. It took her about two minutes to finish the P-Nutz that I had to work probably 15 minutes to pay for ... lol

Luka and Mandy haven't been introduced yet, and we decided it'd be best to wait a few more days until they are used to each other's scent and once Luka gets settled in -- although she's already pretty darn comfy here.

I'm taking both Nova and Luka out on Sunday to a friend of a friend's house who has 850 acres. It's the same place I took Nova and her boyfriend Keyser, which I posted pictures of last weekend. There will be more dogs this time, 5 in total, so I should get some good pictures :) And this time I'll put my camera in the right mode ... haha

I just wanted to share something funny that Pam (her foster mom) told me. She likes to jump, a LOT. She has a window in her kitchen right above her sink that is very high, and I was told that Luka will go outside and if there is someone at the sink she will jump up to the window and look in, but not put her paws up or anything. She apparently does this 20-30 times, and each time she has a funny look on her face. She said it reminds her of a cartoon :p

Thanks for all the comments!

[.sarah]

I want to play too! What a sweetie. Congrats! That coat and that nose look more like a chessie I think.
It does, except she doesn't have the harsh coat like a Chessie. It's actually against breed standard for a yellow Lab's nose and skin to be that color, so it's a little rare. It's just a chocolate Lab's color nose and it can happen if there is a chocolate dog anywhere in the dogs ancestry. Most breeders try to stay away from it. But if you breed a black to a black who both carry all colors, there will be all three colored puppies in the litter. There will most likely be a yellow with chocolate pigmentation in the litter. It's not a defect, and the dog would just have to go to a pet home. A lot of field Labs have this color nose, though, because field Labs can't be shown in conformation so the color of nose doesn't matter. A dog like this could be bred and produce all yellow puppies with a black nose if they are bred to a yellow with a black nose, because it dominates over chocolate.

Okay, I'll stop. I could go on forever about this :p

[IRescue452]

Yes, I hate how the show breeders only pick and choose what colours they want. Does an "ideal" colour make the dog any better, of course not, Luka is proof.

[finn's mom]

I think Luka is beautiful! :) Congratulations!

[.sarah]

Thanks! We had a MAJOR breakthrough tonight! Mandy and Luka got less than a foot within eachother, and we laid them down and they finally fell asleep like that. It's going MUCH better than I expected!! Nova really helped out, going back and forth between the two and loving on both of them. We kept the mood really happy and kept talking in REALLY high-pitched voices. We're still going to wait a while before they touch, but I'm SO PROUD of Mandy!!

[k9krazee]

Thanks! We had a MAJOR breakthrough tonight! Mandy and Luka got less than a foot within eachother, and we laid them down and they finally fell asleep like that. It's going MUCH better than I expected!! Nova really helped out, going back and forth between the two and loving on both of them. We kept the mood really happy and kept talking in REALLY high-pitched voices. We're still going to wait a while before they touch, but I'm SO PROUD of Mandy!!

Thats awesome!! Keep up the good work Mandy!!!

[.sarah]

My brother was an idiot tonight and let Mandy loose while we had Luka out. Of course she went after Luka and bit her, but there was no damage and Luka didn't even seem phazed by it. Hopefully this was just an "I'm the dominant one" fight. We let them touch a little bit after that, with full hold on both, and they did fine. Still not ready to let them loose, though. Amazingly, they're all sleeping on the floor right now -- Nova and Luka are each in a seperate crate and Mandy is on her bed. Let's just hope everything goes smooth in the morning!

[wolf_Q]

Congrats on the new addition! She's very beautiful! I love the name Luka too. :) It looks like she and Nova are best buddies already! I hope Mandy will learn to like her with time.

[RobiLee]

Luka is so pretty and I also love her name. It sounds like you know what you are doing and all three pups are getting to know each other. You have three very gorgeous pups!

[.sarah]

Thanks :) Everything is going fine so far this morning.

[Toby's my baby]

You are so lucky! Luka is adorable! Love the pictures too, looks like they are having fun together. You need to change your profile info though, you ahve three dogs now ;)

[.sarah]

LOL I wasn't going to change it until we were sure we were going to keep her, but I *really* think it's going to work out. I'll go ahead and fix it and update my sig picture later.