Jasper 06-454

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10/5/06: Introducing Jasper, 06-454! I picked him up today and he is wonderful! Jasper was given up to RAGOM because his owners had to work 6 days a week and were not able to give him the time he needed. He was spending a lot of time outside and it was decided that he should be able to find a new home. The first thing we did when we got Jasper to our house was give him a bath! Since he was outside most of the time, he was definitely smelling like it. One wash later and voila! A clean and happy Golden! He ate some dinner and pottied and now is konked out on my foot as I type this.

Here is what we know so far about Jasper, from talking to his surrendering owner and just interacting with him today. Jasper was born May of 2005, so he is almost a year and a half old. He is a purebred neutered Golden. It's hard to tell what Jasper weighs but I would guesstimate that he is about 70 pounds (that's looking at him vs our dog Cinder, who is 72-75 pounds). He is absolutely loving being inside and has explored the whole house with me. Jasper knows how to sit and will also lay down. Jasper will rear up for some attention but is learning "Off" very quickly (you can actually see him thinking as he remembers he should not jump up). He got along fine with a dog and some cats at his old house (the little dog bossed him around and the cats would hiss and swat at him and Jasper didn't bat an eyelash). He and Cinder are good friends after meeting, a little wrestlemania, and have worn each other out (Good Boy!). Jasper rode like a champ in the car. He sat down next to the window and stuck his nose out. Jasper is very good on a leash. There a little pulling at first and then he just trots with you. He may or may not be housetrained, but he has pottied outside and gone to the door with Cinder when he had to go out. We will see. He is not crate trained but we are starting him on that. Jasper did some inappropriate chewing at his old house (he chewed out of an outside dog run because he was craving attention, chewed on some deck furniture, and traumatized a garden gnome) but has not tried anything here. The chewing can probably be attributed to him wanting to be near people and not outside alone. He is now being given a lot of stimulation and appropriate chew toys. He has been around kids who were 2 and 9-13.

Jasper likes to be right next to you and is soaking up all the love and attention. For being a young dog, he is not a crazy wild dog - he knows how to control himself and responds very well to positive directions. He is very food motivated and appreciates a belly rub and some snuggle time.

He has a vet appointment on Monday and we will see how his medical evaluation checks out. Please email placementatragom [dot] org if you are interested in this great guy.

JasperJasper

At a Glance #06-454

Breed not specified Born: September 2005
Male Weight not specified

Status: Adopted

Profile

10/5/06: Introducing Jasper, 06-454! I picked him up today and he is wonderful! Jasper was given up to RAGOM because his owners had to work 6 days a week and were not able to give him the time he needed. He was spending a lot of time outside and it was decided that he should be able to find a new home. The first thing we did when we got Jasper to our house was give him a bath! Since he was outside most of the time, he was definitely smelling like it. One wash later and voila! A clean and happy Golden! He ate some dinner and pottied and now is konked out on my foot as I type this.

Here is what we know so far about Jasper, from talking to his surrendering owner and just interacting with him today. Jasper was born May of 2005, so he is almost a year and a half old. He is a purebred neutered Golden. It's hard to tell what Jasper weighs but I would guesstimate that he is about 70 pounds (that's looking at him vs our dog Cinder, who is 72-75 pounds). He is absolutely loving being inside and has explored the whole house with me. Jasper knows how to sit and will also lay down. Jasper will rear up for some attention but is learning "Off" very quickly (you can actually see him thinking as he remembers he should not jump up). He got along fine with a dog and some cats at his old house (the little dog bossed him around and the cats would hiss and swat at him and Jasper didn't bat an eyelash). He and Cinder are good friends after meeting, a little wrestlemania, and have worn each other out (Good Boy!). Jasper rode like a champ in the car. He sat down next to the window and stuck his nose out. Jasper is very good on a leash. There a little pulling at first and then he just trots with you. He may or may not be housetrained, but he has pottied outside and gone to the door with Cinder when he had to go out. We will see. He is not crate trained but we are starting him on that. Jasper did some inappropriate chewing at his old house (he chewed out of an outside dog run because he was craving attention, chewed on some deck furniture, and traumatized a garden gnome) but has not tried anything here. The chewing can probably be attributed to him wanting to be near people and not outside alone. He is now being given a lot of stimulation and appropriate chew toys. He has been around kids who were 2 and 9-13.

Jasper likes to be right next to you and is soaking up all the love and attention. For being a young dog, he is not a crazy wild dog - he knows how to control himself and responds very well to positive directions. He is very food motivated and appreciates a belly rub and some snuggle time.

He has a vet appointment on Monday and we will see how his medical evaluation checks out. Please email placementatragom [dot] org if you are interested in this great guy.

JasperJasper

Updates

Sunday, October 8, 2006

Jasper has a vet appointment tomorrow so we will update this here. Jasper's ears look pretty bad - his previous living conditions might have influenced that. We've cleaned his ears everyday and he just sits patiently. They will get checked out tomorrow.

Jasper went for a 4 mile walk on Saturday morning and was great! The Gentle Leader is perfect for him and he should wear it on walks. It was Cinder who was being a little bratty and pulling but Jasper was just happy to be outside. He met kids, other dogs, joggers, bikers, roller bladers, and some elderly people. There was a dog that didn't want to be friends so when we passed them on the other side of the lake Jasper and Cinder were told to sit and he ignored the other dog.

Jasper is ok with having his teeth brushed and his nails clipped. He likes being groomed and just leans against you.

Housetraining is going well. He holds it in the crate and overnight. Jasper hasn't really figured out how to alert someone he has to go out, but he stands by the door and stares at you or paces. We have it pretty timed to know when he will need to go out and this schedule works for him.

Obedience training is a must for Jasper. He has not had a lot of interaction or direction for the first part of his life, and he will need to know what behaviors are acceptable or not. He sits on command now and will lay down. We are working on stay. He knows "off" and does not rear up on you, but we have re-directed his previous jumping to "Sit." He now knows that if he jumps he will not get attention and when we have him sit if he is excited, he knows he gets love, praise, and snuggling. Jasper will respond when you call in a happy voice - he knows that it means you WANT to see him. Jasper will "Drop it" if you show him that he is rewarded for doing so (ie, treat, praise). We started with offering a treat so he knew that we're not just taking things away from him all the time. Jasper would do well with formal obedience. He is very food and praise motivated and it should be a breeze. Jasper loves squeaky balls (not so much with tennis balls) and soft toys. He will fetch but sometimes he is distracted by new things and will explore (leaves blowing, the grill, geese flying overhead, Cinder trying to get him to cut out the fetching and start up the wrestling).

His new home will have to keep in mind that everything Jasper sees and experiences is pretty new for him. Being inside is something he is definitely ok with but he needs to be introduced to things. He is also learning that people WANT to interact with him and there is no need to be anxious that he will be alone. Jasper has stopped wolfing down his food and understands that food and water will be provided. He is eating a high quality food and likes it. Be sure to have plenty of appropriate chew items or he will look for something that he thinks is a good toy. Jasper is becoming ok with being outside and having you inside. At first he was understandably nervous if he was outside and we were not with him. Having Cinder around is definitely a big help to him and if you have a second dog, that would be wonderful for Jasper.

Jasper is a mellow, low key Golden. He does not countersurf or get into garbage, but will give the garbage a sniff if you are putting something in there. He and Cinder will play, play, play, and then nap, nap, nap. Jasper is enthusiastic about every new thing we show him and is SO appreciative of his new life. If you are willing to put in a little work, help him understand even more about being part of a family, and shower him with love and praise, email placementatragom [dot] org and inquire about this good boy. This dog is a gem and everything you give him is returned tenfold - you only have to look in his eyes to see it!

Friday, October 6, 2006

Jasper has already made big steps! Last night he was crated for a short while, since his previous owners had never crate trained him. He was fine, whined a little, and then was quiet. He slept in the crate last night just fine - again, whined very quietly for about ten minutes and then fell asleep for the whole night. When we let the dogs out this morning, Jasper had kept his crate clean and he pottied outside. Jasper was crated for about four hours twice today (a total of about 8 hours) and when my husband got home, he was just fine. He doesn't make a fuss when he spots someone when he is in his crate, he just looks at you asking, "Can I come out please?" It takes a little encouragement to get him into the crate, but if you toss his Kong in there he will happily keep himself busy.

Jasper does like to have things in his mouth at times. He brought me a shirt and if you offer him something (a blanket, a hat, a Twins visor - we didn't have the heart to tell him they lost today) he will take it very gently in his mouth. He will help anyone to keep things picked up! Jasper sniffed at a toilet but was told to leave it and hasn't tried to drink from one.

One thing that I did forget to mention - he would love to be able to swim once in a while. His previous family had a pool and he would lounge around on one of the inflatable pool floats (no kidding! I saw the pictures!).

We tried the Gentle Leader on him and although he didn't fall in love with it, he didn't mind it. Of course, liver treats will help with anything :) We did take Jasper and resident dog Cinder for a walk/jog today and he is a DREAM to walk with if he has the Gentle Leader on. He weaves around at first and then keeps pace with you.

Jasper's housetraining is going well. He hasn't had an accident in the house at all but we have not given him the chance to - we put him outside regularly to a chorus of "Go potty!" Cinder goes and Jasper follows suit. It would help him to have another dog in the house, but not necessary. We don't have a fence and Jasper respects the tie out. At his old home there was a wooden privacy fence and a chain link fence. Jasper did climb the chain link to visit a neighbor for attention. We have seen none of the inappropriate behaviors he was said to have.

To discourage any misguided chewing, he will need to have appropriate items to chew on. He is great with a Kong and will chew on that. He has had a bully stick and was a big fan. Jasper did take an XBOX controller (we think he wanted to play something) but dropped it when we told him "No."

Jasper is a great dog, and he has it all! His personality is wonderful and you can tell he is so happy to be inside. He's a big lovable blockhead and is just waiting for a forever family!

Jasper cooling off after his walkJasper and CinderJasper with foster dadJasper, foster dad, resident dog Cinder