Louie 21-020
Profile
At a Glance #21-020
| Golden Retriever | Born: January 2014 |
| Male | 84 lbs |
Status: Adopted
Profile
Updates
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Louie and his brother Shepherd 21-021 were adopted on April 1, 2021—no April Fool’s jokes here! These lovable brothers have a mom and dad and a big backyard to explore.
The duo will be able to show their new parents how well they walk on a leash and their new trick—a paw shake! We are incredibly happy for them and wish them the very best.
Sunday, March 14, 2021
Lou and Shep have settled into their new foster home nicely this past week.
We are happy to say Lou has had zero accidents inside as he and Shep get into a good routine of going outside. We bring them outside after breakfast, around 1pm, 5pm walk, and evening “last call” around 10pm.
While they have ample opportunity to go to the bathroom on walks, they prefer the yard. This schedule seems to work well for them so they can continue to squeeze in their daytime naps. Those naps are important to these boys!
We use a 50-foot tie-out/cable to ensure their safety in the front yard and Lou has no problem with this arrangement. He does his business and comes back to the front porch when he is called. He has not eaten any grass since he’s been here; maybe the grass isn’t as tasty here in Lakeville.
Lou has continued to be curious about what is up on the counter and has jumped up to investigate several times, even when I am in the kitchen with him. It will be necessary for his forever home to ensure food on the counter is put away or he will get it.
While we have been working from home, Lou snoozes on and off during the day and stays quiet unless he hears something out of the ordinary outside. We have found having the TV on for background noise seems to drown out construction noise around our neighborhood.
Lou will sometimes initiate barking and both dogs can get quite loud. Lou gets a bit scared around unfamiliar noises, such as our robotic vacuum or the smoke alarm.
Lou is on a weight management food and getting more exercise to drop some pounds. We try to walk at least a mile per night, but he slows down towards the end. We hope as he continues to lose weight these walks will get a bit easier.
Lou seems most content laying on the couch watching TV with us. He wants to be as close to you as possible for pets and cuddling. He will fall asleep on your lap—it’s quite adorable!
This week we are working on sit, lay down, stay with small treats as positive reinforcement. Both dogs understand the basics and their “stay” is getting longer by a few seconds each day. We’re impressed by their progress.
Friday, March 5, 2021
Lou has been enjoying his time at his temporary foster’s home, but today he and Shep moved to their permanent foster’s home in Lakeville, Minnesota. They will need a little time to get settled in their new place.
Lou has had one more accident where he peed on the floor. In his defense, we had just gotten back from a walk, and he hadn’t peed on the walk at all. I meant to get him outside again when we got home but wasn’t fast enough. I’m not used to having to let the dogs out after a walk since most dogs pee on a walk.
However, I did learn that while on our walks if I walk Lou in the grass and say, “Go potty,” he will go pee! So, he definitely understands “Go potty,” and we’ve been doing this while on walks. No other accidents since.
Lou has started to do a little counter surfing to see what’s up on the counter. He’s jumped up there to check things out, but hasn’t grabbed anything yet. He’s definitely interested and will need to be monitored if food is on the counter.
He’s also shown us he can pull the baby gate down if he really wants to. It’s just the kind that is held in place by pressure so if it’s not tight enough it’s not hard to pull down. He’s done that a couple times, but it hasn’t been a problem, and it still works most of the time to keep him in an area.
Now that the snow has melted, Lou has been eating some grass. He may have learned that from our resident Golden or it might be something he normally does.
Both boys definitely compete for attention. If one is being pet the other will come over and try to get pet instead by nudging their way in. Whatever one is doing, the other gets in the way and tries to do, too.
They aren’t what a lot of people think of when having two dogs in regards to playing or keeping each other entertained. They haven’t played much at all or entertained each other. They definitely seem to comfort one another and get along beautifully, but they are needy at times and both want attention. This is something important to understand about them.
Lou and Shep both bark occasionally and enough so that I would be concerned about them living in an apartment or shared-wall type living arrangement. If one barks, the other one usually barks, too. That can be pretty loud in that type of setting. I wouldn’t want to risk them being someplace that their barking could annoy a shared-wall neighbor. Therefore, they aren’t able to go to a home with a shared-wall living arrangement.
Friday, February 26, 2021
Louis (Lou) and Shepherd 21-021 (Shep) are both sweet, lovable Goldens who just turned 7 years old on January 30. They are a bonded pair of brothers who need to be adopted together.
They were given to RAGOM by their owners due to the owners’ allergies to them becoming worse and not being able to have them in the house much. They wanted to give the dogs a better life where they could be inside with their owners all the time. A family or someone who has the ability to give them the attention and love they crave would be ideal.
Lou has low energy and is in good health (except he needs to lose weight). He loves to be near people. He will often climb up onto the couch to lay next to or on someone’s lap who is sitting there. He likes to be pet, but seems okay just being near you. The dogs like our 9-year-old daughter and seek attention from her, too. She is enjoying them.
Lou has adjusted very well to the change of being with us. He has slept great in our laundry room. We use a baby gate to keep them in there and that works fine. He hasn’t made a peep at night. Per the surrendering owners, they have slept in crates and are crate trained. But we didn’t have two crates for them and decided to try this instead.
We were told they were housebroken. Lou did have one accident right away, but that was my fault as I was confused about what he wanted. No issues since then.
Once in a while they will bark inside when it seems like they are excited. The previous owners noted that they barked when the family came home, but nothing excessive. They bark outside at times when they see other dogs, for example.
Lou is a lighter colored Golden. He weighs about 84 pounds but looks bigger because of all the hair. The vet said he should lose at least 10 pounds. His fur is very thick and bushy since he spent a lot of time outside.
When we gave him a bath, he was excellent. We have done lots of brushing to help thin out his coat, and he is great for that. The only issue is that Shep wants attention when I am brushing Lou.
Lou hasn’t shown much playfulness. The previous owners said the dogs played gently together, but I’ve only seen a tiny bit of that so far. Our dog, Buddy, has tried to get them to play on numerous occasions, but they have only played a tiny bit with him also.
They have been great about sharing toys though, and there have been no signs of resource guarding, even high value items like bones. I have been separating them to eat though or they will just eat out of one bowl. Lou doesn’t play with toys for very long, but he does seem to like them (balls, stuffed animals, chew toys, ropes, bones, and antlers).
Lou hasn’t had any issues with chewing up inappropriate items when he is in the entryway where we leave them when we are gone (we have shoes, coats, etc. in there). The previous owners said they sometimes chewed on plastic items they shouldn’t be chewing on. I haven’t allowed them free roam in the house. Lou has been known to dig some outside, but only when bored.
It was noted by the previous owners that both dogs like to swim. They have gotten ear infections and some skin problems when they have been wet, but it sounds like one of the times they had skin problems was when they swam in salt water.
In regards to training, Lou is slow to sit but knows sit and down. He will come most of the time when called from outside. I tell him to stay when I go out the door and he doesn’t try to follow me out, but that’s all he knows for stay. He is food and attention motivated.
Lou loves to go for walks and we use a harness. He is very well behaved and I am able to walk them both together by myself. There is minimal pulling. Lou rarely stops to go to the bathroom or sniff anything. We currently walk twice each day anywhere from 15 – 30 minutes at a time.
Lou would be fine with Shep in a home with no other dogs, but also fine with other dogs his own size. They did previously live with two cats and he did fine with them, but since we aren’t sure how Shep is with cats this is unknown at this time.
I think a home with a fenced-in yard would be great, but not necessary. I haven’t been able to try them on a tie-out yet, but I think that should work and the previous owners indicated that they were used to a fenced in yard and a tie-out. A solid plan to keep them safe in the yard will be necessary. They also indicated that they will chase after rabbits, etc. One of them did catch a dove once.
In regards to anxieties or fear, per the previous owners Lou doesn’t like fireworks or construction noises and will want to come in the house. We have some construction going on in our neighborhood and walked by a house they were working on which made Lou want to get past it quickly. He was manageable though and seemed fine once we got farther away from it.
I have been working from home some and the dogs have been great for that. They are in the entryway upstairs when I work downstairs. They have been very quiet.
Lou has a lot of great qualities! He takes treats nicely when he isn’t competing for them, he rides well in the car (just have to make sure he can’t get in the front seat), he gets along great with other dogs, he likes kids, and is a sweet dog who loves attention and cuddling. I think they will make a family very happy, and they would make a great addition to the right home.