Nina

Profile

 In memory of Sue- A lover of all creatures

" Hugs from Sandie." -Karin S

"Loving fan!" -Mary R

So I bet you are wondering how a dog with the looks of Nina found her way into a Golden Retriever rescue. Nina was found running loose at the Santee Sioux Indian Reservation in Nebraska. She was found with Brit 14-016 . As Brit is a Golden mix and the thought was that maybe they were mother and daughter, it was decided that when we took Brit we would also take Nina. Nothing about Nina looks Golden. Not her face, ears, tail, or coloring. But I can tell you she has the personality of a sweet Golden Retriever.

She loves attention and comes to me for lots of pets. I usually end up getting a bath because the tongue will start licking if I stop petting. If she can manage it, I get licks at the same time she is getting pets. She is shy of new people and she will take "cover" under things when she feels scared. That might come from being on the run for a while. There was a thought that she might have been born on the reservation. However, I believe she was someone's pet at one time. She was not afraid to enter the house the first time, to go through doors, or climb steps. Most of the sounds of the house do not scare her. The occasional sudden loud noise startles her, but that happens with lots of dogs. She loves to sit by the window in a doggie bed watching the world go by outside. Her ears get perky when there is some action, but she does not bark.

She does not like the kennel. The first night, I kept her in the kennel. The next morning, I was able to get her to go back in as I left for work with treats. That night, there was no amount of treats that was going to get her back into the kennel. I took the chance and left her out. The next morning, there were no issues. So, while I am at work, she is gated in the kitchen. I have seen her go in a kennel at night just to lay, but that was only once. So, the biggest reason that I think she was someone's pet at one time - she has not had one single accident in the house. She has never peed or pooped in the house. I don't believe a dog born and living her life as a stray who now has run of a large kitchen would be willing to wait until I get home from work to go potty outside.

I have listed her as requiring kids 10+ years. My 5-year-old niece came to visit for a weekend. Nina hid from her and was very afraid when Claire was doing her "dancing." On the other hand, I had a friend stop with her 15-year-old daughter. Samantha had no trouble petting NIna. Nina was giving all kinds of kisses just like with me. We have many Goldens that are rescued by our group that do not do well with small children in the home. The dancing, yelling, running, wrestling is just too stressful for some dogs. It can be tough on Aunts as well...

Nina will definitely need a fence. Being on the run was probably fun as well as scary. With the high snow in the yard, she was able to jump my fence. She loved the "run" she got. I could tell she was having a blast as I chased her through the neighborhood. She stayed within the surrounding houses and did not go far. Even though I had her in my sight the whole time, it was scary for me. She did not come to me when I called, unless you call dashing past me within two feet going 90 miles an hour "coming to me." She finally came to me once she had run herself out. I don't want the family who adopts her to have to worry about her taking off from the yard. The fence will need to be at least 5 feet or she will be able to jump it.

I don't believe Nina would have to have another dog in her adoptive home. However, I think it would be best if she did. I would not have thought that when she first came. She did take a couple of days to warm up to my resident dogs. If she saw them looking at her, she would growl at them. There was never any lunging on her part, but just a steady growl of "keep away from me." She NEVER growled at me. She was shy, but wanted attention right from the start. Keep in mind she was "captured," taken to a kennel, vetted, separated from her fur-buddy and traveled from Sioux Falls, SD, to Minneapolis all within three to four days. I don't blame her for being a bit on edge. NOW - she has great fun with the other pups. She loves to wrestle, loves to be chased and to chase the other dogs. I have a great video of Nina, Coco, and Duster tearing around the deck in the snow. Sometimes, the wrestling with the other dogs has gotten a little rough. I have seen her react submissively to the other dog and I saw her stand her ground with growling/air snapping back. One word from me and both dogs have stopped immediately and walked away from each other. She plays some with the toys. The other night, she was playing with one of the balls and seemed to be quite proud of herself. She is quite the nighttime thief. At first, she would take my slippers in the middle of night to her doggie bed. This happened several nights. In the morning, I would find them on her bed unscathed. I thought it was cute. It was like she wanted me near her. Then, one evening, I went to the bedroom to get ready for bed and found one of the slippers up on the bed (she sometimes jumps up there during the evening while I study or watch TV). The slipper was "plucked" of all the fleece lining around the top!!! What!! This was no longer "cute." There were fleece tufts everywhere. I went searching for the other shoe and found that one on the floor partly chewed. This is the second pair of these fleece-lined leather slippers that one of my foster dogs has chewed up. Yes, it is my fault for leaving them out...but, but I love those slippers!

Nina does not counter surf while she is in the kitchen during the day. But I try not to tempt her by leaving stuff out. I feed her in the kitchen away from the other dogs, so I don't know if she would guard her food from the other dogs. With the fosters, I don't want to push them into a bad place with guarding of food or treats by having them eat in close proximity of other dogs. I know that she does not guard her food from me and that's what I feel is most important.

Nina does not walk well on the leash. She acts scared on the leash. Since we don't know her background, it is impossible to say why that is. But I think with patience and training, she will adapt.

Nina needs to be spayed and then she will be ready to go to her forever home. If you want to meet this love bug, please contact your placement advisor.

Nina and Coco playing in the snow

Nina doing a play bow with Coco

Nina jumping because she is having so much fun

Somebody was digging in the snow!!!