Scooby

Scooby is a beautiful Golden Setter (half golden, half Irish setter). He was lovingly surrendered by his previous owners due to not being able to keep up with his high energy needs. Scooby may be 95lbs, but he truly is a gentle giant. Scooby has settled in very well and has made himself quite at home so far. He has adjusted and is doing well with the weekday routine while also enjoying new adventures on weekends. He loves playing with his foster siblings (3yr & 8yr) and they love playing with him. He doesn't always realize his strength or size and will occasionally get a correction from one of his foster siblings if he gets too rough. He has also met a couple of other doggy friends and has played very well with them as well.  

Scooby loves to spend time outside, especially going for walks. We take him on at least two walks a day, and he always will make it known when he's ready for another walk. Scooby will sit at the front door and stare at you with his puppy dog eyes and if that doesn't work, he may let out a sassy bark or two.

Scooby does well on the leash; he does have a tendency to pull, especially at the beginning of the walk, when he sees squirrels, and sometimes at other dogs. If other dogs acknowledge and bark at him while passing, he will do the same. Scooby is also a good running partner. We take him on a 1-2 mile run 3-4 times a week. Scooby absolutely LOVES to play fetch. We typically throw the ball for him every night before bedtime to burn off any remaining energy he may have for the day. He does a very good job of dropping the ball right at our feet, and lets us know when he's done when he decides not to bring the ball back. 

Scooby knows how to sit, lay down, and shake (or paw). He is potty trained to perfection and will let you know when he needs to go out. Scooby is also crate trained, he's in his crate during working hours and when we leave for short periods of time. During the night he does sleep with us in bed, as he did with his previous owner. Scooby does ok in the car, he has a hard time settling in and will pace/move back and forth between windows. The longest car ride he has been on with us is 15-20 mins, he may settle with longer car rides.

When Scooby goes outside he is placed on a tie out. He does phenomenal with this. Scooby pays attention (for the most part) where his lead is and how much he has left. When running across the yard he will slow down when coming to the end of his lead and he will occasionally get himself wrapped on something but for the most part he will backtrack to avoid it. Scooby can also be stubborn at times, especially if doesn't want to come back into the house or if he is really into a smell or squirrel he is watching. It can sometimes be difficult to get him to refocus at the task in hand.  

Scooby has a bad habit of counter surfing, but we are actively working on stopping this behavior. He also gets excited when he first sees someone and tends to jump up to say hello, we are also working on correcting this. We have found that Scooby does have some resource guarding towards other dogs when it comes to Nyla/Bene bones and balls. Because of this we keep all toys up when the Scooby and foster siblings are together and provide them all with separate toy and ball time. 

Scooby is very healthy. He does need to lose some weight (about 10 lbs), and we've started his weight loss journey by cutting his food portion down. He has allergies and is currently on Zenrelia to help keep the itching at bay. Scooby was previously on Apoquel but it stopped working/wasn't helping and was switched to the Zenrelia, he will most likely always need to be on an allergy medication. Scooby came to RAGOM on a daily trazodone dose. With the vets recommendation, we have since weaned him off and haven't seen any significant or negative changes to his behaviors since. 
 
Overall Scooby is such a wonderful dog, and will thrive with a family that is patient, active, and willing to take him along with them on all the adventures.