Our New Addition!! (with picture)

[TheGoldenRetriever]

... and a Marley update.

We've been assured our long-term foster Marley (Aussie/Rottie) has found his forever only-pet home. Marley's new "Daddy" is thrilled, he says Marley's well-trained and is being a very good boy! Marley's settling-in time was short, he shows no signs of his old anxieties. Apparently our efforts over time paid off for Marley. He's come a long way from being an AC seizure from his first home, adopted and returned twice, then imported by a rough-shod "rescue". That rotten "rescue" poorly placed him as a "great match" for our multi-pet home, when the truth was she just wanted Marley away from her own pets. She refused to take him back, even though he had attacked our Golden indoors and was hunting our cats. But we're glad we used crate/rotate management, and didn't dump him in a shelter like some had advised. We are thrilled for Marley and his new Daddy!! But it did leave us with just our Westie puppy and the cats, and we've always been a 2-dog/multiple-cat home! Another addition was planned, sometime in the future.

We hoped for another Golden Retriever, having been Golden-less since losing my heart-dog Cheyenne this past Father's Day. We wanted to adopt, but knew that would be a very tall order because shelters in our area just don't get Goldens. The only Golden breed rescues are far from us, and prefer not to adopt outside of their own areas. The only one remotely close to us prefers not to adopt out of their own state, and we're just over their state's line. They also prefer not to adopt to homes with cats, even though they do cat-test and say they have Goldens that are good with cats.

So our best bet was shelters, but shelters all around us never have Goldens.

Well never say "never" ... we found him on Nov.19 through Petfinder! He was at the Carson City shelter, just a short drive down to the Carson Valley. He's the first full Golden they have had in well over 3 years! I went right down there to meet him, he was a big, beautiful and gentle boy. He had come in as a stray with no collar, they kept him over a month, put out the word and placed ads. (Lost or found pet ads are free in all the area newspapers.) Nobody claimed this big friendly boy so they put him up for adoption.

No history on him, but they said he appeared to get along with other dogs and didn't seem interested in their office cats. When I met him he was in a tall, narrow kennel with a Jack Russell Terrier as they said he seemed to prefer smaller dogs. (Hmmm ... well that works out as we have a Westie at home!) I bailed him out Nov.19, right after meeting him at the shelter and spending about an hour with him in their play yard.

He gets along great with our Westie puppy and our cats, no problems. We brought him to our vet, thankfully he's healthy. The shelter guesstimated him as between 2 -3 yrs. old, but my guess matched our vet's ... he's actually between 3 - 4 yrs. old. He's an over-sized Golden, 25 inches tall at the shoulder. The only down side is that the shelter had been over-feeding him for over a month and he had gotten very little exercise while there. So he's got some weight to lose, also needs a bath and some grooming. Other than that he's fine! I'm posting his shelter picture. It's a bit misleading as he does not have the "white face" effect that senior Goldens get ... it's just a reflection from the strong sun through the shelter office window the day they took his picture over a month ago.

So without further ado ... here's our new big baby. We love him already!

 

[Renee750il]

Congrats! Lovely looking fella . . . and a sweet soul with a little mischief looking out of those eyes

 

[mom2dogs]

Such beautiful eyes. I wish you all the luck with him, congrats!

 

[TheGoldenRetriever]

. . . and a sweet soul with a little mischief looking out of those eyes

:rofl1: You got him pegged on the mischief!

His first night home we found out this boy's a pretty accomplished counter-surfer!! He got a banana and the rest of the bread that was on the kitchen counter ... and did so noiselessly, without even waking anyone up! We found the evidence the following morning: Most of a chewed banana peel, a ripped up bread package, and one very happy Golden. He had eaten the bread and the actual banana, sans peel that he'd chewed off.

Hmmm ... OK, no more food on the kitchen counters until this guy gets a little training.

 

[Dakotah]

Awww he is so pretty.
I am glad Marley found a forever home as well.
Everything seems to falling into place with yall.

 

[drmom777]

He looks like a delightful boy. Does he have a name yet, or did I miss it?

Congratulations to both you and him.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

What a lucky LUCKY dog. He is beautiful! I wish you many happy years together.

 

[smkie]

ISn't that just marvelous news all the way around. HOrrrrray for Marley. ANd horray for your new baby. He is a right good looking dog!

 

[PoodleMommy]

hes beautiful!

 

[Baxter'smybaby]

so glad to hear that Marley has his forever home! Kuddos to you for sticking by him! And congrats on the new guy--he looks like he will be lots of fun!What is his name?

 

[jess2416]

he's adorable congrats

 

[wishbone]

Congratulations, she's really a stunning girl.

 

[bubbatd]

I'm soooooooooo happy for you !!!! And for Marley !! A wonderful ending and a wonderful beginning !

 

[Doberluv]

Oh he has such a bright-eyed, cheerful expression....a happy looking fella. It sounds like a match made in Heaven. Congrats on your beautiful boy! I wish you loads of fun together.

 

[ihartgonzo]

I'm so glad Marley found his forever home.

Your new boy is just adorable, and he looks so sweet and happy. He does have a gleam in his eyes! Have you decided on a name yet? I had an inkling that you would get a Golden. It sounds like he's already fitting in perfectly.

 

[bubbatd]

There's nothing like a Golden's eyes or smile . Though Ollie isn't pure bred .....that's what comes through .

 

[TheGoldenRetriever]

Thanks you guys!! We did not plan to adopt this quickly! We only checked Petfinder to see what area shelters were trying to pass off as a "Golden" or "Golden mix" this time. (Common around here ... dogs labeled Goldens, Golden mixes, or GSD mixes ... when it's pretty clear they are anything but!) We found this guy, a full Golden, by chance!

We're happy for Marley!! Now he's getting not just not long walks/runs, but also went on his first of many camping trips. He's following all the commands he learned here. The dog once afraid of men is sticking like glue to his new Daddy!! Seems he's finally forgotten his first owner, the man who had abused him when he was a puppy and adolescent. No more crate/rotate or limits on his "house time". Marley will never be right with multiple pets indoors, but that's OK. He's fine with other dogs outdoors, his new Daddy only wants one dog in his house and isn't a "cat person". What I really like about this guy is he understands Marley, and understands the difference between "firm" and "harsh". That was essential. Marley does need firm voice direction, but harsh tones make him wilt. Marley's happy, he loves being an only-pet.

As for our new Golden, here's what we've been able to observe so far. This is long, but we would really appreciate opinions/advice from all of you guys!!

Housebroken, acts nervous when "asking" to go out. Maybe not housebroken with kindness? He's familiar with normal house noises. Unlike many Goldens he wants to hang out in the yard by himself for a few hours at a time, and likes laying in the big padded dog house. We suspect he may have been an indoor/outdoor dog ... his rough foot pads and "snow nose" point to that as well. (It's been cold here.) He's currently getting warm water soaks and Bag Balm to heal a few cracks in his foot pads. There's a little fur missing from his tail, but I saw his JRT cell-mate playing with and biting the big guy's wagging tail. The big guy ignored that behavior from the JRT.

He LOVES long walks and walks well on a leash. Doesn't seem he got many walks, as he's currently fat and flabby-muscled. That will change with time. He's on a diet and exercise program to get him into shape. He's calm around people but does want to greet them. He likes little kids but is cautious around them, tightly closing his eyes sometimes. Maybe he got poked in the eye by a little kid? He behaved very well at the vet and at his visit to Petsmart. He accepts treats from us but not from strangers. He politely takes treats from strangers, but then drops them to the floor even though he's food-motivated.

He most definitely prefers small and medium-sized dogs!! He either ignores or greets them politely if allowed. He is a big dog but has fear reaction to other big dogs. He gets tense around them with leash pulling, barking and growling. It's not aggressive barking ... sounds like the typical Golden fear-bark, a half bark/half cry. Maybe he had bad experiences in the past with other big dogs?? What do you guys think?

Good with cats, no chasing or hunting. He tentatively sniffed our dog-loving Turkish Angora, then quickly drew his nose back. He did this several times while she sat with no reaction. He was probably once scratched on the nose by a cat. He quickly figured out she's dog-friendly and now mostly ignores her ... much to her chagrin. She ignores other cats but really loves dogs! Our other cats ignore dogs. He's cool with that, does not notice them other than a curious glance when they jump.

He's incredibly patient with our 5 month-old Westie puppy!! We had finally gotten Riley to stop trying to jump on other dogs outside, but instead politely greet. Apparently that doesn't apply to dogs inside the house! He jumped all over and around the big guy. No reaction other than the big guy being careful not to step on the puppy. He ignores the puppy otherwise.

He's a counter-surfer, and had very poor manners when we had him in at our dinner time. No one taught him manners while humans are eating, but he's learning. He was a very good boy during our dinner last night! He stayed on his dog bed the whole time, but was not thrilled with the idea.

Seems someone tried to train him but was not consistent. He only knew "sit" and "come" ... and not 100% with either. In less than a week he's now 100% with "sit" and getting better with come. He didn't know "shake" at all ... but learned after only 3 tries. He's currently learning "wait" and "leave it" while outside ... coming along well with both. He's familiar with "stay", but he doesn't like it.

He had come into the shelter as a stray with no collar, so no one knew his name. The shelter named him Boo Boo, and named his little JRT cell-mate Yogi. He didn't answer to Boo Boo. I know this sounds very weird ... but we asked him to tell us his name, because he once had one. We sat quietly with him for a time, then left the room. I looked at Tom, it was clear we both had the same thought. He said "Buddy!" and the Golden's reaction was a look of sudden recognition and he came happily running. So that's what he "says" his name is ... Buddy.

We don't hate the name but we don't love it either. I dunno ... what do you guys think? He does respond to it. But do you think he might associate it with past poor manners and possibly some bad memories??

 

[Dizzy]

I think you should pick a name that suits him and makes you happy and he responds too

 

[bubbatd]

Bubba's Daddy was named Buddy . The name will come to you !

 

[ihartgonzo]

Aww, poor guy. It sounds like he has had a rough life, despite how sweet he is. He's very lucky to have been adopted by you!

As far as the fear-reaction, I'm sure he has been bullied/attacked by bigger dogs. We used to have a rescued Rottie, who was SUPER sweet with all people and all dogs, unless the dogs were his size or larger. Literally, exactly his size or larger. He played with the neighbors Dobies like no other... but would throw a tantrum if he saw the other neighbor's Saint Bernard. It made sense, because he used to be a "junkyard dog", and we found out that construction workers allowed their wolf hybrids, Rotties and Mastiffs to gang up on him and attack him. He was just very afraid, but I doubt that he wanted to hurt any other dogs, even if they were bigger.

How do you think he would react toward a Border Collie? A very little, petite Border Collie... and a rather stocky foot-tall Corgi mix? = D

I, too, think you should pick the name that you feel fits him. If you feel he is a "Buddy", that's perfect. What matters is that YOU are the people saying his name, and YOU make his name a positive thing, not what his a-hole former owners used to call him. You could also name him something similar to Buddy. Fozzie used to be "Willie", and he responded to that, so I picked a name that sounds just close enough (the "ie" sound at the end). You could do the same, if you prefer another name; like Rudy, Jonesy, Charlie, etc. As long as you make it something positive and use it a lot while rewarding/playing/petting him, he will recognize it as his name.