Lainey (Lady 20-162)
Profile
Lady was surrendered to RAGOM by a Good Samaritan. Lady is a young Golden Retriever who is blind. Lady was born with undeveloped eyes so has never known sight. Lady does well figuring out her surroundings but requires a special family who will be able to adjust to her needs as a blind dog. Any children in the home should be age 8+. Lady requires another playful dog in the home. Lady should have either a physical fence or be taken out on a leash—no tie outs. Lady will be a wonderful addition to a special home.
At a Glance #20-162
| Golden Retriever | Born: November 2019 |
| Female | 60 lbs |
Status: Adopted
Lady's Sponsors
"Merry Christmas, Lady/Twirly Girl! We hope you get an extra toy from Santa!"
Profile
Lady was surrendered to RAGOM by a Good Samaritan. Lady is a young Golden Retriever who is blind. Lady was born with undeveloped eyes so has never known sight. Lady does well figuring out her surroundings but requires a special family who will be able to adjust to her needs as a blind dog. Any children in the home should be age 8+. Lady requires another playful dog in the home. Lady should have either a physical fence or be taken out on a leash—no tie outs. Lady will be a wonderful addition to a special home.
Updates
Lady found her perfect forever home! She moved to Minneapolis with her human mom, dad, 3 siblings and a golden retriever sibling!
Her family plans to take her running daily (after she is acclimated to her new home). The kids are completely smitten with her and look forward to doing training with her to become a perfect golden.
I know you have been waiting for an update on Lady. In January Lady took a Puppy Jr High Obedience course. She loved it!
She is a smart girl who is very food/treat oriented. She is excellent at sit, down, and "leave it." We are still working on "stay" (which is hard when you're one year old and blind).
She doesn't generally pull on a leash so "heel" really isn't that necessary. "Leave it" has become my favorite command. When she hears "leave it" she drops whatever she has and sits to look at you for a treat. If I have a treat nearby I give her one to reinforce the good behavior.
She loved playing with the other dogs in her obedience class too. Lady received her very own graduation certificate. Her instructor deemed her the "dog that is most likely to see with her heart." I got teary eyed.
A couple things about golden retrievers (and Lady). Goldens are generally "mouthy" because they are bred for retrieving birds. They like to carry balls and toys around almost like a pacifier. Lady is a bit more mouthy than your average golden because she lost one of her senses and she makes up for that loss using her mouth.
She loves to carry her (very large) fleece blanket around (and even brings it outside with her). She reminds me of Linus when she's dragging that thing around. So cute.
She also uses her mouth to "grab" things - for example my shirt sleeve, pant leg or whatever she can grab. Sometimes it hurts because she can't see how close you are when she grabs- this is where "leave it" has come in really handy.
I believe that she is trying to communicate with me that she has to go outside, wants attention/play or wants food (human food or dog food). She can be a bit bossy about it. Her forever family will have to continue to work with her on this. I also think if she had another dog who liked to play that this behaviour would lessen with humans.
Goldens also love attention and to be touched. Again, Lady is a little more attention seeking than the average golden. She wants to touch you so she knows you are near. She likes to "hold hands" or will put her foot on your foot.
Goldens are also known to be "velcro" dogs. In other words they follow you around the house from room to room. Lady is no exception to this. She seeks me out wherever I go. Her perfect forever family would have to be ok with the fact that she needs to be near most of the time.
When I need a break I put her in the kennel for a few minutes which is usually when we are making or eating dinner. She respects baby gates. I put a baby gate in the kitchen door so she can feel like she is near me but isn't under my feet while I'm cooking. She doesn't love her kennel but will go in without a fuss (especially for a treat).
Like all goldens, Lady is her best self when she gets enough exercise and when she doesn't, she can be a handful. he temperature has been below zero for a while now and so she hasn't been for a walk in several days. It's been difficult for all of us to be cooped up at home.
We have compensated by giving her several femur bones which I fill with canned dog food and then freeze. We also play "hide the treaty" which is basically hide and seek with dog treats around the house. She needs hints to find the treats because she is slower than that resident dog but she has caught on and loves it. We have all been coping by eating during this cold weather. She doesn't need to worry about her weight so that is ok.
Lady is ready to meet you! What are you waiting for?
Hi, Lady here! It has been awhile. Foster Mom is napping and I’m bored, so I thought I’d give you an update.
I am enjoying life in a family home. I go for 2-3 walks a day with the resident dog Duke. I still like to jump on him at the beginning of our walk, but he is all business so eventually I follow suit. I like to walk near him because I know he can see and won’t bump into things.
I have walked our “route” over 60 times, so I feel very confident doing it. I know where all the turns are and where all the dogs live. I like to meet new people on our walks, too. There is an older gentleman who kinda scared me at first. Then he gave me a treat and now I love bumping into him.
I am confident walking new places, too, because I trust Foster Mom to guide me. However, I am so confident that Foster Mom sometimes forgets that I can’t see. Today was garbage day and she walked me into a garbage can on our walk.
OMG was that scary! One minute I’m enjoying a nice fall walk without a concern in the world and the next minute….KA-BOOM I literally didn’t know what hit me. Foster Mom felt terrible for the rest of the walk.
I’m used to the house and yard now. Stairs are not an issue at all. Sometimes I like to tempt fate and decide to do “monkey business” on the stairs - after all, I am an adolescent and I don’t always make great choices.
My foster home has some complicated landscaping for me to navigate. For the first 6 weeks, Foster Mom always brought me out to go potty, but now she is “giving me more independence” and letting me go out without humans.
The yard is fenced, so I go out with Duke the resident dog and let him guide me, because he knows the way. Although sometimes he goes too fast for me and I lose him in the yard. I guess he chases bunnies (I don’t do that).
I heard Foster Mom say that she watches me out the window to see how I navigate the yard without her. If I get turned around, I bark to let her know that I need help finding the door. She comes out to guide me back, but mostly I can do it on my own.
I live with two kids (8 and 10). The boy likes to run outside while calling my name over and over again. I follow his voice and run after him as fast as I can to try to catch him. I’m happy to say I usually tackle him because he tires out faster than I do.
The kids love me, but I guess I scare them sometimes because of my rough play. I get really excited when my kids run, laugh and play (which they do ALL the time) because I think they are playing with me.
When I get too rowdy, they jump on top of the couch or table where I can’t see them or get to them. I think it would be best if my forever family had older kids who were more confident with my rough play.
I still like to play rough with Foster Mom (but not Foster Dad, because he won’t have it). I like to grab sleeves and pant legs of Foster Mom to coax her into playing with me. She gets a bit grumpy because I don’t let go. I also growl and nip at her and Duke to play.
Neither wants to play with me because I am so strong and always win. Mom used give me a treat in my dog kennel when I started getting “rough”. Then I heard her say that maybe that was providing a reward for bad behavior. So now she puts a Gentle Leader on me when I get like that.
I just lay down and pout. Then she takes it off and I am calmed down. Foster Mom thinks that this “naughty puppy” behavior will subside when I have a fun dog to play with and I grow up a little…..like Duke. Duke is soooooo mature and sooooo well behaved. But you know what? Duke isn’t fun like me!
It would be great if I could find a family who has a runner, as I would run really nicely on leash right next to my “forever person”. I like running with my person because it makes me feel free to go fast.
I don’t run fast without a seeing-eye person or chasing my boy. I would also like a forever home that has a dog who I can play tug and chase with (I chase them), as those are my two favorite games.
Foster Mom says that I do not resource guard at all. She can take bones out of my mouth without a problem. The kids can pet me while I eat, too. I don’t resource guard with the resident dog, Duke, either - we share toys and bones and stuff.
I like baths and I also like when the boy sprays water into my mouth with a spray bottle. It was supposed to be a way to “get my attention” when I was naughty, but the trick is on them because I LOVE IT! I love eating ice cubes, too!
I’m happy to wait at my foster home until my perfect family comes along. I know that you are out there and I am willing to wait for you!
Lady is a one year old purebred Golden Retriever. A Good Samaritan got her from a home that no longer wanted her, with the intent of rehoming her with RAGOM. She loves all people and dogs and she's good with kids. Lady is a typical adolescent with lots of energy.
She likes (needs) to play rough with other dogs. Like most RAGOM dogs, Lady has one challenge. She's blind. Don't let her blindness scare you -- it doesn't scare her! Lady is a typical Golden. She loves attention, is playful and curious. She is cautious of the world but not scared.
Her perfect forever home would be a home with a playful dog to befriend her and guide her. A fenced yard is ideal, however, not required as long as the family commits to only taking her out on leash (no tie outs).
Children should be dog savvy and be elementary age or older, as she likes to play rough and sometimes bumps into people.
Lady has been with us for two weeks! Where does the time go? The first week was challenging, but we are in a groove now. I hadn't had a young dog in over 13 years so there was a "remembering" curve for me.
I remember now and have adjusted by giving her several walks a day, lots of Kongs with treats and dog toys that make noises.
As I stated earlier, Lady is blind. She was born blind, as were all her littermates. Her eyes didn't develop; they are very small and she doesn't have "eyeballs", but rather just tissue inside.
She is still beautiful, despite her small eyes. The vet isn't sure why her eyes didn't develop. It could be that mom was exposed to a toxin or medicine at the time the eyes were supposed to develop, or it could also be genetic.
I don't think Lady's name fits her. In my opinion, she should be named Brave. Another nickname we have for her is "Twirly Girl". This is because she spins to map her surroundings. By spinning, her tail hits nearby things first (before her face) and she can tell how much space she has around her.
The spinning, twirling and whirling made me anxious at first. I have come to understand it. She does it more when she is not familiar with her surroundings. She is doing it less now and I worry about it less now, too.
She also spins at the door to tell you it's time to go out. I put a bell on the door knob (because I was confused by the spinning) and once in a while she hits the bell to let me know it's time to go out.
Lady is very trusting of her people and depends on them to guide her. She is cautious about the world, but she is not fearful. I tell her "watch out" with a bit of urgency before she is about to run into something.
There is a balance of when to say it and when not to. I also say, "this way" when I want her to turn. She is learning sit and down.
My 10 year old son had a school project where he had to invent something that would solve a problem. He invented the “Helper Harness”. It is a harness that includes a hoop, so blind dogs can be more aware of surroundings without bumping their faces into things.
Lady is fine with steps. Up is much easier than down. She walks close to the wall to guide her down the stairs. She understands exterior doors because of the air temperature change.
She walks as well as any adolescent on a leash. She loves walks. The first five minutes are a "circus" as she puts the leash in her mouth, jumps on the resident dog and is generally distracted. However, after a while she walks pretty well. She can walk a straight line if guided or following the resident dog.
In new places, she walks circles around me (I'm a human May pole). It's not an issue for me, as I believe that walks have multiple purposes; to me, walks are about exercise, but also equally about mental health...just being outside and moving makes all of us happier.
I try to remember that sometimes, the walk is about the journey rather than the destination, so I let them sniff and experience the world when they want.
Curbs, storm drains, mailboxes and garbage cans are a challenge for us to maneuver together on walks. Sidewalks are tough because of all the mailboxes and garbage cans. I prefer to walk her on paved trails or on the side of the street.
We live in Forest Lake and the street we walk on has few people and cars. When we encounter people and dogs on our walks, she stops to listen and smell. Sometimes it's difficult to get her to move again and when that happens, I walk her in a circle in order to head back the way we were going.
Lady loves car rides. I take her on short rides just to get her out of the house (running to the drive-thru, etc.). She just loves being with her people. She is a typical Golden Retriever in the sense that she is a Velcro dog. I think being with her people also gives her security in her dark world.
She tries really hard to play with the resident dog but he won't have it. He doesn't understand what she is doing as she barks and shadow boxes. She needs a family with another dog who likes to play.
There are some benefits to blind dogs; they don't chase or bark at bunnies and squirrels. Also, they aren't escape artists...Lady sticks really close to home. She likes being outside, but isn't inclined to sunbathe on the deck unless her person is nearby.
Life could be very fulfilling for Lady, or very isolating. She deserves the former. For that reason, her forever family should have another dog companion, friend and leader.
She should be adopted by a family where the dog has the same energy level, likes to play rough and also likes to cuddle on the same dog bed. The family should have stability and not move locations frequently or travel a lot.
Lady would do best with elementary age (or older) kids who are dog savvy, as she sometimes tries to play rough with her humans, too. A fenced yard would be ideal but not necessary. However, I would insist that her forever family do not use a tie out for her, as it is too isolating and not at all safe.
Her forever family will love taking frequent leash walks for exercise and mental health. I have a saying, "If your dog is overweight, you are not getting enough exercise". LOL.
Don't hesitate to consider Lady. Your life will be forever changed for the better with her in it!