Sammy

Profile

In addition to LOVE this dog has the following requirements:Entered Foster CareFenceKid FriendlyAnother DogCat Friendly 11/16/2014Preferred, but not required
Yes
OptionalYes
This is the most recent information available; however, it may change as we learn more about the dog.

Sammy is a male, neutered purebred Golden Retriever. He will be 6 years old in March 2015. He was lovingly surrendered when his family had to move into an apartment and they were not able to take him with them. This family had Sammy for almost 2 years; before that, his first family had to give him up when one of the family members developed allergies. He previously lived with cats and was reportedly fine with them. He is also reported to be good with kids of all ages; we will be testing this later this week when he gets to meet our 7-year-old nephew.

We went to the vet and he is a very big boy, weighing 102 pounds. The vet thought his ideal weight would be closer to 85 pounds. He does have a double ear infection, and like a lot of Goldens, he does suffer from some sort of allergies. He currently has a skin infection probably caused by the allergies and is on meds to clear both of those problems up.

Sammy settled into our house very quickly; he is very sweet and loves attention. He met our male 1.5-year-old resident Golden Retriever with no problem; they were quickly playing tug-of-war with all of the toys. Sammy has a very good amount of energy; he would play fetch all day long if you let him! He is great at it too; he will bring the ball right back to you and drop it at your feet waiting for you to throw it again. In the house, he loves to also bring you a ball or a toy and drop it in your lap for you to throw for him. He keeps up great with our younger dog; they play wrestle and run around, then plop down for a nap to recharge and then repeat! Sammy does not show any resource guarding, but he does tend to destroy soft toys and loves tearing the fuzz off of tennis balls, but he does love Kongs and antlers, as well as some more "tough" toys that we have.

He definitely has the Golden nudge down; if you stop petting him, he will gently remind you that he is still right here and he would like you to keep touching him. He loves rolling over for a belly rub too. Sammy is a talker: he groans and makes all sorts of cute noises as he is getting petted or playing with a toy. He also snores when he is sleeping. Sammy is very well trained; he responds well to basic commands, as well as a few tricks. He knows how to shake as well as balance a treat on his nose and not eat it until you tell him it's okay!

We do crate Sammy while we are gone, but his previous family let him have free roam and he never got into anything. He does just fine when we are gone for a full workday, and we have not had any accidents. We do give him free roam of our bedroom at night and he has made himself right at home, curling up on the bed to sleep every night since we have had him. He does love dog beds, though, so he would probably do fine sleeping on a dog bed in the bedroom instead. He really loves being with his people, though, so would not do well sleeping in a separate room from his owners.

Sammy loves going on walks and he is used to a Gentle Leader and walks wonderfully with that. So far, he has gone up to 2 miles at a time with us and he does slow down towards the end, but as he loses his extra weight and builds up his stamina, he will do just fine.

Sammy is a very easy dog and would fit great into most types of families. He needs a family that is committed to helping him get down to a healthy weight by feeding him a good-quality food, and giving him the exercise he needs to continue losing those extra pounds. He would love to get a good game of fetch in at least once a day, as it’s his absolute favorite thing. Based on how sweet he is, we think he would do fine with kids of any age; the more hands to pet him and give him attention, the better! He lived with cats previously, so if you have a cat, that is not a problem. He does great with all dogs as well, so could live with or without other dogs as well. The vet thinks that Sammy has chronic skin and ear problems based on their condition, so he will need a family willing to give him the care he needs to keep these problems under control as well as try to prevent them. If you want a loving, playful, well-trained dog, then Sammy is the dog for you. Let your placement advisor know if you would like to meet him!