Toby 07-658

Profile

At a Glance #07-658

Mixed Breed	Born: February 2007
Male	Weight not specified

Status: Adopted

Profile

Updates

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Hello everyone! I had the distinct pleasure of dogsitting Toby and Chase for the weekend. If you're looking for a fantabulous new friend to keep you company around the house, you can't do any better than Toby! His easy going nature is an absolute delight. He came into the house to be greeted by an enthusiastic and playful Jerry Bear (08-175) ~middle dog in picture~ and a VERY grumpy senior Boxer. He took both in stride like the prince he is. The following afternoon number one resident dog came home from camp (Lakota) ~not in picture, to busy helping Mom take it~ who was distinctly disturbed at having a new prince in the house. Toby won him over in a matter of minutes.

This gorgeous boy has a personality that's larger than life and a smile to show it. He responds very well to sit, stay and come. Like most Golden's, he's always willing to scoop up some wonderful human treat if it's left out in dog reachable areas, but his manners are impeccable during dinner. He lays beneath the table, tail thumping, his muzzle down practically quivering for whatever tidbit you might be willing to
give him. Even as we cleared the table, Toby was still behaving himself, so much more than I can say for the resident dogs.

He's a playful, wonderful dog. Catch is a great game - although he seems to have forgotten the "retriever" part of his nature. A frisbee is a great event for Toby and the kiddy play pools sheer heaven. He's also willing to go thirty laps around the backyard with whichever dog will play. At night, he sleeps quietly on the floor, feet kicking with glorious puppy dreams. Bones, bones and more bones, he's very fond of bones - if he can just keep them out of his foster brothers hiding spots.

Mari and Jim showed up Saturday with resident dog Miss Meg and with the beautiful little boy, one of the three bichon-goldens Benji (Dick 08-346). Yet again, Toby met them with joy and gleeful, playful encouragement.

This dog is a perfect match for a loving family with a fenced yard and a resident dog to play with. What a joyous guest he was...thank you Toby, for a fabulous doggy weekend. Lakota and Bear are missing you already. Even Nike sends her grumbled love.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Greetings from Toby.

There isn't a lot to report with Toby. He has just been having a great time with his foster brother Chase 08-290.

I wanted to share some recent photos of Toby after being groomed recently. He seems to know just how adorable he is because he certainly works the camera!

Toby is still a very energetic boy with a lot of love and life. We are still searching for the perfect home- one with another young dog to share Toby's zest for life and help him burn off his energy, a fenced yard so he can run and play, and people around who will exercise him and love him.

If this sounds like you, contact placementragom [dot] org.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Hi- It's been a while since we have written about Toby. Things have been going very well with Toby. When he first arrived back from his temp foster while we were on vacation we noticed that he was subdued and what seemed to be a little depressed. We soon realized that he missed his doggy friend!

Toby has definitely grown into a wonderful dog. Although he still pulls a little on the leash, and barks a bit when he sees dogs out the window, he is so sweet and loves everyone.

One thing I have realized is a must for Toby is to live with another dog, and preferably a young dog that has as much energy as he does. We currently have another foster temporarily (Chase 08-290) and the two of them are perfect for each other. They run around the back yard chasing each other, playing tug and wrestling whenever they get the chance. The wonderful thing is that they eventually tire each other out so by the time we are ready to relax for the night, they are ready to rest. It works out perfectly!

Since there has been another dog in his life, Toby has been much happier. I can tell in his facial expressions that he is so happy to have a playmate. He doesn't really even notice our cats anymore and when he does he is much more interested in the other dog.

Toby is wonderful, he will make a great companion for anyone who is willing to love him back. He requires a fenced yard to run around in, another energetic doggy playmate, and people who will pet him and love him. If you and Toby are a match, contact placementragom [dot] org.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

We have the pleasure of being Toby’s temporary fosters while his regular foster family is out of town. Toby has been with us for four days now and we just love him. He's such a fun, happy boy.

Toby and our resident RAGOM dog have been having the time of their lives playing, playing, and playing some more. They met, sniffed for a few seconds, and then took off running and wrestling and they haven’t stopped since. So I can agree that Toby would love to live in a home with another energetic dog. If you have an exuberant resident who’s looking for a playmate, Toby is your guy!

Toby’s FM is right in her assumption that he could live with dog-savvy cats. Two of our cats are dog tolerant and Toby is a perfect gentleman with them. He’s very interested in sniffing and examining, but backs off when they tell him it’s too much. So if you have cats that don’t run, or best of all cats that like dogs, Toby will do just fine.

Toby has so much energy and is so agile and quick. He leaps like a gazelle and runs like the wind. If you’re interested in agility or fly ball, Toby could make you a star. Based on the way he leaps off our deck stairs I think he could also have a great career as a distance jumper. If you’ve always dreamed of being on ESPN in their dock jumping competition, Toby might get you there. I understand from his FD that he also makes a great running partner so if you need someone to help you train, Toby would be happy to oblige.

Toby loves everyone that he’s met at our house, especially the neighbor kids (7, 9, 11, 15, and 17). He was in heaven when he was in the middle of a circle of little girls having his tummy rubbed from all angles. To their delight the kids also discovered that Toby is a talented soccer player. The “Toby Rules” allow players to occasionally pick up the ball with their mouth, but aside from that accommodation he played a pretty accurate game with them. It was a riot to watch! I do think his size and energy might be a problem for very small or very shy kids, but he would love to live with older kids or kids who don’t mind being accidentally knocked over once in a while.

Toby is a happy, normal adolescent pup, which means that he sometimes has a little trouble focusing and he still needs to perfect his manners. Anyone with a teenager will understand what I mean. J But he’s very smart, very trainable, and very eager to please. He revels in praise and attention. It took him exactly thirty seconds to learn the hand signal that we use for “sit”, and it took him only 24 hours to understand the rules of our house and he now sits nicely on his own when he wants a door to open or he’d like some attention. He thrives on structure and clear expectations and is always thrilled to know that he’s made you happy (I think he prefers a hug over a treat) so training him should be a breeze.

Toby sends love and kisses to all of his fans and to his forever family – we tell him you’re out there searching for him and he can’t wait to meet you and play with you! Until you get here, we’ll keep giving him kisses for you.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Hello from Toby!

It has been a while since we've updated Toby's page. We have a lot to update!

Toby is still a very happy dog with a lot of energy and love. He is about as good natured as they come.

In previous postings I have written about the challenge of managing Toby's energy. We have found a way to do that by scheduling play dates with other dogs. I am so happy to say that Toby absolutely loves it!

At a previous Petco event he was getting a bit growly with the other dogs and I thought that it could be because he hadn't had exposure to other dogs and was nervous. Last weekend we tested this theory by having another RAGOM volunteer bring her dogs over for a play date. After the initial introduction on leash where Toby was able to sniff and get familiar, he was the perfect dog! He ended up having a wonderful time running around and playing. After his play date he was completely worn out and was very easy to manage. He has had a couple of play dates since and it has worked wonders as he doesn't get upset meeting new dogs and has a great time playing with anyone who will play with him.

We attended a Petco event today and Toby was very interested in getting to know the other dogs and as long as he was able to sniff he didn't bark, growl, or jump at anyone or anything. However, he did make sure that humans pet him as much as possible and would demand attention by leaning on legs and rolling on his back to make sure his stomach was rubbed.

Toby still walks in the morning and in the evening. We are using the gentle leader leash and this has eliminated much of the pulling and has made him easier to manage than what we had experienced using a different type of collar. He doesn't like it, but he will let us put it on because he now associates it with going outside for walks and that is one of his favorite things to do.

The last few times that Toby has taken a ride in the car he has become ill. This only seems to happen when he is alone in the back seat. My car isn't large enough for a crate, so he sits up looks out the window. I don't know if the passing scenery is what causes him to be sick but I do know that it has only happened when he has been alone and he has been completely fine when I've been in the back seat with him.

Toby's newest thing is to roll around in the snow when he's outside. It all started when he would have the gentle leader on. Now he does it all the time! I'll have to get a picture of him making snow angels because it is the cutest thing ever!

There hasn't been much progress in the cat department. Toby wants to chase them and hasn't been struck by a cat's claw yet to know that it isn't appropriate. We don't allow him to chase them but he still tries. Again I will say that I know Toby wouldn't hurt cats. We have supervised him when they have all been laying together on our bed and he is totally fine. He is more interested in getting attention from humans than he is about cats but the cats hate him even though he just wants to be friends. I think he could be in a home with cats but they would have to be dog savvy.

I definitely think a home with another dog would be great for Toby. I also think he would do fine in a home without another dog as long as he got the chance to play with them frequently.

One last thing, Toby thinks that he is a little lap dog. When I sit on the floor next to him he immediately wants to sit on my lap. It is adorable! He just loves people so much that he wants to be as close as possible. He is a little love bug!

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Greetings from Toby! He has been doing very well with us. He is the most loving dog anyone could ever meet. It has been mentioned several times that he is a very good natured dog, he just loves everyone.

Due to his very high level of energy, we enrolled Toby in a beginners level obedience class. He has learned his name and is doing very well with the sit command. There is much more to come and I am very excited to see how Toby responds to the training. I really think that with a little manners training along with his growing out of the puppy phase, he is going to be a wonderful dog. Another great discovery here was that after Toby got over his initial barking, he was very interested in sniffing the other dogs, but didn't growl. I truly believe that Toby would love to live with another dog and have a playmate. He needs one! It might take a moment for him to get used to living with another dog, but I think he would really thrive.

Toby has been coughing and sneezing a bit lately so I took him to the vet to make sure everything was okay. It seems he has a little fluid in his lungs but that it isn't anything serious and it certainly hasn't had any affect on his being a happy playful dog. We are going to watch it though. I also was surprised to find out that he is only 64.9 lbs! I always thought he was 10 lbs more!

We are still walking/running Toby twice a day. He still loves it and has his tail high in the air and wags it around to show how proud he is. It is so funny! He pulls on the lease, but we are also hoping that we can train him on this.

For the sake of our cats, we have been trying to get them familiar with Toby. Every day we bring the cats downstairs and hold Toby on the lease so he isn't able to chase them. He only seems to want to chase when they run away and actually seems more interested in treats or toys than the cats. I hope to get him to the point where he doesn't want to chase them. I know he wouldn't harm them because he is always smiling and never barks or growls.

Toby is neutered, potty trained, and microchipped. We have been having a lot of fun with him. Take a look at his cute pictures!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Toby has been with us for about two weeks now. He has been doing very well. We are finally figuring out how to manage all of his energy!

Toby goes for a walk a day. He absolutely loves it! It is something that he looks forward to. Since it can get messy, we play a little game when we come inside to wipe off his paws. He thinks that we are trying to keep the towel from him, so he tries to bite the towel and tug on it, all the while we are cleaning him up and he doesn't even know it!

We have found that he is much more calm in the evenings when we have gotten him out to exercise. We are at the point now where he will lay down by our feet after a long day and calmly chew his rawhide while we watch TV.

Toby still loves to play, but he is getting to know what he can play with and what he can't. It was a struggle at first, but now he knows what his toys are and what doesn't belong to him.

Toby was at the Petsmart event in Maple Grove last weekend, and we found out a few things about him. He was fine with the other dogs, until a few dogs were growly with him. Once another dog was growly with him, he would respond by growling and barking as well. If another dog was fine with him, he was okay too. The more time we spent there, the more he became upset with other dogs. I know in the past he had shared a kennel with another dog and was fine, so I can only speculate that he could be in a home with other dogs, once he became familiar and comfortable around them.

Toby is very curious about my cats. I am pretty sure that he just wants to say hello and sniff them, but the cats don't particularly like him, so they run whenever they see him. Toby thinks that this is a game and runs after them to chase. I know he doesn't mean any harm because he is not growling, barking, snarling or anything like that, he is just running over with a big smile on his face thinking that he might meet a new friend to play with. As far as a forever home with cats, it would depend on how the cats reacted to him. He certainly would be okay.

Toby is very sweet and will make a wonderful companion. In his forever he will need a lot of exercise, patience (he is still a puppy after all), and attention.