I adopted Lucy about 2 months ago. She had been turned in by a (backyard) lab breeder who also gave up 20 of her other breeders. She felt it was too much, so she surrendered the older ones, since the ones that came to the shelter were 5 years old.

She does this every few years, surrendering her breeders to the shelter after selling God knows how many puppies.

I wanted a dog and would only get one from the shelter. I wanted a lab, though, and the chances of getting a lab without major issues from a shelter is small.

I spent 2 mornings with her, then took her home to see how she would do with my cat Puja (who loves dogs).

I could tell she had pretty much lived in a kennel and whelping pen. She was a bit shut down. She didn't know her name (which was Annie at the time). She was very curious about everything and tentative around strangers (except at the shelter, where she loves every one). She was fearful around some people.

She'd never been up or down stairs or in a car. She didn't want to step into water. (A lab afraid of water?)

She lacked confidence. She also had never made that deep connection with an "owner" that is the foundation of the pet-person relationship. I felt if that were fixed, everything else would follow,

Well, 2 months later, and with lots of fun work, she's blossomed into a lab. I take her on long walks, taught her Sit, Wait, the recall Here, Let's go and This way (the command for changing direction when walking).

She is very attached to me as I to her, and that has accelerated her progress.

The best illustration I can give is in this video.

Water