Ashton 12-048

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Profile

We have had Ashton for 1 1/2 weeks, and what a lovable and loving guy he is! He is 4 years old and is a golden/lab mix who weighs 63 lbs. He looks very much like a lab, but he is a beautiful reddish-gold color. What a handsome guy he is - very solid and muscular! He is house trained and knows some basic commands like sit, shake, down, drop, and leave it. There is a certificate for passing a beginner level class in his records. With continued training he would be a very well-behaved dog. He likes to greet people by jumping up on them, but we know he can be trained that this behavior is unacceptable. We have been working with him on this. He loves being petted and scratched, so we use a lot of positive reinforcement with him. He is great with our resident female golden. They play long and hard together a few times a day. Ashton likes to bark at people and cars from the window. Also, he barks when he hears car doors shutting. We have been able to control the barking with commands for him to stop, and we love on him and thank him for stopping. We are also working with him on play nipping our hands and clothing. It isn't real biting, but it is annoying. He's just showing us in dog language that he wants to play or be petted. However, we're trying to show him other ways of telling us that are more acceptable. He is learning!

Ashton is a very energetic dog, and his favorite pastime is playing fetch. He is a powerful and fast runner. What we humans love most about the game is that Ashton will bring the ball back and drop it at our feet! Because he does that, he is rewarded with longer play since we don't have to chase him around trying to retrieve the ball ourselves. He also loves going for walks. However, because he is very strong and pulls on the leash when attached to his flat collar, we use the Gentle Leader for walks. He doesn't care for it much, but his love for getting out of the yard overpowers his dislike of the collar.

Ashton does not guard food or toys from humans or our golden. He loves chew toys and will demolish stuffed toys in record time. So our favorite toys for him are black Kongs. We have the regular black Kong for snacks and a bone-shaped black Kong for chewing and playing tug with our golden. So far the Kongs have proven indestructible. When we leave the house and at night, Ashton is kennelled in a large wire crate. He goes in on his own at the "kennel" command. His kennel is beside our bed, and he sleeps quietly through the night.

At a Glance #12-048

Mixed Breed Born: November 2007
Male 65 lbs

Status: Adopted

Profile

We have had Ashton for 1 1/2 weeks, and what a lovable and loving guy he is! He is 4 years old and is a golden/lab mix who weighs 63 lbs. He looks very much like a lab, but he is a beautiful reddish-gold color. What a handsome guy he is - very solid and muscular! He is house trained and knows some basic commands like sit, shake, down, drop, and leave it. There is a certificate for passing a beginner level class in his records. With continued training he would be a very well-behaved dog. He likes to greet people by jumping up on them, but we know he can be trained that this behavior is unacceptable. We have been working with him on this. He loves being petted and scratched, so we use a lot of positive reinforcement with him. He is great with our resident female golden. They play long and hard together a few times a day. Ashton likes to bark at people and cars from the window. Also, he barks when he hears car doors shutting. We have been able to control the barking with commands for him to stop, and we love on him and thank him for stopping. We are also working with him on play nipping our hands and clothing. It isn't real biting, but it is annoying. He's just showing us in dog language that he wants to play or be petted. However, we're trying to show him other ways of telling us that are more acceptable. He is learning!

Ashton is a very energetic dog, and his favorite pastime is playing fetch. He is a powerful and fast runner. What we humans love most about the game is that Ashton will bring the ball back and drop it at our feet! Because he does that, he is rewarded with longer play since we don't have to chase him around trying to retrieve the ball ourselves. He also loves going for walks. However, because he is very strong and pulls on the leash when attached to his flat collar, we use the Gentle Leader for walks. He doesn't care for it much, but his love for getting out of the yard overpowers his dislike of the collar.

Ashton does not guard food or toys from humans or our golden. He loves chew toys and will demolish stuffed toys in record time. So our favorite toys for him are black Kongs. We have the regular black Kong for snacks and a bone-shaped black Kong for chewing and playing tug with our golden. So far the Kongs have proven indestructible. When we leave the house and at night, Ashton is kennelled in a large wire crate. He goes in on his own at the "kennel" command. His kennel is beside our bed, and he sleeps quietly through the night.

Updates

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Ashton loves to play fetch on our large frozen pond out back.  He and Eva (our resident golden) compete tirelessly for the throwing dummy.  Ashton is fast and strong and will usually get the dummy first.  Eva is a bit more dominant and will take it away from him.  Ashton is a good sport about that.  You can actually watch a video of them fetching on the ice on www.youtube.com and search for "Ashton 12-048 available for adoption through RAGOM".

Now that the ice is gone, Ashton has discovered that he loves to swim! Ashton and Eva LOVE swimming in the pond! Ashton jumps off the dock and is a strong swimmer. He's a very active dog who loves fetch almost as much as he loves his humans.

He DOES love his humans! He sticks close by you always - on walks, in the house, anywhere you are is where he wants to be. He's a leaner and would love to be petted and loved on 24/7.  Ashton is definitely not the type of dog that would make a run for it and go off on his own adventure.  This is a very nice trait for a dog to have!

Ashton gets along very well with our female golden. She is only 11 months old and has a LOT of energy. Sometimes Ashton, who is 4 years old, just sits and lets her chew on him. We had friends over who have a very large male chow mix. Ashton didn't get along with him at all. Now that spring is here, we'll take him out more for dog interaction to see how he does with other dogs and people. He does well with older children, however he might knock over young children.

Things we're working on with Ashton are to sit quietly when someone comes to the door, not to bark when he hears noises outside, and to stop pulling at our clothes and hands with his mouth. Both dogs are jealous for out attention, and if we have petted Ashton and go to pet Eva, Ashton will gently pull our hand back to himself with his mouth. It never hurts, but that just isn't something we want him to do.

We are amazed at how quiet Ashton is in his kennel at night. He has never barked during the night and sleeps very silently. We sleep as a "pack" with a dog at each bedside.

Ashton will be at the Brooklyn Park Petco this Saturday, March 24, from 12:30 - 2:00. Come see this beautiful boy!!