I think I "own" a Golden now...

There is this female Golden at work that has apparently been abandoned; her owners dropped her off on the 15th, were supposed to pick her up on the 17th and have been no call/no show since. Our contract states that any dog left for 14 days under such circumstances then reverts to our possession and we can pretty much do whatever. Well, today was Day 14.

So I have a new project! This girl, Zoe, needs a TON of work obedience-wise. Her mom never spent any time with her, so at 1-ish year of age, she is just now learning that flying leaps do not count as proper greeting behaviors. She's also not spayed and I think is going to go into heat pretty soon. I'm not really sure about that last part though. But over the last couple of weeks I've been working with her on "sit" and how to at least walk with all four feet on the ground...we'll get to not pulling a bit later.

She's a smart dog, once she settles down a bit. I taught her "fetch/bring back/drop/wait" in about 10 minutes and she will "down" now as well, though she'll pop back up almost immediatly. Baby steps...she'd never make it out of a shelter if she went now and I don't know how the local Golden Rescue feels about taking potentially DA dogs. Oh yeah...I don't know if it's boredom or what, but she's started to show some DA-like behaviors...there are a couple of dogs that come in that are very stable and mellow that I want to use as "testers". I don't think Sawyer will work for this because of his ingrained habit of "teaching manners" right off the bat and I already know that she's a fairly dominant girl. They've clashed before. Other than that, fairly normal Golden; very willing to please once she knows what is being asked.

I'll get pictures tomorrow!

Ohhh I Golden!!!

They are such stunning dogs!

Hope you can help her and she finds her a "forever home" soon!

YEAH PICCYS!!

Very cool

Whats her name?

Her name is Zoe. I kind of want to add her last name into it to make it all one name...ZoeGrimm. It just fits her.

that poor thing!!

Oh well.. Do you perhaps think that something happened to her owners on their trip??

Do you have any OTHer contacts that you could make?

The last name of the people who dumped her?

that doesnt seem fitting

Elissa

Poor girl! I'm glad you'll be working with her.

Can't wait to see pics

Normally this would have been the first thought. However, every time she has been boarded, her mom puts off coming to get her longer and longer each time. We already knew she didn't like the dog and didn't want her anymore anyway. So based on the pattern of previous behavior and that information...we think she's been dumped. I'm going to call tomorrow just to make sure, but my fingers will be crossed the whole time that she doesn't answer and doesn't call back. It's happened before. The resort had a cat for 2 years because someone just never came back to get it and we kept it. It has since found a home with an employee.

Ohhh ok.. she was the dog that you were talking about before then!

That really sucks.. that poor thing..

She probably feels soo out of place!

I honestly don't think it bothers her all that much. She's getting more attention here than I think she ever did at home. Apparently the lady has a couple of kids and I cannot see how those kids would ever want to play with her...I mean I know how to deflect rough playing and flying leaps and she still knocks the wind out of me and has nicked my hand mouthing at it...

The funny thing is that she loves me the best out of anyone there. She will always come to me when called, and will ignore just about everyone else. I have a soft spot for the problem children.

Ohh it is just SOOO sad!!!

OMG!!!!!! She's a " ZOLLIE " !!! Well , calm her down and you know where I live !!!! BTW... maybe the kids played too rough with her . The grabbing your hand or arm ,as you know, is a retriever thing . Anxious for pictures !!! Keep posting !!

Awww poog girl. I can't wait to see the pics!!!!

Aww, that poor girl. I'm awaiting pics rather anxiously.

Wow! You have a new dog! I think that's great. What a lucky girl! Her owner obviously did nothing with her, which makes me think "uninterested." I bet you're right...she just dumped her, which is not sad btw. It's terrific. This dog now has a chance for a good life. I do hope all goes well. Kudos Zoom!

Congrats on your new project dog.

It's such a shame that she's showing DA. That is not supposed to be present in this breed but it so often is these days. Makes me sad as a well bred Golden is about the furthest thing from aggressive you can get.

Anyway, post pictures when you get a chance please? I'd love to see her.

Yup..that is a shame. We're seeing more and more traits in poorly bred Labs and Goldens that are 180 degrees opposite of what we always thought about these breeds. A real shame.

awh a golden poor girl, glad u are working with her! would love to see pics!

Thank you for being there for her...at least someone is. I can't imagine what it would be like to just walk away and not feel a thing...probably as though she had never owned, or been owned by a dog.

I tested Zoe today with a mellow black lab and she did great, even wanted to play a bit! So pending an ok from the GM, she might get to come play in the afternoons...or maybe not because one of the groomer's echoed my suspicion that she's going to go into heat pretty soon. Perhaps she's just getting very frustrated in her room, which is fairly easy to fix. Anyway, here are the pictures!

Being bad and giving hugs:


"Eating" my hand:


Hi there:


She has got some of the best eye contact out of any dog I've met (that's a fellow co-worker on the other end of the leash here):