Happy New Year from Barkley! Life is good, the weather has been mild besides the snowstorm a week ago allowing us to continue with our daily exercise and outdoor play routine. The walks continue to be enjoyable as this young gentleman is a champion leash walker.

It has been about 6 weeks now since Barkley came to stay. In this time we have worked on identifying things that give him stress. Barkley does not want to be bothered when he is sleeping or resting. He has learned that we will not poke, prod, or pester him and he is no longer giving Foster Dad and Foster Sister growlies.

Barkley also seems to startle very easily in the dark. We leave a light on at night when he is sleeping and make sure he can hear us enter the room so we do not frighten him. He may react negatively if he is taken by surprise. He is not guarding beds, spaces or objects; he just needs his space.

Barkley had the trainer come over for a couple hours one evening. He jumped on her when she came in, but after a minute or so he plopped down peacefully by her feet and relaxed. We worked on a plan to figure out his stressors and we are confident we have a handle on it now. It just took some time and patience.

Barkley has now formed a bond with his foster dad. This last week he is seeking attention from us all. He likes to put his head on your knee, give kisses here and there, and sometimes give you a big paw on your arm. Barkley definitely needed time to adjust to everyone in the household and learn to trust us.

Now for some fun things! Barkley went to visit Santa! There were a lot of other dogs there waiting in line and Barkley was perfect. He was very alert but was not reactive to any of the dogs. He was just taking it all in—he was going to meet Santa!

He has also spent a few more days at dog daycare and loves it and is fantastic with the staff. This weekend we went to his trainer's studio for another hour-long puppy play. He had a wonderful time and was social with not only the dogs but the human folk, too.

Barkley would like to tell you about his helper skills. He likes to sit in front of the dryer and poke his head in while Foster Mom takes out the laundry. This guy is smart—he knows that sometimes Foster Mom takes dog toys out of there so he eagerly waits to see if anything of his comes out! It's pretty darn cute!

So this about sums up Barkley's news for today. He is an easy boy to have around. He is not destructive, free roams 24/7, never a disagreement with his foster siblings, does not resource guard, 100% housetrained, does not counter surf. He just needs time to settle in and know he has mutual trust with his owner(s) and form a bond(s).

Barkley says "Let sleeping dogs lie." Foster Mom let Barkley know that she learned that from her father when she was a tiny little girl and she has never forgotten it.

If Barkley may be the dog for you, please submit an Inquiry for Application. He is anxiously waiting to find his forever family in the new decade!

Barkley has been hanging out up in Duluth for about 10 days now, and is having a very good time. He was a little stressed at first to find himself in a new place with new roommates, but once he figured out there were lots of toys and dog beds and food and a fenced yard to run around in, he settled down and has been more relaxed and fun-loving each day.

He comes to the door when called, so he is now free to run in the fenced yard without a trailing leash. He is solidly housebroken. He knows basic commands. His energy is high, but he can settle well between play sessions.

The biggest stress at first was meeting the resident adult male dog, Trek. Trek likes to play a lot and to contact play (wrestle, bitey-face, occasional body slams), and Barkley didn't know what to make of Trek's offers to play and was defensive if pushed. Trek was frustrated that Barkley wouldn't play and barked at him to try to change his mind.

They reached an uneasy accord by the end of their first day together, and after about four days Barkley started to trust Trek and respond to his play invites. Now they charge out of the door together and zoom around the yard and play hard and fast until they are both worn out.

Barkley was immediately very interested in the girl resident dog, but she told him what she thought and how things would be, and he believed her and they have been fine together without playing. They both like to hoard toys, and will spend part of the day doing the toy trade game, as the toy the other dog has is, of course, best.

Barkley will stare at one of the other dogs that has a toy he wants, but will not try to take it from them (both residents have told him that is not OK). He will wait until they finish with it and walk away, and then he will "steal" the toy.

He will occasionally bring Foster Mom a toy and give it to her to have her throw it or tug, but generally he just wants to show it to you and needs another toy or treat to "trade" to give up whatever is in his mouth. This also works when he has something in his mouth that is not actually a dog toy.

Barkley met a friend’s girl dog that is a frequent visitor at our house and is comfortable here. Barkley LOVED her at first sight and immediately appropriately play-bowed and invited her to join him in a loop around the yard. She is slightly intimidated by him, but has shown she enjoys his company over the course of a few meetings.

While he clearly enjoys the girl dogs, he has been very good not to try to mount them or be too obsessed with their lady parts. He just wants them to play. He will now also run in good pack play with his new girlfriend and Trek at the same time.

Barkley is still a puppy and needs supervision or containment around the house when not actively engaged with his people. I use baby gates to section off part of the house so he doesn't have access to things to get him in trouble when I can't be watching him directly (like when I am working at home).

As long as he has a small pile of toys to keep him occupied, he will entertain himself and nap alternately quite nicely. He respects the gates even though he could easily clear them if he wanted to. At my house he has been good to only chew on dog toys (despite piles of shoes by the door).

He is intrigued by a basket of hats and gloves, etc. that appeared by the door in the recent cold weather, and he has relocated a few of those items but not harmed them. He understands "no" and will quit what he is doing with that command most of the time.

He is crated when I am not home; he likes his giant crate and goes in easily with a treat. He sleeps in the bedroom on a dog bed. He would like to sleep on the human bed, but with his history of claiming things and space and defending them, he is not allowed to do so here and probably should not be in his forever home.

Bottom line: Barkley is a sweet, smart, silly, big puppy. Each day as he settles in, we are having more and more fun, and we will miss him when he moves on to his permanent foster, and then to his forever home.

Barkley had his neuter surgery on the November 13, and will move to his permanent foster as soon as he has a few days of healing time. Please inquire if you are interested in adopting this handsome guy.

Barkley enjoyed a play date with another Golden Retriever. We went for a short walk around the block together before going in the yard to play. Barkley and Lulu loved doing zoomies in the yard. They eventually tired enough for a big drink of water and some hanging around the humans time.

Barkley travels in the car very nicely.

Barkley has moved temporarily to Blaine, Minnesota, and I had the privilege to spend some time with him. He looks very healthy and his smooth coat is super soft. We go for walks to spend time together, to get some exercise, and enjoy the fall weather.

Barkley rides nicely in my car. He lays down and looks around and stays mostly quiet. Our walks are more of a leisurely stroll than a walk. Not once is there any tension in my 6-foot lead. He walks, sniffs, looks to me for a treat, marks things, lifts his nose to smell the breeze, and stays near my side like he is a life-long companion.

Barkley likes attention and enjoys being petted. He even does belly up for tummy rubs.

Barkley sits for treats and takes each treat so gently. I tested "trade." He most definitely knows what that means and very happily traded toys for treats or other bones or toys. He knows some basic commands like "sit" and "down," but there is always room to learn more.