Tannera is here safe and sound...in fact she's laying at my feet snoozing while I type this. And I just found out she has a little snore. We've had her for one day and here's what we can say about Tannera so far:

She's a big snuggle bug who wants to be petted all the time, but is polite about waiting, or letting my other Goldens get some pets, too. She seems to like water as she started to climb in the bathtub with my son last night. She is very curious about new situations and things--she checks out everything, but hasn't seemed too concerned about anything yet. Tannera needs to lose a few pounds and tone up a bit.

Tannera is doing well on her housetraining. No accidents so far. She doesn't ask to go out yet, but she is learning that when we go out the first order of business is to potty, so I don't think this will be an issue for her. She isn't totally on board with the whole "kennel up" idea, but today was the first time she's been crated in her life, so that might take some getting used to.

So far, Tannera is turning out to be a superstar! More to follow in the next few days as we get to see more of her Golden personality shine through.

One last funny thing about Tannera...She loves to lay and sleep with her hind legs stretched out all the way behind her. She looks like a Golden Retriever rug, especially when she lays in front of the fireplace like that.

Tannera (I call her Tann-O-Rama) continues to be a total sweetheart. Once again she is sleeping on my feet as I type this. Physically, she's a stocky girl, with thick, wavy hair. It's especially thick around her neck and her hindquarters. Her official weight came in at 75 lbs.

Tannera is very people oriented. She loves to play with my two Goldens, but she takes her behavior cues from the humans in the house. She now is free to check out the house on her own, but she really wants to be around the people. If she does wander off, it's usually only for about 30 seconds and then she comes right back to check in. She loves to be talked to, petted, and looked at. Her brown eyes are very expressive, you can just tell how much she loves the attention. Her tail is always wagging.

Tannera is great around small children. My son is 2 1/2 and she is perfect around him. She doesn't startle and will lay by him while he's watching Elmo. In fact, I think she likes Elmo, because she tried to pull Elmo out of his bed this morning. Which brings up one need that Tannera will have--she loves stuffed dog toys, but my dogs shred anything that can be shredded, so I've had to put all her stuffed toys away for now. She is compensating by occasionally grabbing one of my son's stuffed animals. She gives it up right away, and responds to a light "no." If Tannera's forever family has children, they will need to help her learn what are appropriate toys for her to have.

Tannera is doing much better with being crated. On Wednesday she barked quite a bit when I walked away. Today she barked once, and then was quiet and laid down.

Tannera and my dogs love to play, chase, and wrestle in the yard. Tannera has started to initiate play a lot more and will grab a tennis ball, or other toy, and tease my dogs to get them to play. They are speed racers--Tannera isn't quite that fast, but she really tries, and I believe as she gets into better shape, she will get faster. Tannera loves to fetch anything, but tennis balls, and her soft frisbee are her favorites.

Well, I could go on and on about this sweet girl, but she's giving me the clue it's time to finish up, and believe me, it's hard to say no to her.

Tannera still is the perfect dog. I don't think that will ever change. Right now, however, Tannera is on Injured Reserve for the next week. She came in with a sore on her hind leg, which is requiring some antibiotic treatment for the next couple weeks, so we are waiting a few days to place her with her new forever family.

Being injured hasn't slowed her down one bit, however. She is gaining confidence daily. She now will lay at the top of the stairs and watch her "territory". She still loves to be petted, but isn't quite the velcro dog she was when she first came. If you sit on the floor, she will try and be a 75 lb lap dog, which can be interesting. She still is perfect around my son.

We went to Petco yesterday. I tried it with just her buckle collar--she pulls quite a bit, so a Gentle Leader will be necessary for walks with her. She was a huge hit...everybody loved her. She perused the toy aisle and selected a Canada Goose stuffed toy. She was even more popular when the other shoppers saw her carrying the goose up to the checkout! She's a total ham, and was so nice sitting and letting people pet her. Her new goose will get limited use here, so it will go with her to her new home.

More updates on Tannera's "injury" in a couple days.

I guess I'm about the worst foster in the world...I haven't updated in two weeks. Tannera has really changed in the last two weeks. Don't worry, she's still great, wonderful...(you fill in the appropriate adjective for perfect). But, she's become a very high energy dog. She's really coming out of her shell and starting to do the things that dogs do. She's probably learning some bad habits from my dogs, but they love showing her the ropes.

Her leg is healing nicely. Only one more week with the bandage, and one more week of antibiotics. She doesn't even know anything is wrong. She hasn't been bothered by the bandage in the least.

We continue to kennel her during the day. She could probably be loose in the house if she was the only one here, but I'm not totally confident that three Golden Retrievers wouldn't find some trouble, especially these three. She goes into the kennel with a little hesitation, but no trouble at all.

I tried the gentle leader on her a few days ago (when it was actually a normal temperature). I'm guessing our neighbors got a real laugh. We spent the first four blocks or so with me walking and Tannera doing the "crappie flop" behind me. But after about a third of a mile, she settled right in and walked perfectly beside me. My husband took all three dogs on a walk a couple days later, and she was fine walking beside him, so I think she's over the disgust with the gentle leader.

Tannera will need a lot of exercise to keep her happy. She is very mellow in the house, but gets very nerdy if she does not get enough exercise. News bulletin--she just just chewed the head off an action figure--so I guess she'll need to be monitored closely until she learns what is appropriate chewing material. She loves bones, so I think she could be easily redirected to them instead of toys.

Tannera's coat is very thick still. She seems to prefer sleeping near the doors, or at least in cooler locations. For the most part she wants to be near people, but if it gets too warm, she'll retreat to a cooler location. She sleeps in our room, but not on the bed. It's a bit too warm for her.

Overall, she's a great dog, who just needs some guidance with learning the rules of the house.

I have lost Tannera. I've actually lost all my dogs. I let them out into the fenced in back yard and within about two minutes they were gone. Three crusty black dogs showed up at the back door, but there were no beautiful Golden Retrievers to be seen! A quick trip through the doggy shower cleared up the confusion, and everybody is back safe and sound. Although, they keep trying to turn into crusty black dogs...

So, I can say with confidence that Tannera likes both water and mud. I guess that's pretty typical doggy behavior, so I'm not surprised.

Tannera still has the bandage on her leg. She should be getting it off on Monday. One more romp in the mud, however, and we'll probably have to take it off ourselves. It's losing it's nice purple vetrap look.

Tons of people have expressed interest in this wonderful girl. We are looking at applications and trying to determine the best home for Tannera.

Tannera is not as cat friendly as we once thought. She tried to eat the neighbor's cat today. She didn't get very far--just a little wet fur on the cat's part. I, however, have a dislocated shoulder, since I was holding onto the leash when she spotted the cat. Not funny, but a little funny--I've never seen a cat's tail get THAT BIG before. So Tannera probably won't do well with a cat.

Also, we had to remove the bandage on her leg today. The sore looks completely healed...just needs to have the hair grow back.

Tannera had to be rebandaged today. We didn't get all the sticky stuff off her fur from the edge of the bandage, so she decided to remove it herself. Unfortunately, that meant she pulled a large patch of fur off her leg. The vet said this new spot needs to heal and she should be fine. I don't think this will be a long term problem since she doesn't even care about the bandage itself. Once it comes off, she'll just need to be watched for a few days.

Tannera continues to be fixated on the cat next door. She saw the cat through the sliding door today, and about went crazy--she started barking and jumping around. Of course then everybody had to join in, ahhhh, Calgon take me away (am I dating myself there?). The cat bailed and things calmed down. Tannera is the kind of dog whose front feet come off the floor when she really barks. With the exception of the cat, she hardly ever barks. And if she does, a simple "quiet" usually works.

Tannera has helped me pick out a potential family (it was a very difficult decision). If we can make it work, she'll be meeting them this weekend.

Tannera met her future "mom" and doggy brother Lucky on Sunday. Lucky and Tannera got along wonderfully! Actually, Tannera pinned Lucky on the ground, and Lucky didn't seem to mind too much. I think they will be great friends. Tannera is meeting her new "dad" on Thursday night. (Special circumstances kept him from making it on Sunday) I don't think there will be any issues, but as an over=protective foster mom, I need to make sure. I'd say Tannera is well on her way to a pampered and spoiled life with her new family. Her new mom has already ordered her a special red bandana--Lucky will have a blue one and Tannera will have a red one. How cute!

Thanks to all the families that expressed interest in Tannera. There were a ton of great applicants!! We tried to pick the one we felt was the right one for Tannera.

Provided all goes well, Tannera will be moving into her new home on April 4th.

Unfortunately, Tannera will not be leaving her foster home on April 4th as previously mentioned. Tannera will be out of commission for awhile and will be staying with her foster family. The poor girl has some health problems that need to be addressed before she can be adopted out. The one we know the most about is heartworm. She tested negative when she came into RAGOM, but some additional blood-work has recently come up positive for heartworm. Tannera will be going through treatment for the heartworm, so will need to be on restricted activity for several weeks. I will update more once I know more about her other issues. She's not feeling the greatest, but still maintains her wonderful personality...what a great dog!!

Tannera will be starting her heartworm treatment on April 7th. She'll have to remain inactive for several weeks following the treatment, which will be a challenge with my two other dogs, so she'll have to be kenneled quite a bit. We've got her kennel all set up right next to the couch, so she'll still be included in family activities...she'll just be watching them from behind bars. Poor girl. She's got full run of the house now, so being kenneled again will a real bummer for her. Tanner has accepted everything else (except the gentle leader) with no complaints, so I'm guessing she'll just accept this confinement as well.

We'll update as she progresses with her recovery.

If you are reading this and currently have a dog--go get your dog tested for heartworm and get them started on the preventative!! If you know someone who has a dog--remind them to do the same. If you want a dog (a Golden Retriever, of course), remember--heartworm is preventable. Heartworm prevention is just as important as rabies and all the other vaccinations we give our dogs. There are easy to administer medications that will prevent your dog from having to go through what Tanner is going through. Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes...and since we've got a few of them around in the summer...it's very important to protect your dog from this disease. It only takes one...

It's been almost two weeks since Tannera had her first treatment for heartworm. She actually had a shot on Monday (April 7th) and another on Tuesday (the 8th). She got to come home on Tuesday afternoon. She was pretty subdued for the first few days, but as the time has passed, her complaints about restricted activity and being kenneled so much have increased some. She goes into the kennel with no problem, but those sad brown eyes looking out when she lays down just about kill us. She really hates not being part of the actual activity. She will bark if we are out of the room for too long... I think she gets lonesome very easily. She just loves being with people and never wants to be isolated again.

Thanks to Wendy at Ruff Cuts, we were introduced to a wonderful grooming tool--the Coat King! I have been using it on all three shedding golden retrievers in this house...but Tannera loves it the most. She loves to be groomed!! She will sit forever and be brushed, combed, or "Coat Kinged"---whatever you want to do, as long as it's human contact.

We've got two more weeks until her next shot. Then about two more weeks of limited activity after that. So, Tannera has a long month of May ahead of her. She'll accept it with limited complaints, like everything else. What a sweet girl she is!!

Don't forget to get your dogs on heartworm preventative...all this moisture we've been getting lately provides great breeding grounds for those nasty mosquitoes!

OK, OK, OK...I'm beginning to get evils looks on the freeways these days for not updating on Tannera in so long. Must be alot of RAGOM website readers on the road at the same time I am. Well, here goes...

Tannera is doing well with her heartworm treatment. She received her last shot to kill any microfilarae (larvae) in her blood on May 10th. She's much more active now...we've started taking walks around our circle. She was pretty out of shape when we got her, and six weeks of lounging hasn't helped the situation any. I take my two other dogs on their long walk, and then Tannera and I have some special personal time going around the circle a couple times. It's about 1/3 mile, and we do it twice. She's so happy to be out and about and seeing new things and meeting new people. She holds her tail straight out and prances just like a show dog. Westminster eat your heart out. Tannera has a few issues with walking on the leash. The Gentle Leader helps with the pulling, but she loves to cut right in front of me. I've plowed into her a couple times, and she's almost wiped me out several times. We are working on it. It's amazing how different she is now that she's feeling better.

On May 5th, Tanner had to have surgery on the sore on her rear leg. It wasn't healing properly...the way it looked the skin was growing, but it never attached to itself to cover the wound. So she had surgery to stitch it shut. It's healing wonderfully now. She no longer has the bandage on her leg. On May 10th, the vet advised we keep it uncovered and put the e-collar on her...Tannera got to be a conehead!! She wasn't pleased, but quickly learned to pick her head up when going up the stairs, so the cone wouldn't catch and wipe her out. Foster dad has been home this week on vacation (some guys have all the luck), so she's been easy to monitor, and hasn't had to wear the cone very much. She doesn't seem to worry about the stitches. If she does try and lick, a simple "no" does the trick. She always looks a little guilty, but we make up right away.

Tannera is blowing her coat right now. Think of the worst shedding you've seen, and then multiply that by 10 and you'll understand. Everything in the house is covered in hair (or so it seems)...but then again, I guess I expected that with three Goldens in the house. Tannera's coat is especially thick, however, and it's coming out in clumps. I'm a little concerned because she's getting quite thin in several spots, so we'll consult with the vet on Friday when she gets her stitches out. Probably nothing, just her getting rid of four years of old, dead undercoat.

Tannera is happy and mostly healthy. She knows what treats and bones are, and loves them both. She's tired of going to the vet and really wants to start living a normal dog's life. She spotted the ducks swimming in our neighbors back yard (yes, swimming in the yard) and really seemed interested, but I don't think she would be a very good hunter. I know she loves water and mud, however. She still wants to eat cats. We are working to stop her newly developed habit of begging. She's doing pretty good, but sometimes can't help it. I think Ritz crackers and fruit snacks are her weaknesses. Since those are my son's favorite snacks, she manages to get a few of each now and then. He's pretty protective of his stuff these days, so she has to work pretty hard for them. She has learned to harrass my two dogs pretty well. My female is very insulted by this, but my male loves it. Tannera thinks it's great fun to instigate some trouble, and then put on her innocent "who, me?" face. We've figured out her MO, however, so she gets in trouble just like the others now. We are an equal opportunity doggie household.

OK, website readers, I'm out of time, so I need to go. Thanks for all of your support!!