ADOPTED
Hello world, meet Alba! Alba is a mature female, 5-years-old, medium sized Poodle x Golden Retriever mix, commonly referred to as a Goldendoodle. She currently weighs in at about 40 lbs. Alba comes to us as a rescue from a local puppy mill, where she birthed more than her share of puppies. She’s a beautiful, gentle-hearted dog, who is resilient and strong, despite her life prior to being rescued. Alba has an incredibly calming, gentle, trusting demeanor which you will notice the minute you meet her.
Alba is fully house-trained and incredibly easy to walk and to share a home with. She is very independent yet craves company and affection. The way she gently places her paw on you to ask for a pet or belly rub is absolutely precious. If we had to use one word to describe Alba, we would say peaceful. She’s a gentle, quiet girl who loves meeting new people and is not shy about requesting a pet or two upon meeting. True to her breed, Alba is incredibly bright, very outgoing and will be easy to train. I believe that with lots of reassurance, confidence building, consistency and earned trust, she will be an ideal four-legged companion.
Alba unfortunately went into heat before her scheduled spay so we had to hold off on this. Her heat is over now, but she can’t safely be spayed for a few months. She will need to be returned to our vet in Cambridge to be spayed in a few months. The spay procedure is already paid for by her rescue. Anyone interested in adopting Alba needs to live within a 45min radius of Cambridge and be able to drop her off the morning of her spay and then pick her back up later that evening. She will be adopted out on a contract that enforces this mandatory spay return. We just feel that it’s time for Alba to find her forever home and waiting an extra few months in foster care, until she can be safely spayed, will only delay her happily ever after. Alba does have a little growth dangling from her ear, which has been checked out by the vet and is nothing of concern nor does it cause her any discomfort. It will be removed during her spay procedure.
Due to her going into heat shortly after arriving at our home, we have not introduced her to many dogs aside from our own year old Bernedoodle puppy. He’s a very playful pup, but Alba prefers sniffing and laying in the sun more than romping in the yard with him so far. We have limited her interaction with any other dogs, but the ones she’s had a chance to meet, she has been great to. She will sniff and wag
her little tail but hasn’t really initiated play. Honestly, am not sure she’s ever really played much with other dogs, so giving her space and allowing her to learn in her own time, will be key. She does great walking with our dog and is very patient and courteous. She will be fine in a home with a calm, mature male dog but won’t enjoy a home with a dog that will pester her to play or rough house. She would also like to be the only female dog in the home. She will also do fine being the only dog and getting all of the attention.
I feel Alba will be great with smaller dogs but am not sure how she would react to cats or other smaller creatures. She has a high prey drive and will chase off squirrels, chipmunks, or birds in our backyard and while on walks. We have been working towards a more respectful walk with her and she’s making great progress but isn’t fully trained yet. To be safe we are going to look for a home for her without cats or other small animals that she would interact with.
In terms of home life, Alba is very comfortable walking around our entire home, even from day one. She loves to explore! She mainly sleeps on one of her beds during the day or find a sun beam to lay on, but at night or when we’re away, she sleeps comfortably in her crate. She eats most of her meals in her crate and is very easy to get in when asked. We’ve yet to hear her bark but will let us know when she wants inside or outside since she lets out a bit of whimper or whine. Alba does not shed which is a great bonus!
She does have a fascination with human food and may have been given fed scraps formerly. We’ve caught her trying to “counter surf” a few times, which was quickly curbed. I am still quite careful when prepping meals or cooking now, but feel she understands that’s a big no-no.
She has adapted well to car rides despite being quite afraid the first few rides. Now she understands and looks out the window or snoozes away. I think she’ll be a great road trip buddy in no time!
We feed her twice a day and she is provided plenty of fresh water throughout the day. One thing we quickly noticed is that Alba will only eat her meals after she’s had a chance to do her number two first. Once that’s out of the way, she will finish her full meals. I would suggest giving her breakfast after her walks. She’s a current fan of chicken-based kibble but has also had a chance to gnaw on some raw bones or bully sticks left behind by her foster brother, which she really enjoyed. Another preference of hers is eating when no one is watching. She doesn’t like anyone around her when she eats. So, giving her space during mealtimes would be good for a while. She’s not a huge fan of treats yet but will gently take one during her walks. Did I mention she’s a gentle, sweet soul?
One thing we know Alba does absolutely love are humans…no matter the age! She is confident enough to gently approach and ask for pets when we’re outside or if we have guests, or just give a wiggly hello. She’s met many or our neighbours and their kids and she’s been great with all. Everyone that meets her comments on her gentle, friendly nature. She would be fine in a home with children over the age of 8yrs who know how to kindly interact with dogs. As a dog who is still new to life in a house, the noises and activity of a home with younger children will be too much for her, but she would love a home with older children who can give her attention and love.
In terms of activity, Alba is on the medium scale currently. She loves her “walkies” and gets very excited when we get her leash from the closet. She has a 2-3 km walk each morning and about 2 km each evening, with plenty of backyard time or other enrichment activity in between. She does not yet know how to “play” with her toys or fetch a ball or sticks but feel she will get it in time.
We know Alba will make a wonderful addition to a single person or a family, whether in a house, condo, or apartment. She will need some time to flourish, but we truly believe she’s an amazing, loving, caring dog who is gentle, who is smart and who just adores human company.