Teea 20-055
Profile
To understand why RAGOM will adhere to our requirements for Teea regarding children and another dog, please read about Retired Breeding Dogs.
Profile
To understand why RAGOM will adhere to our requirements for Teea regarding children and another dog, please read about Retired Breeding Dogs.
Updates
Saturday, July 24, 2021
Hi RAGOM Village!
So much to report on this beautiful girl!
After seeing months of slow, but steady progress with our shy Golden girl, she's surprised us by taking these HUGE leaps forward. Let's just start by saying that Teea loves to be part of a pack. She actively watches, listens, and slowly follows the actions of her canine companions.
She also loves her humans, and now approaches us frequently for pets, treats, and attention. She seems to embrace her role as "big sis" with the puppies we've fostered over the last few months. Instead of being snippy or impatient, she shares toys, water bowls, and her space.
She's leaving her safe place more often, and for longer periods of time. She follows her group, and instead of finding her safety in a corner or crate, she now finds it with her companions.
If the pack moves out onto the deck to enjoy a warm evening...Teea follows along. If we head to the garden for some veggie tending, Teea waits outside the garden fence. Teea gives me a little "nose" to alert me to her presence if I'm petting one of the other dogs.
She WAGS HER TAIL when we call her. She will lay down next to the couch or chair and not retreat to her corner.
We still respect her space. We still approach her slowly, and are careful not to push TOO much attention and affection her way. She adapts more quickly to new people in the home. She rebounds faster if she DOES get spooked...but she's still a breeder girl and her family should understand that she will be special.
But this girl. Watching her grow and learn. I am so impressed with her capacity to forgive the wrongs she's no doubt endured. We continue to be amazed by the journey!
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Hi RAGOM World!
Teea continues to make wonderful progress with her people! She still loves to sleep in our bed, and will give little nudges and kisses to let us know that she is there and expects some pets and ear scratches.
We've been putting her on a longer lead and having her follow us around, which has worked wonders because now she knows that she can be close, get treats and pets, and we're not so scary.
She's much less reactive to people coming and going, and sometimes we can walk right by her without her even paying attention. It may not sound like much, but this shows us that she's getting more trusting. She's still skittish, but slowly and surely she's discovering that we're not a threat, and we're not going to hurt her.
She will follow the lead of the resident dogs, and will sit next to us for snuggles and puppy love. She will approach us, and seek attention. My favorite new Teea behavior is that she will grab a toy and parade around the room to show it off! I wish I could express how sweet it is to see this girl blossom, and start doing "normal" Golden things!
Her whole demeanor is relaxing, and we are loving it! Teea is a special girl, and she still needs patience, acceptance, and unconditional love, but she is taking such beautiful steps forward and we're so proud!
Friday, March 26, 2021
Hi RAGOM land!
We've had Miss Teea for 4-5 months now and she continues to take little steps forward! She's a total goofball with the other dogs, and she loves to run in the backyard, roll around in the snow or grass, and play with her foster brother, Moose.
It's so heartwarming to watch her wag her fluffy tail, do happy dances, and chase her pack around.
Teea's biggest challenge continues to be with people. She's just not sure how much she can trust us yet. She will keep her distance, but she will watch, very intently, as we interact with our resident dogs.
She finds her "safe" places, close enough to be part of the family, but far enough away that she doesn't feel threatened. She doesn't like to be approached, so we give her space, and let her come to us (which she will do, quite readily, when we have a snack that we might be willing to share).
This beautiful girl's new favorite thing, which is a bit of a shock to us all, is sleeping next to her family in bed! Teea will run upstairs at bedtime, and instead of running into her crate, she hops up onto the bed and waits for everyone else to join her.
Our Teea, so timid and skittish when she's on the floor, will actually nudge you with her nose and do a few puppy kisses. I think she really loves getting pets and little ear scratches. We talk to her, and tell her that she's brave and SUCH a good girl!
We're letting her learn at her own pace. It's hard to know that something so sweet and special has been mistreated. We're so grateful to RAGOM for giving Teea a second chance!
Friday, December 11, 2020
It seems redundant to say Teea continues to take baby steps forward, when in her world I’m sure it feels more like giant steps.
Teea has added a new routine to her morning happy time. All the dogs get up with mom for potty time. Typically, Teea would run outside, quickly go potty then race back in for breakfast.
Lately, she’s added zoomies to her morning routine and more recently her voice. Every morning, foster mom has to tell her this is not the time the neighbors want to hear from her. The problem is, she likes to bounce when she barks, so it’s hard to stop laughing to tell her to be quiet. I think she thinks this is her play time.
Teea has learned so much since she came into foster care, but she is not what most people would call a “normal” dog. She isn’t a cuddler or a super affectionate girl, but she is so sweet and she is definitely happy.
She will require someone who wants to invest time and lots of love to help her continue to grow. She has so much potential and she wants to belong to her very own family.
There are some days she will actually act a little silly, like rubbing her face or sitting next to a wall continually wagging her tail. It’s almost like she has a special secret going on.
She prefers a more quiet environment. When my adult kids come home, they always bring along their RAGOM furkids and Teea will pace. This means we have 5 - 7 dogs in the house.
If she doesn’t settle, I will put her in her crate to give her some space. She goes in her kennel freely and without any complaints. If my kids come home without their dogs, she stays at a safe distance to watch. I think with so many dogs around it gets overwhelming for her.
Here are some things that she has mastered:
- She likes to follow her family members everywhere
- She no longer runs up and down the stairs, she will walk
- She doesn’t mind being pet anywhere on her body, can even lift her feet with no issue
- She will now calmly trot through a doorway instead of crouching down and bolting
- She will allow me to pet her outside in the yard (with an outstretched arm)
- She will lay right next to the bed and I can step over her to get to my side (only at night or morning)
- She allows kisses on her nose, when she does come to you
- She will come running when she hears the refrigerator door open
- She will take treats nicely from my hand
- She will play bow during her morning zoomies and loves it when we act like we’re playing along with her
- She is totally potty trained but she doesn’t have much of a sign, she will just sniff the floor
- She likes to ride in the car, it’s just a little scary for her to get in
- She will wag her tail when you talk to her
- She loves her meal time, she runs as fast as she can to her kennel and will sit patiently while you pet her before telling her to eat
If you think you might be a good fit for this very sweet girl please reach out.
Friday, October 30, 2020
Hello from Teea. Our sweet girl continues to take big steps into the world of being a family member.
The last couple of weeks have been interesting in our house. Apparently, we had a bad bag of dog food and it took us a couple weeks of backtracking to figure it out. In that time Miss Teea went through extreme bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. Even though that probably sounds awful, which it was, she never got grumpy or stopped wagging her tail.
Teea has certainly decided life is worth wagging about. She continues to love mornings and has learned how to do zoomies. They are typically short-lived, but they are still so cute to watch. I wish I could take a video for you to see but as soon as I hold up my phone she will stop.
It was really comical when we had our first snow fall and Teea stepped outside, it was almost like she froze in her spot. She just stood perfectly still. I wasn’t sure if she was happy or upset.
Teea has become my shadow, she especially likes it when I go into the kitchen and open the refrigerator. Even if I don’t notice she’s there, as soon as I close the door I see her smiling face just staring at me.
When we have a casual supper watching TV, Teea never leaves the side of my chair. She has even learned to put her front paws on the arm of my chair to make sure I know she’s there. She hasn’t quite mastered the Golden nudge, but she bops me on the arm to make sure I know she wants something. My husband tried to get a picture of her watching me eat but it’s hard to get a good picture of her.
One of the new things Teea has picked up from our resident boy is to drag a blanket around. She is even taking to her corner for nap time
Miss Teea, T or Teea Meea, as we call her, has also learned about chewing on a bone. She has had to learn that you don’t get to grumble at everyone just because you have a bone. She has never gone beyond a grumble and when she is told “NO” she stops immediately.
We have had a couple inquiries about our beautiful girl so I thought I would try to clarify a few things about her. Teea does not like a leash. She is still trying to figure it out. We don’t go on walks just yet, except in the fenced yard. When I put on a leash, at best, she drops to the yard and wraps the leash around my legs. We continue to work on this but she would not be a candidate for going outside on a leash to do her business.
Teea does not challenge our fence, but if she got frightened and jumped a fence it would be very difficult to catch her. Even though she knows her name, she does not understand “come” and she would likely just keep running. She has no concept of traffic or cars and that could easily cause her harm or worse.
I’m working on a list of things Teea has learned since becoming a RAGOM dog and how much she has changed so please stay tuned.
Saturday, October 10, 2020
Teea continues to take baby steps forward to becoming a trusting Golden. Her foster family took a much needed break and she spent a short time with another foster. Teea’s foster mom was very worried she would have tremendous setbacks, but she proved me wrong.
According to her foster sitter, Teea was able to take a treat from her hand and even allowed her to give pets. Although these are things foster mom has been able to do, I was certain Teea would be too shy or overwhelmed to take that step forward with a stranger. I was so pleasantly surprised to learn Teea handled the transition far better than I expected.
Miss Teea loves all vegetables and fruit and will, most times, happily take it from your hand. There are times she is hesitant to come but that is becoming less and less. I should emphasize although she will take something from my hand, she will quickly retreat to eat her morsel in peace. I am not able to give her a treat and have her stay put, she needs her safe distance.
Teea’s babysitter struggled to get her to eat from a dish in a kennel even though this is her preferred spot in her foster home. She was able to hand feed Teea with the assistance from her resident Goldens. Teea definitely needs the reassurance she gets from a resident dog. Teea actually seemed happy on her ride back home.
Once Teea was home, she quickly went back to her usual routines. For whatever reason, Teea loves bedtime and mornings. When it’s time for bed she is the first to find her spot in the bedroom, usually close to foster mom’s side. Earlier she would move away when I came to bed so that she was not close. After I would get into bed she would settle back in her spot. Now, she finds her spot and I am actually able to pet her, give her a kiss on the nose and step over her to get into bed. That is a huge step forward for this girl.
In the mornings, she is actually bouncy. She will run around the yard with her tail wagging. She will wait in the laundry room while I fill food bowls. When she knows it’s her turn, she will dash to her kennel and sit pretty waiting for me to set her bowl down. We have a ritual before she eats, I set her bowl down then pet her from head to tail and lift her foot into my hand. At first, she would tremble, afraid of my touch. Now, she just sits and lets me touch her without flinching. For this sweet little girl that’s amazing. Human touch was something she was terrified of, now she allows it every day.
Teea seems to enjoy our male resident more so than our female, but even that has gotten much better. I don’t think Teea had a great deal of interaction with other females in the breeding barn she lived in. I wouldn’t say they are best buddies, but there has been no fights just a little grumble now and then. Teea responds very well to “No”.
Another step forward has been during dinner time. Teea is now in the habit of sitting next to me when I eat, and she will poke my arm with her nose. It’s almost like she’s trying to make sure I know she’s there. It’s pretty funny. Occasionally, she will even give my arm a lick, it makes me laugh.
Foster mom works from home most days now, so I get to spend lots of time with Teea. She joins the resident furkids when they hang out in my office. On those days I go into the office she is allowed free roam of the house and there have been no issues.
Teea is a special little girl who will need a forever home that understands she will need time to feel comfortable and confident resident dog to help her adjust.
Thursday, July 16, 2020
We would like to introduce Teea and share her story. Teea came from a breeder who decided she was not having large enough litters so she had to go. We’re grateful he made this decision and we have been sharing our home with her for the last 4 months.
Teea is a frightened little girl with no socialization skills and no understanding of human touch. Although in the first two monthsTeea would willingly look at us, she would not allow us to get close to her. She preferred to watch us from a distance, typically from a corner of the room.
If I would walk toward her she would bolt, circle the dining table and then run for her kennel. It was quite the challenge to get her to stay in her kennel and allow me to get close enough to close the door without her running out. I don’t believe she would have done anything to the house but she also didn’t know what a house was, so leaving her out while I went to work wasn’t an option.
It was interesting that Teea would grumble at our female resident dog but seemed to really love our male. I can only guess this comes from being around a male and not having contact with the other female breeding dogs. Luckily, our male is very laid back and doesn’t mind having a shadow and our female didn’t take offense.
Fortunately we live in a house with no steps to go outside and our door to the fenced yard goes through our garage so we would leave the door open and stand back to let her run out to the yard. Teea didn’t seem to be afraid of the doorway as much as she was the door. If the door is not wide open, she will retreat back to the yard or house depending on which way she is going.
She has never had an accident in our house but doesn’t have a sign either, she just goes out every time our resident dogs do. We have learned we can’t look at her when she’s outside doing her business or she won’t go.
In the third month, Teea started to show a desire to get to know us. When I would sit in one particular chair in our dining room and our male would come to me for pets, Teea would walk alongside him and come near me. We have built an understanding that this chair is a safe place and she can come to me without anything happening to her.
During this month she also moved out of her original corner to lay by the TV stand, which is a little closer to us. She even picked up a toy that was laying in the middle of the floor and put it in her corner to rest her head. Quite the accomplishment for our little girl.
Teea is not a fan of men, so she will not go near foster dad. Because she came from a male breeder I believe she associates all men as bad. You hear the term “baby steps” all the time when associated with breeder dogs, but that’s exactly what happens. Each little step brings her closer to understanding we mean her no harm.
Due to the COVID-19 health crisis, it took longer than usual to get her into the vet for her shots and wellness check Teea is a healthy 4 year old with no medical issues. She weighs 50 pounds, so she’s not a very big girl; and she has the most soulful eyes I have ever seen. Teea is now spayed so her breeder days are over.
You can tell she wants so badly to be happy and we’re encouraged she keeps trying. Our vet felt Teea could use some help to lessen the anxiety she feels everyday. We now have her on doggie Prozac so we’re hoping in the next few weeks we’ll see some more baby steps.
If you could open your heart and home to this special little girl you won’t be disappointed.
Adopt Me: If you think Teea would be a good fit in your home, please review our adoption process. If you have already submitted an Inquiry for Application, email [email protected] with Teea's name, RAGOM number (20-055), the name you submitted under, and a sentence or two explaining why you feel your home would be a good match.