Ernie

Profile

October 2, 2012

Ernie is a healthy,energetic neutered male Golden retriever and Border Collie mix at 8 months old. He has had all his shots and ready to find his forever family.

Ernie came from a home in which he was an outside dog, his companions are his Mother Allie 12-310 and his brother Bert 12-320 and his family had to move out and could not take them with. Ernie has had quite a few changes in his short life. He and his brother were at the Impound for awhile, overall went from free roam to small kennel. Then brought into RAGOM and was temporarily staying at a boarding facility along with Bert in which they had great care. Then Bert found a foster a week before he did and he was lonely and very anxious. Everything he knows of his world is gone.

He arrived at our home on 9/28. I sat with him in the back seat of the car on the way home he did very well on the 2 hour trip. When introduced to the other dogs, 2 seniors and a 9mo old pup, he quickly got along and in a matter of 15 minutes he was running and chasing outside happily with the others. The cat he is obsessed with and terrorizes him frequently, has not hurt him though.

It was very apparent he has not had much exposure to a house, He had some difficulty with the stairway at first. But shortly after he kept going up and down over and over. He also walked into the deck door and basement window many times and bumped his head. I suspect he has not had any limits or boundaries, he jumped all over the house on table and counter-surfing. Needless to say the deck screen door is now a doggy door. After all he has alot to experience and is very curious. He is not potty trained, but we are working on that and he is making excellent progress. He is very friendly to all humans and likes to cuddle, hugs and kisses, we are able to take bones and prize items from him no problem, not so much with the other dogs, he growls and nips. We are starting at the early puppy fundamentals of sit and down and leash training, he is catching on very fast. It makes it a bit easier that he is probably only 35-40 lbs and as a adult will be smaller then an average Golden retriever. He is always at our sides and tries to keep everything in check, the herding instinct in him. Working on the gentle leader, he is doing well on walks.

My opinion is Ernie is a very quick learner and needs a permanent home that will be patient and get him in formal obedience class and consistent training. A home with a fenced yard would be ideal for his safety, until he understands his boundaries. He will need lots of exercise to keep him happy and will gladly play ball and Frisbee till no end.

Older kids 8 and up I am positive he does well with. He loves to play. He would do well with a confident adult dog to show him some of the ropes, but not a necessity. A home that understands this is a very active dog and if he does not have enough physical and mental outlet, you will have no shoes or slippers left.

I think he will make someone very happy, I think there is no limit to what this dog can do with the right training and environment.