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Gnocchi the Yellow Lab
Everyone, meet Gnocchi, the 3-month-old yellow lab. He is a sweet boy who’s looking for his home. He is currently being raised with the intention of being a service dog prospect.
July 9th, 2026
Gnocchi had a good first day. He quickly settled into his new surroundings. He enjoys his naps and bully sticks. His first day was spent tether training and learning some foundational skills such as touch, door manners, sit, find it, and settle. He’s highly food driven, nearly taking off my pocket in the process of his searching. For fun, we worked on a grooming skill by learning side. His first day, and he dealt with some large fireworks on his walk and seemed not to notice. He loves people and loves to put things in his mouth just as much!
July 10th, 2026
Gnocchi had an eventful day! He’s starting to auto sit at doors after a few seconds. He loves his new best friend Stitch. His favorite walking buddy, so far, he does love everything. He is a hot potato requiring many fan breaks but he loves his training sessions and walkies. He is building his touch command and pivot. He seems to be a happy go lucky baby. We worked on his sound desensitization. He seemed unphased by all the city noises, door bells, dogs barking, fire trucks, fire works, and baby cries so far.
July 11th, 2026
Gnocchi had a fun day going to a painting class. He met lots of new people and other dogs! He was an excellent assistant, bringing everyone a cup of water in exchange for pets. He was very neutral around the other dogs, eager to meet them but respectful in not saying hi. He is improving with his door manners. He now understands to auto-sit at the door if he wants to go outside. He is also learning crate manners. That one is still a work in progress, but he is catching on to touch and pivot! He likes to hold your hand in his mouth as a reward if the treats run out. It is very cute since he uses his soft mouth and seems quite proud of himself when he brings you somewhere. It has helped significantly with his tight U-turns(pivots).
July 12th, 2026
Gnocchi met some kitties today! He loved them very much. My kitty returned the sentiment. He was calm and polite and loved that they gave him very excellent treats! He hasn’t yet adjusted to his new sleep schedule but enjoys his late night walks with his newly appointed Uncle Stitch. He is working on his bite inhibition and has been enjoying using his soft bite as a reward for things like pivot and switch. His down from a stand is still a work in progress but he thinks the side command is funny and hopefully we can begin paring it touching his feet soon. He enjoys his food puzzles especially the frozen ones. He is getting better at tether training but still wants to zig zag, potentially murdering the both of us. It has helped him work on his settle.
July 13th, 2026
Gnocchi has been learning the ropes from Stitch. Working on door manners, recall, and staying calm, cool, and collected. He is getting better at potty training. Tethering helps; he still doesn’t tell me when he needs to go, but he has begun to go when I give him the opportunity outside without having to walk for an hour. He is great at retrieving items he wants to bring you, but we still need to work on dropping said item and picking up the item you want him to get. We’ve been playing with a puppy box, and he is very confident. He’s been a great little assistant when I garden, picking up pots for me.
July 14th, 2026
Gnocchi had a long day, but I think he enjoyed himself. We have been working on his soft mouth and bringing us things he finds on the ground. His crate training is getting better; he was able to sleep for 4 hours in the crate after he spent the evening at the beach learning about the ocean! At first he wasn’t a fan, but with Mr Landshark with him, he had no other choice but to give in to his uncle’s demands and frolic into the crashing waves in the warm summer breeze. He did lots of Stwabble watching as he ran in and out of the waves, trying to bite the crashing foam or yell at us to swim with him. Gnocchi said he designated himself guardian of the stuff instead. That was until Stitch (Mr. Landshark aka Stwabble) decided we all had to go in the water with him or he would not go home. After a few waves scared Gnocchi away, he gave in to the peer pressure and ran into the waves to frolic with his self-proclaimed uncle. We left on a good note when he chose to run into the waves with us on his own accord. A grand success indeed! He also pooped in the sand, and we were very excited when he also pointed to it in the dark for easy pick up! He’s learning from the best!