Shepherd 21-021
Profile
At a Glance #21-021
| Golden Retriever | Born: January 2014 |
| Male | 72 lbs |
Status: Adopted
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Updates
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Shep and his brother Louie 21-020 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
Shep and Lou have settled into their new foster home nicely this past week.
Shep and Lou have established 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. It took Shep a few days to get used to this arrangement as sometimes the tie-out would get caught between his legs, so he would just stand in the yard. He’s become more comfortable now and does his business and comes back to the front porch when he is finished.
Shep has not jumped up on the counter to investigate, unlike Lou. I’m not sure if it’s because he is uninterested or if he can’t reach because he is a bit smaller than Lou. Either way, their new home would need to be on the defense with his brother.
While we have been working from home, Shep snoozes on and off during the day. Shep will get up when we start moving around making lunch, whereas Lou will continue to sleep. He stays fairly quiet during the day, only barking if he is set off by Lou or if he sees something at the front window.
We have found having the TV on for background noise seems to drown out construction noise around our neighborhood. It does not seem like Shep is as nervous as Lou around unfamiliar sounds like the robotic vacuum or smoke alarms.
As far as barking goes, Shep has barked persistently at small dogs, and 1 – 2 barks at larger dogs. To work on this, we sit outside as dogs walk by in the evening and reward/distract with small treats if he allows the dogs to pass by without barking.
Shep is on a weight management food and we try to walk at least a mile per night. Since Lou slows down at the end of the walk, we bring Shep inside too. It seemed like Shep needed more exercise, so one night I continued the walk with Shep.
He didn’t get far before realizing Lou was not with us. He turned back around to head home. I’m hoping we will gain some trust in me walking so he can burn a little more energy.
Shep is more persistent for attention than Lou. His nose is quite strong and he will give you a nudge for pets. Shep will parade around with a toy in his mouth trying to initiate play and we’ve seen them play tug-of-war for a few minutes. If you are busy with something else, he will eventually give up and go lay on the ground. He doesn’t seem to want to be up on the couch if we’re watching TV.
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. Shep seemed interested in learning other tricks, so we are also teaching him “shake.” We’re impressed by their progress.
Friday, March 5, 2021
Shep has been enjoying his time at his temporary foster’s home, but today he and Lou moved to their permanent foster’s home in Lakeville, MN. They will need a little time to get settled in their new place.
We have been working with Shep on “Go potty” while going for walks. He hasn’t done it on a walk yet, but we’ve been practicing in the yard on a leash and he has peed several times when we say, “Go potty.” He’s starting to figure it out.
Shep will definitely try to de-stuff things and has pulled out some stuffing from a few things. He at least doesn’t try to eat the stuffing. He was also able to pull enough fuzz off a tennis ball that he put a little hole in it.
Shep seems to like fetch, but not always. I can’t quite figure out if it’s only certain balls or if he’s not always in the mood. He started by playing fetch indoors and he has started dropping the ball near me to throw again. We tried outside and he didn’t seem interested, but then I tried a different ball later and he was very into it.
When going for walks, Shep has barked and pulled a little harder than usual when another dog is barking at him. He has still been manageable though. Shep met a smaller dog in our backyard, an English Bulldog, and he didn’t seem to like him. He did bark at him a bit snarky-like at times, so I can see why the previous owners said he didn’t like small dogs.
Shep did show a little more of a playful side and played with our dog Buddy a couple more times again when Buddy prompted him to.
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. Shep is more persistent in this than Lou.
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
Shepherd (Shep) and Louie 21-020 are 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.
Shep has low energy level and is in good health (he could lose a little weight). He loves to be near people. He really likes to be pet and will nudge you a little aggressively if you don’t oblige. He will sometimes resort to pawing at you if you don’t pet him, which can hurt if he scratches you.
He is starting to learn that he needs to sit in order to get attention. He has nibbled on my ear and chin a couple times when he gets overly excited, which hurts a little bit. Shep likes our 9-year-old daughter and seeks attention from her.
The only issue we’ve had with Shep and our daughter is the pawing he does that can scratch her, and he has jumped on her a little to try to hump. This could be a bit much for smaller children, so we’re recommending that children in the home be age 8 or older.
Shep 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 the two of 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, so decided to try this instead.
We were told they were housebroken, and Shep hasn’t had any problems so far.
Once in a while Shep will bark inside when it seems like he is excited. The previous owners noted that both dogs barked when the family came home, but nothing excessive. They bark outside at times when they see other dogs, for example.
Shep is a darker golden color and weighs around 72 pounds. Shep was excellent for his bath and seems to enjoy being brushed. He is pretty thick and furry. The only issue with brushing him is Lou wants attention at the same time, so it’s helpful to have someone distracting the one who isn’t being brushed.
Also, a lot of times when I’m sitting on the floor brushing the dogs and then go to get up off the floor, Shep will often try to jump on me and hump me. It’s pretty easy to get him to stop by pushing him off, but he is strong. Otherwise he doesn’t do it often.
There hasn’t been much play of any kind between the two dogs. The previous owners said they 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 has been no signs of resource guarding, even high value items like bones. But I have been separating them to eat or they will just eat out of one bowl.
Shep often whines or growls with excitement when he first gets a toy. He will go after a ball if you throw it. He doesn’t give the ball up very well, but will eventually or he will let you take it from him to throw again. He doesn’t play with toys for very long, but does seem to like them (balls, stuffed animals, chew toys, ropes, bones, and antlers).
We haven’t had any issues with Shep chewing inappropriate items in the entryway where we leave them when we are gone (we have shoes, coats, etc. in there). However, I did accidentally leave some mail on a bench in there and one of them (Shep I’m guessing) chewed on that a little.
Shep also tries to rip the felt off tennis balls sometimes. 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.
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, Shep knows sit, but is slow to lay down, and he comes most of the time when called from outside. He doesn’t seem to know stay, but I do tell him to stay when I go out the door and he doesn’t try to follow me out. He is food and attention motivated. The previous owners mentioned something about Shep being a field champion at some point, but we don’t have details on that.
Shep loves to go for walks and we use a harness to walk him. He is very well behaved, and I am able to walk them both together by myself. There is minimal pulling. We have passed some other dogs out in yards while walking and Shep may pull towards them, but it has been very manageable.
One strange thing he doesn’t do on walks is go to the bathroom. We currently walk twice each day anywhere from 15 – 30 minutes at a time.
Shep would definitely be fine with Lou in a home with no other dogs, but also fine with other dogs his size. The previous owners said Shep doesn’t like small dogs very much and shouldn’t go to a home with small dogs.
They did previously live with two cats and did fine with them, but the previous owners said Shep didn’t like cats very much. I’m hoping to cat test him with a neighbor cat to get a better idea if he is ok with cats.
I think a home with a fenced-in yard would be great, but not necessary. I haven’t been able to try him on a tie-out yet, but I think that should work and the previous owners indicated that they were used to a fenced 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.
Shep wasn’t noted to have any fears and we haven’t noticed any. It was noted by the previous owners that Shep would dig some outside, but only when bored.
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.
Shep has a lot of great qualities! He takes treats nicely when he isn’t competing for them, he rides well in the car, he gets along great with other dogs his size, likes kids, and is a sweet dog who loves attention. I think they will make a family very happy, and they would make a great addition to the right home.