Benji 12-322

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Profile

September 26, 2012
I would like to welcome Benji to RAGOM!

Benji is a young dog, estimated to be 1 year old, who was found as a stray by a good samaritan. When his family did not come forward to claim him, he found his way to RAGOM and boy is he a lucky one!

Though he has only been with us for a few days, Benji is one of the sweetest dogs you will find. Because of his age, he is still very much a puppy and has so much energy to burn, our day starts early with hitting tennis balls for him at 6 am! But, that’s a small price to pay for such a wonderful boy! Benji is a very dark red guy and has a thick, straight coat. He has one of the cutest faces you’ll ever see with eyes that plead with you to just throw the ball just one more time.

Benji’s personality is wonderful and after only a day with us, we learned that he really needs to be with people- not in a bad way though. He has no desire to run away and he really loves to hang close to our senior golden gal. Wherever she is, that’s where Benji will be too. His youth manifests itself as an over abundance of energy and some shortness of attention span at times. He is frequently too excited to eat his meals and requires a period of quiet in order to concentrate on the task. It seems so far that he is much more comfortable outside than inside. He is potty trained. Inside though, he tends to pace and look constantly for attention. Outside, after a few ball throws, he will settle down for a rest before the next pitch goes flying. But, wherever you are, that’s where Benji wants to be!

Have you ever heard of a dog needing a Nuk? Well, Benji is that dog and is lost without a tennis ball in his mouth. He’s so very sweet and though he has so much energy, I have found that he calms easily with a good old head massage (with tennis ball in mouth, of course). He is good with kids (although may be rough/awkward around very small children due to his young age), other dogs, and pretty much anyone who will pet him.

Benji will need to be neutered before he finds his forever home but other than that, he does not look to have any health problems. Once he is brought up to date on vaccinations and neutering, he’ll be ready to make one lucky family a wonderful companion.

At a Glance #12-322

Mixed Breed Born: September 2011
Male Weight not specified

Status: Adopted

Profile

September 26, 2012
I would like to welcome Benji to RAGOM!

Benji is a young dog, estimated to be 1 year old, who was found as a stray by a good samaritan. When his family did not come forward to claim him, he found his way to RAGOM and boy is he a lucky one!

Though he has only been with us for a few days, Benji is one of the sweetest dogs you will find. Because of his age, he is still very much a puppy and has so much energy to burn, our day starts early with hitting tennis balls for him at 6 am! But, that’s a small price to pay for such a wonderful boy! Benji is a very dark red guy and has a thick, straight coat. He has one of the cutest faces you’ll ever see with eyes that plead with you to just throw the ball just one more time.

Benji’s personality is wonderful and after only a day with us, we learned that he really needs to be with people- not in a bad way though. He has no desire to run away and he really loves to hang close to our senior golden gal. Wherever she is, that’s where Benji will be too. His youth manifests itself as an over abundance of energy and some shortness of attention span at times. He is frequently too excited to eat his meals and requires a period of quiet in order to concentrate on the task. It seems so far that he is much more comfortable outside than inside. He is potty trained. Inside though, he tends to pace and look constantly for attention. Outside, after a few ball throws, he will settle down for a rest before the next pitch goes flying. But, wherever you are, that’s where Benji wants to be!

Have you ever heard of a dog needing a Nuk? Well, Benji is that dog and is lost without a tennis ball in his mouth. He’s so very sweet and though he has so much energy, I have found that he calms easily with a good old head massage (with tennis ball in mouth, of course). He is good with kids (although may be rough/awkward around very small children due to his young age), other dogs, and pretty much anyone who will pet him.

Benji will need to be neutered before he finds his forever home but other than that, he does not look to have any health problems. Once he is brought up to date on vaccinations and neutering, he’ll be ready to make one lucky family a wonderful companion.

Updates

Friday, October 19, 2012

Hello again, Benji fans!

This week’s update features several pictures of Benji in all of his moods. Now that he has been with us for several weeks, he has really hit his stride and is now showing more of his true personality. He is so cuddly and yet playful when the mood strikes you. We have several games that we play regularly with our resident and foster dogs and Benji is learning them very well. First, we like to play hide and seek. Since we have 15 acres to run and hid on, hide and seek takes on a new dimension. But Benji has learned to come looking for us when we throw the ball and nobody is waiting for him when he returns. He loves it and so do we! Hide and seek in the house is fun too on rainy days and if I hide well enough, I can have him sniffing around for me for several minutes before he finds me.

The next game we like to play is tag where we will just start running and Benji chases after (it’s not really a challenge for him to catch us though- we run like we’re in molasses). Sometimes, when we’re in the house, I will start a game of chase around the kitchen island which gives me a huge advantage since I can effectively stay on the opposite side from Benji. But this boy is SMART and knows to change direction to anticipate my moves. In any case, I end up laughing and Benji and my resident dog get all barky in their excitement and we all have a great time.

Hubby plays keep-away with one of his toys occasionally and kneels on the floor with the toy guarded and Benji has to come in and try to get the toy- Benji is such a fun boy and is always ready to play but always gentle as he tries to circle around and poke his head into an available opening to get his possession back. Lots of laughter ensues with this game and Benji could play all day.

Then, for the sheer exercise need, I am outside with Benji several times each day just launching tennis balls for him. He really needs this and I think that if he didn’t have a good exercise outlet, he would be a very unhappy boy.

For all of you potential Benji adopters out there, I apologize in advance but we have softened over the years about dogs on the sofa and bed and Benji gets to snuggle with us. I know we shouldn’t but he’s just so darn cute and small, how can we not want to enjoy this part of him? He will sleep next to us on the bed all night if we invite him up but if we tell him “out”, he knows not to jump up. I don’t think this will be a problem if you’re not a “dogs on the furniture” family. He does really relish the softer side of life though….just sayin’.

Benji is tremendously energetic and I really believe that the best forever home for him will be with a family who has the time and energy to spend lots of time outside with him. If you’re already an outdoor family or spend lots of time working outside, hiking, or running, Benji is the dog for you! I might even project that with the proper training, Benji would make a great bird hunting dog! He is the best retriever that has come through my home in years and truly wants to please. Since he’s so young yet, there is lots of time to teach him the ropes on hunting and introduce him slowly to the sounds of guns in the field. Since we live in the country and it is currently hunting season, we frequently hear nearby hunters shooting and Benji doesn’t even flinch at the sound or show any anxiety. Although, that said, I have found that if he’s sitting with me and I sneeze, he will leave every time like he doesn’t like that sound . I don’t understand it but it is kinda funny to me.

Enjoy the pictures of sweet Benji (even the naughty picture of his shredding my wooden/rattan decorative balls).


Sunday, October 7, 2012

Hello to all the Benji fans out there!

Benji has had an eventful week this week with getting all up to date with his vaccinations, microchipped, and neutered. And, in true Benji style, he shrugged it off and bounced back quickly.

The good news for YOU is that Benji is now ready to find his new forever home! He has so much love to give to the right family. And who is that right family? It is anyone who has lots of time to exercise this young boy and who can spend quality time with him. Benji is not happy when he is alone for long periods of time and would greatly enjoy a companion dog to hang out with. He is so full of energy, he would do best with a family who likes to hike, jog, work outside, or anything that involves regular activity.

Benji is not crated in our home but I am pretty confident that crating him would not make him happy, particularly for long periods. When our family needs to leave the house, he generally has free roam with our senior gal, Sammy. He is good in the house but because of his young age, he can find his way into garbage cans or pull food off of counters while unattended. Therefore, we have learned to close doors to rooms where we don’t want him to get into trouble. But, Benji is not destructive in any way and does not chew things inappropriately.

He does enjoy his “loveys” (AKA, soft toys) and frequently goes to his little toy box and pulls out all of his toys to play with. Strangely though he doesn’t ever put them back! He is somewhat self entertaining and will toss his toys around on his own if nobody will play fetch with him. This week, he is particularly sad since he is healing from his neuter and foster mom won’t throw the ball for him. Patience, my little man…..

In the evenings, Benji can be cajoled into snuggling on the sofa while we watch TV…..cutest thing ever is that if there is a commercial on TV with dogs on it, he will totally watch it! I should get a video of this as it is so adorable!

Enjoy the pictures of our sweet Benji- he’s waiting for his new family to announce themselves!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Benji has been with us a week now and we have learned quite a lot about him since he joined our family.

Benji loves to run and play and retrieve balls. I go out every morning with a tennis racket in my hand to launch tennis balls for him. Then, we come in for some breakfast, some petting, and repeat as needed throughout the day. Benji is a very smart boy and has such high energy that when you put those things together without proper exercise and supervision, it can spell trouble for foster mom. One morning, I had discovered that he had managed to turn my oven cleaning cycle on by putting his paws on the control panel. He has also, on more than one occasion, managed to pull a package of hamburger buns off the counter and eat them all. So, we are confident in saying that he will counter surf when he is not being supervised. That said, Benji is not crated in our house and has not pottied inappropriately. He did mark the first day he was here but only once and stopped after being corrected.

Benji is very hyper and we find that lots of exercise and long walks are not always enough to get him to relax. We have been working with him on this and we tell him “out” to step out of our zone or away from something he should not be getting into. He is very responsive to this and it tends to help him realize when it is time to lay down and be still. For now, Benji spends his nights on his bed in our laundry room so that he can be still and stay out of trouble. But he is so full of love and it really shows when he wants to be close to his people and get lots of pets and head scratches. The head scratches tend to put him into a stupor and we are ALL enjoying that!

This past weekend, Benji helped us with some wood chopping and harvesting potatoes. He’s a great dog for just hanging out with outside but if he gets bored, he has started to wander a little more now so we keep an eye out so that he doesn’t go exploring where he shouldn’t.

Benji would do best with a family who has lots of time for exercise and play and a family that has another dog that he can bond with. Benji seems to really attach himself to our resident gal and will snuggle on their bed with her. He has shown some need to learn how to play with her appropriately. Benji is also very competitive with retrieving toys/balls. If my resident also tries to retrieve at the same time, Benji needs to get the item first and will barrel into her without slowing down. Needless to say, he’s usually retrieving by himself. But, despite the lack of play etiquette on his part, Benji doesn’t have resource guarding issues at all. He’s just competitive on the field I guess! The Packers could probably use him!

Enjoy the pictures of our sweet boy. He thought he could learn to drive the Ford tractor but found that he couldn’t reach the clutch. Well, given another chance, he’d probably figure that out!