Hi! sounds like you lucked into a wonderful dog! However she is just a dog and it also sounds like that is why she was "dumped" or maybe was on one of her "walk abouts" when she was lucky to encounter you.
I can tell you this. I have been a Vet Tech all of my working life and I am now older than dirt! I also am a Foster home for rescues. I couldn't tell you how many sad, dead dogs we had to stuff in our freezer for "disposal" later after they had run out and gotten lost, hit by cars, attacked by feral dog packs or shot by some irate home owner. These dogs had the "invisable fence" crap, or a number of other electronic garbage that was suppose to keep them in. Snort!!
These so called solutions are for the lazy person and they only work as long as the dog does not see/smell/hear something that is so interesting they just blow right through or out of the "control" zone. Many breeds are known for this, Labs being one of them. Of course they are! They are Hunting dogs! Bred to brave the coldest water and the roughest conditions to attain the goal. if they are lucky enough to have savvy owners who use all that strong drive and intelligence to teach them "goals" , they will be a wonderful dog. If not, well, then you get a roamer who is bull headed and useless.
There are some solutions for you. One, you can put up a dog run. It must be "SECURE", and that means taking the trouble to put a dig proof floor on it and an "escape proof "top. You can use paving steps like I do or cement a flooring or lay down chain link on the ground. Put on a tough cover of chain link just like the sides. Mine came from Home Depot in a kit, I just had them add a second "side" that I used for the top.
Needless to say your dog should be in this run unless you are out there with it and the dog should be on a lead or long line until the dog has been taught a fool proof recall and has bonded to you! Then, you must put in the time to give the dog LOTS of exercise and training....remember this is a hunting breed with all of that drive and ambition. The are bred to DO, not to lay around. And the dog needs plenty of "people interaction" along with this work, work, work. PLay ball a lot and teach it to fetch if it doen't already know how to do this. You will have to start on long line. Take it swimming in appropriate weather. Weil, for Labs having to break the ice on the water is "appropriate" before jumping in. LOL
There are good books on dog training! Get a couple of good ones and have fun with them and use those brains and potential that this dog has!
One tip about chain link dog runs. For 99 % of dogs they are great. But for that one percent that WILL NOT be confined, a chain link dog run will not hold even a small determined dog. These dogs must have a solid tough wall up to 3 feet high all around the inside of the run to keep them from chewing through the wire. Been there, done that. And it was a tiny little OLD Cattle dog foster that did not weigh 25 lbs soaking wet that went right through that chain link! I couldn't believe it!
The other solution might be a dog pen. But these will be uncovered and with no dig proof surfacing. Not knowing if this dog is an "Escape artist", don't know of course if just a pen would work. Don't tie up the dog! This a bad thing to do and most dogs suffer psychological damage if they are tied out.
I have regular visitors here who come to play with my three cattle dogs. These three dogs are Labs(two blacks and a yellow). Along with their owner they come for a day of fun swimming in the pond or in the summer, in the river with my three dogs. They are wonderful dogs! All three have been trained for Field Trials and are soooo smart and beautiful! They all SIT, DOWN, FETCH, HEEL, DOWN. LOAD UP(in the truck) and do it as a trio. I just love to have them come to see me.
Good luck and I hope all goes well for you and your new dog.
LQ and her trio of fur kids. LOL
Keeping my dog in the yard...
