Jake 13-166

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Introducing….Jake!   We welcomed Jake into RAGOM’s care and our home about a week ago.  Jake is a male, approximately one year-old, weighs 44 pounds and is a golden retriever mix.  He had been living in an outside kennel with a younger dog.  His family knew he deserved “the good life” and made the loving decision to surrender him.  We thank them!

Jake is now up to date on all vaccines, tested negative for heartworms, is healing from being neutered and is being treated for tapeworms and coccidia.  Coccidia is a type of intestinal parasite that is being treated with 14 days of antibiotics.  Jake also needs to gain a few pounds and work up his endurance.  We have noticed since the first day, that Jake gets very tired easily. 

Jake met each family member nervously, but with a wagging tail during the first evening.   He is great with our kids, ages 6 and 8.  He also enjoys the company of our male resident dog, who is 2 years old and about the same size as Jake.  We are unclear as to how he feels about our resident cat; they have had mixed encounters so far.  Right now, I do not trust him around our cat.

Jake had never been in a house before and when he first arrived, he was very nervous and fearful of coming inside.  After spending some time bribing him with treats, he finally came up the big and scary step and into the house.  He has been learning about the many noises and routines that come with being in a house including potty training, learning to trust his humans even when there are scary noises, and learning how a crate can be a safe place.  Jake has had a few potty/marking accidents, and is working on being house trained.  We are still learning a lot about Jake and his needs, as well as helping him to become a healthy dog. 

Jake is like a younger puppy in a 44 pound body.  He is manageable, but will need to continue to work on learning manners and also needs daily exercise!  If you are interested in learning more about Jake, let your placement advisor know!  He is a sweetheart!  

At a Glance #13-166

Mixed Breed Born: May 2012
Male 50 lbs

Status: Adopted

Profile

Introducing….Jake!   We welcomed Jake into RAGOM’s care and our home about a week ago.  Jake is a male, approximately one year-old, weighs 44 pounds and is a golden retriever mix.  He had been living in an outside kennel with a younger dog.  His family knew he deserved “the good life” and made the loving decision to surrender him.  We thank them!

Jake is now up to date on all vaccines, tested negative for heartworms, is healing from being neutered and is being treated for tapeworms and coccidia.  Coccidia is a type of intestinal parasite that is being treated with 14 days of antibiotics.  Jake also needs to gain a few pounds and work up his endurance.  We have noticed since the first day, that Jake gets very tired easily. 

Jake met each family member nervously, but with a wagging tail during the first evening.   He is great with our kids, ages 6 and 8.  He also enjoys the company of our male resident dog, who is 2 years old and about the same size as Jake.  We are unclear as to how he feels about our resident cat; they have had mixed encounters so far.  Right now, I do not trust him around our cat.

Jake had never been in a house before and when he first arrived, he was very nervous and fearful of coming inside.  After spending some time bribing him with treats, he finally came up the big and scary step and into the house.  He has been learning about the many noises and routines that come with being in a house including potty training, learning to trust his humans even when there are scary noises, and learning how a crate can be a safe place.  Jake has had a few potty/marking accidents, and is working on being house trained.  We are still learning a lot about Jake and his needs, as well as helping him to become a healthy dog. 

Jake is like a younger puppy in a 44 pound body.  He is manageable, but will need to continue to work on learning manners and also needs daily exercise!  If you are interested in learning more about Jake, let your placement advisor know!  He is a sweetheart!  

Updates

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Wow!  Jake is a handsome fellow!  He is such a sweetheart and has found his way into our hearts.  We have continued to get to know Jake during the past week.  He has also spent some time with us in our camper at a resort. 


Ahhh…getting rubs on the couch is the Best!

Jake is getting quite comfy in our house and is not missing being in his kennel one bit!  He will come in from playing and completely sprawl out his fluffy body, right in the middle of all the action.  Then he doesn’t move for anything.  I have even scrubbed the floor around him!  On occasion he will lazily lift up his head, look at us, moan and then goes right back to sleep. 

Jake also allows us to groom him quite easily.  He isn’t very fond of “the bath”, but has been coaxed into our kiddie pool outside a few times for a scrub down.  He loves being brushed!  Well, except for on occasion when he thinks the brush is a toy and wants to gently take it from us.  A simple “No Jake” is all it takes to keep brushing.  He has a lot of fur to brush!  Jake also lets me trim his fur on his paws and off the back of his hind legs to help clean him up.  I haven’t tried to clip his nails yet, but I would guess he will allow me to.  They were clipped when he was neutered so it hasn’t been necessary yet.


I love treats!

Jake more than likely needs a home with no cats.  He hasn’t hurt our cat, but also doesn’t seem to listen to her hisses, growls and claws swatting at him until we pull him away from her.  She will back herself under a piece of furniture or over a gate until we come in to save her.

Jake is mischievous!  He will take any opportunity to steal a sock or flip flop, pull a dish cloth off the sink, or run away with a Barbie from our daughter’s room.  The good news is when he is caught in the act, he will gently drop the item when asked, without damage.  The bad news is if we don’t catch him in the act, he has shown us that he will tear a flip flop into many pieces!

I would say that Jake is almost potty trained.  He did have a relapse when we first arrived at our camper, but I think he just needed to learn that this was an inside living space too.  Jake has a very subtle signal that he needs to go outside.  He simply walks to the door and will lie down.  If we miss this signal, he will walk back and forth to the door a couple of times, but he is very quiet about it.


If I hide, maybe she will stop taking pictures and let me sleep!

Jake has no resource guarding with humans.  He will give us a toy and even allows us to move his food when he is eating.  When we feed Jake, we have him sit and wait as we put down his food bowl.  He does very well with this!  He does like to claim ALL the dog toys he can find and doesn’t like our other dog playing with them.  At times we have had to put away the toys because it upsets our dog.  He isn’t mean about it with our resident dog, but is very clear that he wants the toys for just him.  He needs to learn how to share!

Jake rides great in the car.  He has tolerated six 4-hour car rides in the last 2 weeks like a champ!  He enjoys drinking water from a cup in the car and having it run all over his chest!  He has ridden in both a crate and on the seat.  He prefers sitting on a seat, but the crate works too.

Jake loves and adores our two kids.  He has met other neighborhood children ages 4 and up without any problems and sits as they approach him. He is more at ease around kids than adults and we can tell he definitely had been around kids before coming into RAGOM.  His butt wiggle is priceless as he waits to receive lots of loving from them!


When I want some good pets, I just lean into this kid!

Jake does great at night and when he is left alone. During the night, he is gated in our kitchen and dining room areas and seems to just sleep.  Sometimes Jake will cuddle up on a dog bed we have there and other times he just likes to sprawl out on the cool floor.  When we are gone during the day for more than 15 minutes, he spends his time in a crate with a Nylabone and Kong.  At first he really disliked the crate, but now will go in there on his own. On occasion, he will bark a couple of times after we walk out of the house, but he always quits within a minute. 

We learned recently that Jake can be very vocal!  He barks when we walk out of a room and he wants us in with him.  He will bark if he wants our resident dog to come and play with him.  Jake also barks loudly when we are outside and a person walks by or is across the street.  This has already lessened with some training, but he definitely has a ways to go.  The barking is an area he will need to work on in his new home. 

Jake still does not have complete roam of our house for a few reasons.  The main reason is we don’t trust him with our cat.  I tried one night, but I woke up to growling and then craziness at 3 am when the cat decided to walk by him in the bedroom.  Also, due to his mischievous ways and potty training, we feel it is just safer for our house to utilize his crate and a few gates.  When we are around, he does come in the living room with us.  He loves to cuddle on the couch or floor and play with our resident dog.  We would recommend using gates and a crate in his new adopted home for a bit until he gets used to another new environment.  It has really helped to set boundaries and avoid any destructive behaviors.

Jake does get along well with our resident dog and loves to run outside.  He will play fairly rough and definitely likes to dominate, but he also knows that when we say “relax”, it is time to do just that.  Jake is then able to lie down and relax.  In a fenced in yard, Jake will rip around chasing a tennis ball or other toy.  He loves to explore and enjoys marking most any plant, rock, or tree he can find.  A fenced in yard is not a requirement, but he would definitely enjoy having a space he can run freely in. Jake is a very smart dog and picks up on things very quickly.  I would also guess he could be boundary trained with some time and patience. 


My friend Milo and I like to play,
but we will always stop and sit when Foster Mom says “Treat”!

Jake does get very nervous anytime he does something new.  For example, at the resort/campground, Jake went on a walk with us.  When he encountered a new area or thing (for example steps going to the lake or a pedestrian walking sign with a flag), he would dart behind me, tuck his tail and start to shake with anxiety.  We would then turn around and take a couple of steps back and try again.  Each time we would read his body language and listen to it.  If Jake was showing signs he was nervous, we would switch directions.  Jake reacted great to this and would relax on the 2nd or 3rd introduction to new things or people.  His adoptive home will need to continue with this and be sure they watch and listen to Jake’s body language so he continues to learn to trust his humans and feels comfortable in new surroundings on his own terms.  On the other hand, Jake seems to do well in areas he feels comfortable.  For example, in an area as small as a camper, we had 6 relatives visit us for a day.  When they arrived, we did slow introductions to make sure Jake would handle it all in stride.  He did great and immediately went to them for some love and then enjoyed the extra hands to pet him all day!

In summary, here is what Jake needs:

  • Needs obedience training!
  • Kids are great – Jake loves kids of all ages!
  • Fenced in yard is not necessary as long as there is a plan to be able to let Jake have a place to run free and play on occasion.
  • No cats.
  • Jake has been switched to a grain free food.  He was chewing on his paws a lot and his coat was pretty coarse.  He has tolerated this switch well and we would recommend continuing with a high quality food.
  • Housetrained – about 90% or more.
  • Crate trained – yes.
  • Enjoys other dogs, but not necessary to have another dog.  He would also love the attention of being an only dog!
  • He has been left alone for up to 5 hours in a crate and did well.

Jake is an absolute gem and is ready to meet the perfect family for him.  Could that be you?  If you are interested in Jake, let your placement advisor know!


I love lying in the sun with all my toys!