Toby 06-086

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Toby is back in foster care and can't wait to meet you at the picnic this Saturday!!

At a Glance #06-086

Mixed Breed Born: March 2005
Male Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

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Toby is back in foster care and can't wait to meet you at the picnic this Saturday!!

Updates

Friday, September 22, 2006

Toby is doing well and is happy to be out of the boarding facility and living with a family. He and Nala have established quite a friendship and their wrestling antics can be quite crazy. Last night with all of the rain, it was a fairly quiet night for all, even the dogs didn't really want to go out in the cold and rain. We all enjoyed catching the premiere episode of 'Grey's Anatomy'. Toby found it to be a bit of a snoozer - as I looked over at him he was on the couch, all 4 paws up in the air, sleeping like a baby. I will catch him up on what happened later...

I have some good news as we seem to have found the point at which Toby does well from an exercise standpoint. He actually stopped in mid run the other night and looked at me and said "I am done. I am ready to go home". And we turned around and went home. I was so amazed, it was like he was saying, ah, yeah, I am good, thanks. Let's go home and go to bed...and we did. Another bonus of having Toby around is I have lost 4 pounds this week! If you are looking for a wonderful companion, who would make a great jogging partner and weight loss partner, Toby is the man! I also think Toby would do wonderfully with agility or flyball - I think he would love something like that. If you are interested in meeting this wonder dog, email placementatragom [dot] org.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Here is Toby at the picnic on Saturday. We tried to get a better picture of him as he really does look like a blonde Golden Retriever, but his pictures don't do him justice as to how handsome this boy is.

Another thing worth mentioning is Toby loves to be on the furniture and his previously life must have been allowed as he walked into the house and jumped on the couch like it was his for the taking. With his former family, they reported that he is afraid of trucks and men in uniforms. Monday morning was garbage day in my neighborhood and while out on our run we encountered many large trucks and Toby did fine with them. This morning when a school bus passed us, he barked but then stopped. Another school bus passed us and he did nothing.

Toby is such a happy love- he wants to be petted and loved so much. He is a champion sleeper- once its bedtime, he is down for the count. I wake him up to go out before our morning run. I also continue to let him have free roam of the house while at work and he is doing really well. Toby does not like crates, and he is doing well with the free roam so we will continue with that. He is very sweet, he just gets overly excited sometimes. He has taken to Miss Nala and I think she has taken to him because she lets him harass her constantly and she has not put him in his place. I keep waiting for her to just put him down, but she doesn't. This makes me think that Miss Nala has a bit of a crush on Mr. Toby- so cute!

This morning on our run, I tried the gentle leader harness instead of the head collar and it seemed to work really well. It seems that the gentle leader harness is the lead of choice for our Toby.

Toby is so wonderful, you just have to meet him to see for yourself!

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

After spending a week in in boarding, I picked up Toby for a play date with Linda M's dogs. Toby was a little wild in the car because I was too dumb to walk him around a little and get rid of some of the energy before loading him up. We got to Linda's and went into the back yard to meet Red 05-182. Red ran up to Toby and they were instantly friends. He then greeted Molly quietly, as she expects. We let Toby and Red race back and forth accros the yard for a few minutes and then let Sky go. Toby and Sky touched noses and they were off and running. During our visit Toby treated all of the other dogs with playfulness and respect. He ran to Linda and me for occasional pets, but spent probably the first hour just racing around the yard. He took treats from me gently and waited his turn for the others to get treats. From everything I saw after more than 1 1/2 hours in the yard at Linda's, this is a dog with a lot of energy that just needs direction. He listens well once you get his attention, but he has spent way too long in boarding. Please give him a chance.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Toby had his vet check-up on Wednesday evening and the vet thought he looked great! We haven't heard the results on the fecal yet, but his heartworm test came back negative. He was a very good boy at the vet. Toby is a Great Pyrenees/Golden Retriever mix and all that thick hair had me fooled. He weighed in at 67 pounds but he is so solid that I would have guessed more...he carries the weight well and is not overweight.

I don't think Toby has been in the car much. On our ride to the vet, he didn't get sick, but he was quite nervous and was sure that he would prefer to be inside my skin rather than the back of the Jeep...this posed something of a problem as I was the one DRIVING said Jeep. We made it safely to the vet, but I had my husband meet us at the vet to drive home with us so I could sit in the back and keep Toby calm (and in the back away from the steering wheel!). I think Toby would greatly benefit from some very short rides in the car with lots of treats at the end to help him learn that car rides can be REALLY great! This will be something his forever family will need to keep working on.

I think I neglected to mention how Toby came to be in RAGOM's care. Toby was picked up after roaming loose and brought to an animal shelter. Although I don't understand why his previous family decided not to take him home when notified that he was found, I think I have an idea of how he came to be roaming loose. Toby would do best with a forever home with a fenced in yard. He has shown us that he is very opportunistic with the door and he has managed to slip past us to get a better view of the neighborhood. We have been able to bring him back in easily, but learning to respond better to his name has become a high priority. His forever home would not need a high fence...he hasn't shown us that he has any thought of being a jumper...just interested in seeing and sniffing what he can. We have been giving Toby free run of the kitchen while we are at work and he has respected the baby gate.

Toby seems to need a block or two before he's ready to go potty so the longer walks have been helpful to make sure he has a chance to get everything done! We haven't really noticed that he gives us any particular signs yet when he needs to go potty. He has been able to hold it during a normal working day, but we have had an occassional accident while we've been home...I think it was some lack of communiciation or a misunderstood signal on our part.

Toby is SUCH A LOVER!!! He knows nothing of personal space and would gladly share skin with anyone who was willing! He is playful and likes to play fetch. We do not have a fenced in yard so our fetch has been limited to indoors but he has been very good at bringing back the toy for us to throw again and again. We have been taking Toby on two good walks everyday and he has continued to be super on the Gentle Leader...he pulls a LOT without it so I would HIGHLY recommend one to his forever home. He is interested in other dogs and people as we walk by but he does not pull or lunge towards them...just interested to see if anyone else might want to play.

Toby continues to be wonderful with our 19-month old daughter...I think she is really going to miss him when he finds his forever home. He has picked up one of her toys a couple of times (but who can blame him when they always seem to be out no matter how many times they get put away!) but he has relinquished them upon request and is happily redirected towards one of the billions of puppy toys (which also seem to always be out no matter how many times they are put away!).

Toby is ready to find his forever home...so far the only requirements for this big lover is a home with a fenced yard and someone who has lots of love to give.