Introducing... Toby!!!  Toby is an 8 year-old purebred Golden Retriever (he was born on Christmas Day, 2001).  He is a very happy, friendly, and CUDDLY 80 lb boy who acts like a two year old! Prior to becoming a RAGOM dog, he was an outdoors-only dog.  He had been passed along over the years because his previous families could not keep him for one reason or another.  He was surrendered to RAGOM last week after he started getting into garbage and chewing on his last family’s house -- oops!  They knew that there was probably a better home for him out there somewhere, and that a bit more attention and companionship were probably what he needed!

Toby has had a pretty exciting first week of his new RAGOM life!  Having been an outdoor dog, he had some pretty serious fur matting, so we got right down to business and started grooming.  Our wonderful family friends let us use their dog washing station to get him all cleaned up.  Toby was in heaven!  He practically fell asleep standing up, making adorable happy sighing noises as we rinsed him with warm water.  Unfortunately, while we were cutting out a big knot of fur behind his ear we accidentally clipped the underlying skin, too – but he didn’t even flinch or make a peep!  Lucky for Toby, my surgical resident husband got him all stitched up -- no problem!  A little bit of lidocaine let Toby lie comfortably as he sutured his skin.  By the end of the day, Toby was looking much better - although his fur is now a little uneven from all the clipping we had to do.  Still, such a handsome boy!

Toby has a seizure disorder, and he has not been getting treatment for it.  Two days after bringing him into our home, he showed us what his seizures look like.  We made a quick trip to the vet – thankfully everything checked out ok.  He was acting like himself again by the time we got home.  We will continue to monitor him for seizures, and if they become too long and/or too frequent, we will put him on medication.  

Toby is doing remarkably well for becoming an indoor dog just this week!  For never having been house trained, he seems to instinctively know to go to the door and ask politely when he needs to do his business.  We wonder if he may have had some form of training somewhere along the way.  He did have a couple mistakes when we weren’t paying attention to his requests – the unfinished area of our basement seemed like a reasonable alternative for outside!  Toby is also slowly learning what toys he can play with and what household items are to be left alone.  He does have an affinity for counter surfing, but we’re working on that.  He comes when he is called without fail and responds to verbal corrections.  Toby is also working on crate training.  He sleeps in a crate at night and spends the day in there while foster mom and dad are at work.  He goes in without complaint if a treat is offered, and he doesn’t make a peep once inside.  

Toby gets along well with our resident Golden, Abby, and they have been playing almost all day everyday so far.  They have gotten a little snarky with each other a couple times – a little jealousy perhaps?  Overall, they’re quickly becoming very good friends.   We were told he gets along well with other dogs in general, and he has proven this both with Abby and with other dogs at the park.  He also gets along well with cats – he will nuzzle and lick our cat, Stuart, if given the opportunity.  We were also told he gets along well with kids - he just tends to knock smaller ones, as he is such a big and playful guy!  We have had many friends and family in our home over the holidays, and he has loved everyone he has met!

Toby is such a sweet, affectionate Golden boy who loves to cuddle, chew on rawhides, and play fetch.  He needs a forever home where he will get lots of attention and continue to learn “inside rules”.  He has responded very well to training so far and is such a people pleaser!  It seems like his naughty behavior (e.g. chewing on the house) was likely related to boredom and loneliness.  He really loves being around people and having things to do!