Sonny 10-087

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** Waiting List **

March 30, 2010: 

After a long journey from International Falls, Sonny joined the RAGOM family and came to our home in Rochester, MN on Sunday, March 21. Sonny is a purebred neutered GR who came in as a three-year-old. He had his vet visit and received his microchip on Monday. He is now UTD on all shots and received an excellent bill of health from the vet. He currently weighs 59.5 pounds and is at a good weight although Dr. T. said he could gain up to 5 more pounds. Sonny is in excellent physical condition and is quite agile. Although we have only had him for a week, he appears to have the characteristics needed for a good jogging partner or agility candidate since he is lean, lanky and very quick on his feet. He can clear our three patio steps without missing a beat. We do not have a fenced yard so he has been on a tie-out and done very well. He pulls some on a flat collar so I tried the Gentle Leader. After he stopped bucking around to get it off, he did super on our walk. He apparently came from a fenced yard so I doubt whether he had much experience in leash walking. Sonny is a medium reddish-gold color with a tiny spot of white on his head and tips of his toes. He has beautiful feathering on his tail. He went to Animal Friends Grooming on Thursday for his donated fluff and buff and nail trimming so he is now clean, soft and gorgeous.

 

Sonny was surrendered because he had “too much energy” but we have not noticed that in our home. Most of his hyperactivity stems from coming out of his kennel to greet us in the morning or when we come home. He does have a habit of jumping on us but we are working on that and he is getting better. He knows the sit command but doesn’t respond to stay or down as yet so we are working on those commands as well. Sonny would make a great family companion and would benefit greatly from obedience training. He is house trained, crate trained, doesn’t bother our cats, likes other dogs and loves kids/adults. In the evening, you can usually find both dogs snoozing on the floor near us. Sonny was at the RAGOM event held Saturday at Leashes and Leads and did amazingly well with all the activity going on around him. Today the family came here for our Easter celebration with many adults and kids present. He was awesome with everyone and made the rounds for pets from all the adults. Our resident dog has not made his entry into our home easy but Sonny has been an excellent guest throughout it all. Our resident dog has been an only spoiled child and doesn’t readily share his toys or home. Sonny, on the other hand, has taken all the growls in stride and finally Friday the two began to play. Sonny did not guard the toys and allowed our dog to take the toys/balls away from him without any problem. I have been feeding them separately because of our crabby resident dog but Sonny takes treats gently from your hand.

Since Sonny is a young healthy active boy, a fenced yard in his forever home would be a bonus for him to burn off energy but he would also do fine on a tie-out or with walks. He now enjoys playing with our dog and after a wrestling/playing session will find a place to crash but I am sure he would do well as an only dog as he loves attention. Please keep in mind that he must have some type of activity be it jogging, walking, agility classes, playing with another dog, or playing with children to keep his energy level in check. He was great with our grandchildren ranging in age from 4-12 on Sunday. He loves to give them kisses but with his long wagging tail could hit them or accidentally knock down small children—he would never purposely hurt them but he is exuberant in his greeting. He loves to be with his humans but will independently find a place to nap away from us when he is tired. He rides well in the car once we are underway and his excitement dies down. Sonny has not been a counter surfer here but was fed table scraps in his former home so it might be a good idea to keep things out of his reach. He sleeps in the kennel at night simply because our dog does not want him in the bedroom—hopefully in the next day or two he can join us in the bedroom at night. He goes right to sleep in the kennel and remains quiet until we let him out in the morning. He is a wonderful friendly, happy boy and with continued obedience training will make a great companion!

We will keep you updated on his progress as we get to know him better. Sunny appears to be a real gem!

At a Glance #10-087

Golden Retriever Born: March 2007
Male 50 lbs

Status: Deceased

Profile

** Waiting List **

March 30, 2010: 

After a long journey from International Falls, Sonny joined the RAGOM family and came to our home in Rochester, MN on Sunday, March 21. Sonny is a purebred neutered GR who came in as a three-year-old. He had his vet visit and received his microchip on Monday. He is now UTD on all shots and received an excellent bill of health from the vet. He currently weighs 59.5 pounds and is at a good weight although Dr. T. said he could gain up to 5 more pounds. Sonny is in excellent physical condition and is quite agile. Although we have only had him for a week, he appears to have the characteristics needed for a good jogging partner or agility candidate since he is lean, lanky and very quick on his feet. He can clear our three patio steps without missing a beat. We do not have a fenced yard so he has been on a tie-out and done very well. He pulls some on a flat collar so I tried the Gentle Leader. After he stopped bucking around to get it off, he did super on our walk. He apparently came from a fenced yard so I doubt whether he had much experience in leash walking. Sonny is a medium reddish-gold color with a tiny spot of white on his head and tips of his toes. He has beautiful feathering on his tail. He went to Animal Friends Grooming on Thursday for his donated fluff and buff and nail trimming so he is now clean, soft and gorgeous.

 

Sonny was surrendered because he had “too much energy” but we have not noticed that in our home. Most of his hyperactivity stems from coming out of his kennel to greet us in the morning or when we come home. He does have a habit of jumping on us but we are working on that and he is getting better. He knows the sit command but doesn’t respond to stay or down as yet so we are working on those commands as well. Sonny would make a great family companion and would benefit greatly from obedience training. He is house trained, crate trained, doesn’t bother our cats, likes other dogs and loves kids/adults. In the evening, you can usually find both dogs snoozing on the floor near us. Sonny was at the RAGOM event held Saturday at Leashes and Leads and did amazingly well with all the activity going on around him. Today the family came here for our Easter celebration with many adults and kids present. He was awesome with everyone and made the rounds for pets from all the adults. Our resident dog has not made his entry into our home easy but Sonny has been an excellent guest throughout it all. Our resident dog has been an only spoiled child and doesn’t readily share his toys or home. Sonny, on the other hand, has taken all the growls in stride and finally Friday the two began to play. Sonny did not guard the toys and allowed our dog to take the toys/balls away from him without any problem. I have been feeding them separately because of our crabby resident dog but Sonny takes treats gently from your hand.

Since Sonny is a young healthy active boy, a fenced yard in his forever home would be a bonus for him to burn off energy but he would also do fine on a tie-out or with walks. He now enjoys playing with our dog and after a wrestling/playing session will find a place to crash but I am sure he would do well as an only dog as he loves attention. Please keep in mind that he must have some type of activity be it jogging, walking, agility classes, playing with another dog, or playing with children to keep his energy level in check. He was great with our grandchildren ranging in age from 4-12 on Sunday. He loves to give them kisses but with his long wagging tail could hit them or accidentally knock down small children—he would never purposely hurt them but he is exuberant in his greeting. He loves to be with his humans but will independently find a place to nap away from us when he is tired. He rides well in the car once we are underway and his excitement dies down. Sonny has not been a counter surfer here but was fed table scraps in his former home so it might be a good idea to keep things out of his reach. He sleeps in the kennel at night simply because our dog does not want him in the bedroom—hopefully in the next day or two he can join us in the bedroom at night. He goes right to sleep in the kennel and remains quiet until we let him out in the morning. He is a wonderful friendly, happy boy and with continued obedience training will make a great companion!

We will keep you updated on his progress as we get to know him better. Sunny appears to be a real gem!

Updates

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Our handsome young man, Sonny, was adopted on Friday, April 23, by the M. family.  Sonny will be living with three rescued felines, has a fenced yard to play in, and will be a walking/jogging partner for this young couple. 

 

He was our first foster and we couldn’t have hoped for more.  He has all the traits of a great golden—we will miss him tremendously as will his picky playmate who became his best friend.  Sonny will make a great companion for this family. 

 

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Saturday, April 17, 2010

With the nice weather, this handsome young man has been spending a lot of time outside while I work in the yard.  He does very well on the tie-out, and knows just how far he can go from one end of it to the other. 

 

Sonny is one of the easiest dogs to have around.  He and the resident dog have hardy play sessions and then spend time taking a nap.  Sometimes he curls up in the tightest ball when napping.  He is very good with the cats and usually has one of them as a napping partner.  I have only heard Sonny bark once or twice—the barking job is handled by the resident dog.  I use the Gentle Leader for our walks and he does exceptionally well—he does not pull so you can have a slack leash and he stays quite close to your leg.  With a little more training as to your style, he would make a good walking/jogging partner.  Sonny is learning that jumping is not acceptable and we are also working on the regular basic obedience commands.

 

This young fellow would make an awesome family pet and companion.  All he needs to be happy is to have someone near by.  He is a gentle soul and loves everyone.   

 

 

SonnySonnySonny

 

Monday, April 12, 2010

Sonny is still hanging his hat at our place. He loves being around FM and FD, helping with whatever chores he can. Over the past few weeks, he and the resident pup signed a truce and have become great friends. Our resident made his entry to our home quite difficult. Sonny enjoys chewing nylabones and knotted rope toys. The knotted rope toys do not have a long life at our house. Within a few days we have nothing but a handful of strings! The two smallest grandkids (5 months and 4 years old) were here last week—he enjoys the kids or maybe those kisses are cleaning up the dribbles on the baby’s chin—Sonny’s not talking about that! He sleeps all night in our bedroom curled up in a little ball and doesn’t get up until we do. I can’t say the same for the resident pup who puts his feet on the side of the bed to get me up, sometimes much too early (like 4:30 a.m.).

He still gets excited when someone comes and starts jumping but we will keep working on that. The “sit” command is getting easier for him but “stay” is difficult, especially if he wants to go outside or get closer to the cats’ food when they are eating. Sonny is friendly with the cats and you can sometimes find them sleeping together. With the change in food, we have noticed his coloring and hair texture seem to be changing. His color is getting darker red and his hair is becoming softer and finer. He is a gorgeous boy and is becoming prettier every day. Around home he is usually fairly quiet (excluding the rigorous play sessions he and resident pup have) and you can find him napping somewhere near you. He almost never barks, even when someone comes.

If someone out there needs a gorgeous, happy, and smaller-sized golden to complete their home—this is the boy for you!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Sonny has been with us for two weeks and has adapted very well to our schedule. He and the resident pooch have become good friends and enjoy multiple daily wrestling matches. He is very quick and agile so our chunky monkey (resident) can barely keep up. Sonny’s build is on the smaller side at 59.5 pounds—very lean and athletic. The boys play box on their hind legs but Sonny is not an aggressive wrestler like our resident dog. He plays in a much gentler manner. Once they are done wrestling or running around outside, both will crash for a nap. Our Champ now allows Sonny to sleep in the bedroom on the doggie bed or the area of his choice. Once the lights go out, we don’t hear another peep out of him until morning. This morning Champ and I went to the side door to go out but realized Sonny was missing. I had to go back to the bedroom and wake him up! He has been accident-free in our home since he arrived and has never chewed an inappropriate item. He loves playing with any type of knotted rope toys, balls, and nylabones. Sonny is doing better with the “sit” command before I hook the tie-out on plus we are working on “down” with the help of treats—he is very smart and treat motivated so training will be an ongoing process. He still gets very excited when company arrives and likes to jump on them. He just cannot get pets fast enough from everyone arriving. He has been absolutely great with the grandchildren—Sonny had a great time playing with the 5 and 8 year olds here on Sunday. When he isn’t busy playing, you can find him napping or watching the world go by in front of our full-length door. Sonny is an extremely gentle boy.

It would be nice if his forever home had a physical fence so he could get the exercise he loves but I believe with training he could probably be loose with supervised watching. He readily comes when you call his name and makes no effort to bolt out the door. He would enjoy the company of another dog to play with but he would do well as an only dog if he gets the attention he loves. He is great with kids of all sizes but his jumping and tail wagging may knock a smaller child down. He simply ignores the cats except for an occasional kiss and plays well with other dogs—better than the resident dog who is much more picky of his animal friends. The gentle leader works well for a walk. Today he walked great, didn’t weave in and out in front of me, and never tried to scratch it off. He will make an awesome jogging or walking partner.

This is one great boy—beautiful on the inside and out. Sonny loves any type of attention and is a happy boy. Someone will be lucky to have this fellow in their home.