Please welcome the latest foster to RAGOM….her name is Angel and she is quite the hottie. As you can see from her pictures, she’s not quite a Golden Retriever BUT…..as we say, she has a Golden heart. She has a beautiful, soft black coat which has a few white streaks on her tail and feet. She currently weighs 56 lbs, but needs to lose 8-9 lbs. She has short little legs---like a Cocker Spaniel. But, her fur is definitely Golden like. Her face is adorable. Some people think she looks like a miniature Newfy. Whatever she is, we already love her very much.
First a little background on Angel. She arrived last Friday (5/1) from Sioux City, Iowa. In her previous home, she was not exposed to a lot people, other than her immediate family. She also was not exposed to other dogs very much. She mostly lived in an outside kennel and when allowed inside, had to stay in her crate. Since coming to Maple Grove, she has made great strides in just a short week. Because of her lack of experience with “outsiders” and other dogs, we did extremely slow dog and people introductions. At first, she was very scared, raised her hackles and growled. But, within 10 minutes, she was trying to initiate play with my youngest resident Golden. Then, she met my second, older Golden, with no issues at all. Honestly, I was quite surprised. She seems to pick up on “doggie” language very well and acts appropriate around them. She figured out very quickly that my senior Golden doesn’t like his toys taken away from him nor does he like to roll around and play. With a few corrections from him, she figured it out and all has been well here.
To my delight, she is potty trained! She has had no accidents in the house. In fact, she’s a very nice house guest. It’s obvious she wasn’t allowed anywhere in her previous house because when I call her into my bedroom, she looks at me like “I’m not suppose to be there….” She’s also wonderfully crate-trained. She doesn’t make a peep when I put her in there when I go to work. She also has not chewed up anything inappropriate in the house. At night, she has complete free roam, and she mostly sleeps in the hallway outside of my bedroom or lies in her crate (with the door open). I have been leaving her have free roam for up to 2 hours in the evening, if I’m running errands, etc. So far, so good.
As for her health, she’s in great shape except for a few extra pounds. I think she’s heavy from lack of exercise. As soon as she gets regular exercise, I believe the weight will come off. Also, having no more litters will help slim her up too J She is up to date on her shots, microchipped and was spayed earlier this week. Her ears were clean when she arrived and she’s also worm-free. Yahoo!
We started walking right away, and she’s doing terrific on a leash. I think she will be an easy dog to train. She already knows sit and usually automatically goes into a “lay down” position. She loves having her neck and tummy rubbed. She almost falls asleep as you pet her.
She has been doing well meeting teenagers and adults. She’s shy at first and does best when you ignore her when first meeting her. It gives her a chance to check you out first and then she’ll gladly take your petting. We haven’t been around young children yet, so I can’t say how she’ll do with them. Nor has she met any cats yet.
All in all, she’s had a great week. She’s been very nice, quiet and sweet to have around. She’s beginning to play with toys and bones and seems to enjoy them very much. Her favorite thing to do outside is roll around in the grass or dirt. She gets up and looks a little dusty! We’re teaching her how to fetch a ball and she’s learning quickly. It has been fun to see her come out of her shell and discover what the true “Golden Life” is all about!
If you are interested in meeting our Angel, let your Placement advisor know. She’s quite adorable and will be hard to resist J
