Simon 17-145

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Simon 17-145Simon 17-145

Profile

Simon was lovingly surrendered by his family when he nipped at a child in his home. Simon takes medicine for a thyroid condition and is healthy otherwise. Although Simon has a history as a Certified Therapy dog, he is showing signs of anxiety. As a result, children must be age 13+. Simon is inclined to resource guard from dogs, so he should be an only dog. He can live with cats. A physical fence or tie-out is preferred. Simon is seeking an understanding and patient home to help him with his anxieties.

At a Glance #17-145

Golden Retriever Born: October 2012
Male 75 lbs

Status: Adopted

Profile

Simon was lovingly surrendered by his family when he nipped at a child in his home. Simon takes medicine for a thyroid condition and is healthy otherwise. Although Simon has a history as a Certified Therapy dog, he is showing signs of anxiety. As a result, children must be age 13+. Simon is inclined to resource guard from dogs, so he should be an only dog. He can live with cats. A physical fence or tie-out is preferred. Simon is seeking an understanding and patient home to help him with his anxieties.

Updates

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Simon found a perfect forever family and went home with them last night. Congratulations to the M family and to Simon!

Monday, July 15, 2019

Simon has been enjoying his walks by the Mississippi River which often include a good roll in the grass. He has been to the beach a couple times to try to cool off with the warm weather we’ve had. Simon doesn’t actually swim but will submerge only as far as all fours on the bottom. If he isn’t at the beach he has been lounging in his kiddie pool in the yard. He is such a happy and goofy boy.

He did really well during the 4th of July week with the many thunderstorms and fireworks. His anxiety seemed more controlled with the help of a holistic/herbal calming supplement and background music.

Simon also enjoyed a few days with our pet sitter who spoiled him rotten while we were on vacation. We came home to a very happy and tired pup. We missed him so much, but we are glad he adapts so well to other caregivers.

Simon 17-145
Simon 17-145
Simon 17-145
Simon 17-145
Simon 17-145

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Simon is a stunning 6 year old English Cream Golden. Almost two years ago, he was adopted from RAGOM by a wonderful family. For the past two years Simon has been lovingly adored by his adoptive family.

He quickly settled into the Golden life and learned how to be the most amazing family dog. He has been through 3 levels of obedience training and is now a certified therapy dog.

He is very much a velcro dog and adores his humans. Simon is the star of his adoptive family's neighborhood and accompanies them everywhere - stores, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. where everyone knows him and greets him. He loves to be out and about but also very much thrives in a home with a set routine.

Simon recently started exhibiting anxiety with thunderstorms. He is not destructive, but will pant, pace and bark at times. He also has some mild separation anxiety and would do best in a home where he is not left alone for more than a few hours at a time.  

He is okay with dogs, but interacts with them minimally as he prefers attention from his people. He has some resource guarding with other dogs with toys and food. This has gotten heated at times. Unfortunately it is somewhat unpredictable, lending to avoidance of dog parks.

He has never guarded from his human family members and will trade for a high-value treat. His family has worked with a trainer on this and he is good most of the time. Simon would do best as an only dog in his new adoptive home.

Simon also cannot have young children in the home as he recently nipped at a child in the home. Prior to this incident, he had never shown any reactivity to children. In his work as a certified therapy dog, he had been around many children with no issues. It is unknown why he nipped this time.

This was a heartbreaking decision for his family, but they felt Simon would get all of the love and attention he deserved in a family with no young children or other dogs.

The ideal forever home for Simon will have the following characteristics:

  • A family where someone is home with him most of the time.

  • A dedication to walking him and he would absolutely love access to swimming in a lake - he is a true water dog and loves swimming. He also just loves to get muddy and will roll in any mud puddle he can find :)

  • A home with cats will work for him. He gets along well with them and has lived with one for the last two years.

  • No children under the age of 13.

  • Fenced yard is preferred, but he can go out on a leash - no free roam. He likes to go out and do his business and then will bark to come back inside. Because of his anxieties, he will not be able to go to a home with an invisible fence as the beeping of the collar would scare him.  

  • Simon does take thyroid medicine 2 times a day.  His levels have been stable and controlled for the last two years, but he does require a thyroid panel every 6 months.  

Simon is a goofy, quirky, majestic and incredibly sweet boy.  He makes us smile and laugh every day. He will give back the love he receives ten-fold.

Simon 17-145
RAGOM 2019 Calendar - Mr. October

Thursday, August 10, 2017

 

Simon had a new adventure this week. We had to go out of town for the weekend so he headed to another foster home for a couple days. I was a bit worried that he may regress just a bit in a new place and be skittish again or refuse to eat, but neither of those things happened. He settled in just perfectly and had a great time. 

He made good friends with one of the cats in the home and met the other, who was not as interested in him. We now know for sure that Simon will do great with cats. While there, Simon met lots of other dogs and new people in the neighborhood, including a 10 week old puppy, and as usual, he was great with them all. He is  just such an easy going guy and views all new people and dogs as best friends he just has not met yet.

                  

If you think Simon would be a good fit in your home, please submit an "Inquiry for Application" form. If you have already filled out an "Inquiry for Application" form, please send an email to applicationatragom [dot] org with the dog's name, RAGOM number, the name you submitted the Inquiry for Application form under, and a sentence or two why you feel you'd be a good match.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

We did a quick run up to our cabin so Simon 17-145 could get some more swimming in since he missed going in a few weeks ago after his neuter. He had a blast and we literally have to drag him out of the water for a break. He 1) learned to actually swim :) and 2) learned how to fetch both in the water and on land. He is like a different dog up there - it is our dogs happy place and I think it is now also Simon's. 

 

At one point, a flock of geese flew in and landed out in the water.  Simon immediately went on alert and watched them until they finally flew away.

   By dinner time, Simon was so tired, he was trying so hard to stay awake for his supper.  

On Wednesday Simon had an appointment with an eye specialist to look at the two white spots in his eyes.  These spots have not bothered him at all and do not affect his sight.  The very good news is that he does not require any treatment for them - they are either hereditary or caused by his hypothroidism.  They will not grow and will not affect his sight in any way.  

 

Simon continues to be an absolute joy to foster.  His joyful, goofy personality has emerged and he is so much fun.  He has learned the joy of rolling around in the grass, zooming around, and, of course, loves a good game of fetch.  However, Simon does still have some quirks.  First, despite weeks of attempted training, Simon absolutely refuses to kennel.   Luckily, he does just fine in a gated area when left alone.   Along this line, Simon gets very anxious when left alone for long periods of time. He is not destructive at all, but he does have trouble settling down.  We have only left him for about 2 hours at a time at this point but will gradually increase this time.  When we get home,  he just shows such a sense of relief and will glue himself to us for a while to assure himself we are back.  At this point, I do not think that a home where Simon is left alone for a full work day or regular extended periods of time would be a good fit for him.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Simon had a very busy week.  Last Saturday he attended his first meet and greet and he did fantastic!  he loved all of the attention he received, loved meeting all the other dogs, and most especially loved wandering through Chuck and Don's smelling all the great things to smell in there.  And, it was a first for him - he finally took a treat.  While Simon is a big boy, he is not real food motivated and will typically turn up his nose at treats or kibble.  A lot of this is just adjustment for him and he will eat normally when he is ready.  But, it really does help tot have found a couple treats to use for training with him. .On Sunday, Simon got another trip up to our cabin.  It was very hard on him this time as we had to keep him out of the water until his neuter site was totally healed.  He kept pulling that way and I had to constantly redirect him.  I promised him next weekend he could go in :)  We kept him busy with lots of walks and playtime.  I couldn't get a good picture this weekend, but Simon has learned to play!  He loves balls, antlers, toys of all kind.  He began rolling around in the grass and getting up covered in grass and sand with a big smile on his face and his tail going a mile a minute.  The final big achievement this weekend is that Simon started play bowing with our resident goldens trying to entice them to play.  Unfortunately, they are not real player dogs, both entering their senior years.  That didn't stop Simon - he began zooming all around them. zipping in and out.  He forgot he had a long lead on and at one point he tangled himself up and fell over with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth a beseeching look on his face begging me to untangle him so he go again.  Once untangled, he began again but quickly stopped.  That was it for the weekend, but I loved seeing this side of him and I think it will continue to emerge.  After all of the activity, Simon found a quiet spot to lay in the shade.  .
Simon is such a perfect dog in all respects.  He is goofy, loving, and so accepting and appreciative of anything he gets.  We love fostering him, but know that that his forever family is out there.  As a reminder, he will need no young children in his home and he absolutely has to have another medium to large sized dog who lives in the home.    

Saturday, July 1, 2017

We are so happy to introduce Simon. He is such a beautiful, sweet boy and everyone who meets him falls in love. Simon came to RAGOM from a smaller breeder who wanted him to have a wonderful family life. We promised her that we would find that for him.  

Simon is a gorgeous cream colored golden boy with a big blocky head and shorter, squat stature. He weighed in at his first vet visit at a whopping 102 pounds. While he is overweight, he really only needs to lose about 12 pounds to be at his ideal weight. He does take a twice a day dose of thyroid meds and his recent blood tests showed that his thyroid levels are perfect at this dose. He will need to continue on these for life.

Additionally, Simon has a white spot in each eye that appeared about 2 months ago and he will be seeing an eye specialist in a few weeks to determine what these are. They do not bother him at all nor do they affect his vision. We will know more after his visit and I will update at that time. Other than these things, he is in perfect health.    

We have had Simon with us for 10 days now and he is acclimating to life as a family member like a champ. At first, all the noises of a normal home were scary to him and he panted and paced as he settled in. He will still startle a bit at sudden noises, but he is doing just great. We have seen that he does actually watch TV and videos on the computer.

What is most important for him is that he have another large resident dog that continue to show him what life as a family member is all about. While he does not engage too much with our two resident Goldens, he is always watching and learning from them.

Last weekend we did a quick overnight up to our cabin and we very quickly learned that Simon absolutely loves the water. We were just barely out of the car and he hightailed it to the lake. 

He didn't stop until he was fully immersed in the water and had a ball swimming, rolling around and exploring. It was over an hour until I could coax him out of the water. Once out of the water, he just had so much fun exploring the acres of property and smelling all the new smells. That night he slept a sleep of total exhaustion and content. The next morning, however, he was all about the water again!  

 

The transition back to our home from the cabin was pretty seamless. He is learning to deal with changes and adapt. Since Simon has not been with us for that long yet, I need a bit more time for him to truly settle in and tell me what his forever home looks like. For that reason, I have marked him as unavailable. We did want him posted though so he could attend the meet and greet on Saturday in Edina. It is so important to continue to expose him to new experiences to see how he does.

One thing we are very sure of, however, is that Simon cannot have a home that relies on an invisible fence to keep him contained. He startles easily with new sounds and this would definitely freak him out. A tie out or physical fence would work for him. He will also need a very confident dog in his forever home. Please keep watching our updates for this sweet boy.