Dakota 09-227

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This young guy came all the way from Tennessee this past weekend. Dakota is 11 months old, and weighs 54 lbs. Dakota is a golden mix, but his personality is 100% golden.

I picked him up Sunday, and already, he has our routine down. He is a very well adjusted young dog. He is 100% potty trained. He loves dogs. He loves people. He loves toys. He loves cats (they don't care too much for him, much to his disappointment). He loves treats. He loves to play ball. He loves to PLAY.

Dakota was surrendered by a family that did not have a yard. Dakota needs a yard. He definitely needs a yard, a place to run. I really think this family cared for him, but dogs this age really need tons of exercise and they couldn't give that to him.

I wish I could have videotaped my living room yesterday morning at 5:30 a.m. I sat on the couch, my cat sat on the arm of the couch, my dog sat at my feet, and our heads all followed Dakota in unison as he whiped through the toys, throwing them in the air, play bowing to them, chewing frantically on them, then, at a point, he stopped, looked at all of us, and I thought he might be thinking "Who the heck are you and WHERE did you come from?" But then he was back to his toys.

Dakota was neutered yesterday, and after his recovery, will be ready to meet his new family.

   
   
 

At a Glance #09-227

Mixed Breed Born: July 2008
Male 65 lbs

Status: Adopted

Profile

This young guy came all the way from Tennessee this past weekend. Dakota is 11 months old, and weighs 54 lbs. Dakota is a golden mix, but his personality is 100% golden.

I picked him up Sunday, and already, he has our routine down. He is a very well adjusted young dog. He is 100% potty trained. He loves dogs. He loves people. He loves toys. He loves cats (they don't care too much for him, much to his disappointment). He loves treats. He loves to play ball. He loves to PLAY.

Dakota was surrendered by a family that did not have a yard. Dakota needs a yard. He definitely needs a yard, a place to run. I really think this family cared for him, but dogs this age really need tons of exercise and they couldn't give that to him.

I wish I could have videotaped my living room yesterday morning at 5:30 a.m. I sat on the couch, my cat sat on the arm of the couch, my dog sat at my feet, and our heads all followed Dakota in unison as he whiped through the toys, throwing them in the air, play bowing to them, chewing frantically on them, then, at a point, he stopped, looked at all of us, and I thought he might be thinking "Who the heck are you and WHERE did you come from?" But then he was back to his toys.

Dakota was neutered yesterday, and after his recovery, will be ready to meet his new family.

   
   
 

Updates

Monday, July 20, 2009

What a WONDERFUL weekend we had here in Iowa! The weather could not be more perfect. We took advantage of it and took Dakota and our resident dog Lennon hiking at Ledges state park. I think they were happy to get out of the house until they saw some of the trails that they were hiking on. Dakota did great, but he did pull on the leash (not his fault; I didn't grab the gentle leader). Today he was excellent (we didn't forget it). We did several trails and walked through the streams. Dakota didn't mind getting wet, but it wasn't like he went barreling through the water either, Our resident dog that usually hates getting wet would pick the deepest water to wade through.  Last night we had a house full of tired people and 2 especially tired dogs and it looks like tonight will be a repeat of it.

 

Yesterday while hiking we had a chance to talk to a family and got the word out about RAGOM and the good things we do. They were complimenting on how cute Dakota was and I let them know he was our foster dog and explained how RAGOM works.  They had never heard of RAGOM,  so I was glad to let yet another Iowa family in on our secret. They took the website name so hopefully we will have more to invite into the RAGOM family some day (the kids are wanting a dog). Lets keep our paws crossed. :)

 

Dakota is still continuing to do well in our household. Our daughter gave him a bath today (river water is not a good scent). She said he did OK, but didn't really care for it. I clipped his nails last night and it took 2 of us. He doesn't care for people messing with his feet. Hopefully this will get better with time. Our dogs don't like it either so we are used to having help with nail trims. He hasn't counter surfed since the 1st week he was here (Good boy!). He still does well with his commands and is very gentle to take treats or food out of your hand.  He will go in the crate but he would prefer the floor by your bed or feet to sleep (Smart dog). He does VERY well with direction and is a pretty smart pup. I think if he has continual obedience training and knows what is expected of him, he's going to be an excellent dog for some family. We haven't been a foster failure yet, but our daughter has been bugging us to keep him. She knows that I will say no, because if we take him we won't be able to foster as often.

 

Well we just wanted to tell you about our EXCELLENT weekend and let you know how Dakota is doing. Thank you for checking in and seeing how our wonderful boy is. He is still waiting for his forever home, so if you're interested in a great dog please consider Dakota. He would make an excellent dog and would love to be a part of a great family.

 

Time for us to relax! Take care!

 

Dakota and Foster mom

 

DakotaDakota and LennonDakota

 

Monday, July 13, 2009

Hello. Sorry we haven't checked in lately but I wanted to wait until Dakota went to the vet again. He went this morning and everything looks great. He is back to normal and waiting for a forever home. He received so many compliments at the vet (from the vet and people bringing in their animals).  I was very proud of him. :) We were there for about an hour and he did an excellent job.

 

He has not had an accident since the medication was started so he is definitely house trained. He is a typical puppy and loves to play. He is doing very well with his commands. He will pull a little on the gentle leader (trying to get it off) but it is because he isn't used to it. I actually haven't been using it because I can handle him without it. He doesn't pull like our dogs do so it is a nice change. He also has not counter surfed for the past couple weeks so the extra food appears to be working.

 

This is one of the sweetest dogs we have had. He likes attention but also is content to lay at your feet. He has been sleeping with my daughter (which he loves) but will still go into the crate when asked.

 

He only needs to gain a couple more pounds and he will be where the vet would like his weight. He is trim and on the smaller size of a golden. So if you are looking for a smaller dog that is a little lover, Dakota would like to meet you. Thanks for keeping up with our little sweetheart.

 

 

Take care!

 

Dakota and Foster mom

 

Dakota

 

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Dakota has been with us for a little over a week now. In the beginning I was wondering what I had gotten myself into since he was having accidents. So we started crating him. This at first was also a nightmare because he didn't seem too keen on the idea of it. Now I can say a week later that we are fostering a great dog. I took him to the vet today, and found out he had a urinary tract infection.  So he will be on antibiotics the next two weeks. This may have been the reason for the accidents. I think he was stressed from all the moving around he has done.

 

Dakota has a great and loving personality. He just loves to be loved.  He has been great with the kids and great with the dogs.  Lola (our resident dog) matches him in energy so they have fun tearing around the backyard with each other.

 

The vet had stated that he was a little under weight, so we are going to increase his food intake to get some weight back on him. He likes to eat fast and will start on our resident dogs food.  So we crate him when he eats so that the others have a chance to eat as well. :) He has not shown any resource guarding or any growling of any sort.

 

He does not care for loud sounds and will bark at them (vacuum, weed eater, lawn mower). He will bark when he sees people as well. With correcting and redirecting he does stop the behavior.

 

We are crating him as I had mentioned before. At first he did not like this, but with treat motivation I can get him to go in by himself. He will whine for a little bit, but will quiet down. The past couple of nights we haven't heard a peep (knock on wood). Which is good because we don't want a cranky foster mom. :) He can sit and lay down. I just taught him to lay down so this may still need some work. He will come when you call him. He will pull a little on the leash, but it is nothing that having him wear a gentle leader won't cure. He will counter surf (I haven't seen him do this for a couple days now and we have had food on the counters), but I am hoping with direction and the increased food intake this will stop all together.

 

Dakota loves to be around people and/or other dogs. I think he would benefit from someone that has time to spend with him or at least has another dog to occupy his time.

 

Dakota is on the small side (he weighs 51#) so he would be great for someone who likes to have a smaller dog. So if you are interested in a very loving and smaller dog Dakota would like to meet you. I have attached a couple pictures of this sweet boy.

 

So enjoy and have a safe holiday weekend! Take care and we hope you can check back in with us.

 

Love,

 

Foster mom and Dakota

 

Dakota Dakota

 

Dakota

 

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Dakota continues to do well and LOVES playing with both the kids and dogs (resident Mia and 09-221 Huey)!  He is still a puppy with lots of puppy energy, but he is a great listener and has already learned to sit and will drop anything he has in his mouth (toys, balls, shoes J) when asked.

 

Not too much going on this week, he is still a sweet, affectionate boy - very skinny boy – so we are working on adding a few pounds. 

 

Here are a few new photos of sweet Dakota!

 

Dakota  Dakota

 

Monday, June 15, 2009

Dakota arrived yesterday and quickly made himself at home!  He greeted resident Mia and foster 09-221 Huey as if they had already met and proceeded to spend the day playing in the yard.  We usually keep the kids (4 & 7) away from a new dog for a few days, but Dakota keeps heading over to them and seems to be great with kids too!  He loves toys and running with the dogs, but doesn’t seem to know how to retrieve yet.  He is a typical puppy – lots of energy, wants to be close and have your attention, and very sweet!  Please contact your Placement Coordinator if you are interested in learning more about Dakota!