August 4, 2013  

Who is this handsome RAGOM boy, you ask?  Well, his name is Harley and he became a loved RAGOM boy, just about a week ago.

Harley is an 8 year old golden retriever/lab mix and is a total sweetheart.  Harley was surrendered due to storm anxiety.  Although we haven't had an opportunity to test his reaction to storms since he's been in our care we can however, confirm that he has slight firework anxiety.  When the "pops" started, he wanted to climb in my lap and also tried to climb up my chest and shoulders.  I sat on the floor with him and gave him some intense ear and neck scratches and rubs and after about a minute, he calmed down.

Because RAGOM hosts so many homeless golden retrievers, they didn't have a foster home available when Harley arrived so he had to spend a week in boarding until we could take him into our home.  Unfortunately, he did not do well in boarding.  His anxiety got the best of him and he tried to "dig" his way out of the kennel.  He scratched on the concrete floor so intensely that he made his paws and nails bleed.  He also managed to gash his nose and tongue on the door.  His paws, nose and tongue have since fully healed but Harley will require free-roam from the get-go in a new home because of his anxiety.  This is just fine as he is a fantastic free-roamer!  He prefers sleeping on the hardwood floors or a dog bed, he doesn't get into things he shouldn't (shoes, socks, etc.), and he doesn't counter surf...i wish he could teach those things to MY resident dogs! 

Here is what we know about Harley so far;

• Harley will need a forever home that will understand and work with him through occasional storms.  I believe he would be just fine as long as he has "people" near him.
• He is up to date on all of his vetting and is in perfect health at 71#'s with the exception of a slight ear infection which is getting better every day.
• He gets along perfectly with our resident cat
• Harley respects baby gates
• He has had ZERO accidents in the house - he even rings the bells on the back door when he needs to go outside
• He gets along GREAT with our two resident (female) golden retrievers, one of which thinks ALL the toys in the house are HERS
• He will need proper introductions with other dogs - until he is better socialized, he tends to extend his "hellos" a bit longer than some dogs like.  He got a bit barky at the RAGOM event yesterday but I suspect he was a little over stimulated with all the people and dogs at the event.
• Harley needs some "sit/stay" training. When I leave the house, he tries to push his way out of the door - he just loves his humans! I've found that if I turn some music on and give him a bully stick or trachea, it distracts him long enough for me to get out the door. He's usually the first to greet me when I return and I've left him with free-roam for up to 7 hours without incident.
• He needs work with walking on a flat leash.  We have started using the gentle leader with him and will continue with this training.
• Harley has GREAT recall and with the proper boundary training, will not require a physical fence
• He loves to be brushed and does okay with nail trimming
• He would be okay as an only dog or with another dog
• Last but not least...what is his favorite toy? ;A ball! He loves to carry a ball around...he's not really interested in soft/stuffed toys but balls are a MUST!

Enjoy the pictures of this handsome guy and if you think Harley could be "THE" dog you've been looking for, please contact your placement adviser!