Tobie

Profile

Heeeeeere's Tobie! (although she doesn't seem to respond very well to the name, so we are calling her Stella -- but she'll remain Tobie for RAGOM purposes).

Tobie is a 5 month old purebred Golden (female, despite the boy name). She is healthy, up-to-date on shots, already micro-chipped, but not yet spayed. Tobie was surrendered by a family with 4 kids... but wait, before you jump to the conclusion that she was too high energy & too much work for them, it was actually the opposite -- she was "too mellow"! I know, I didn't believe it either, but they said she wasn't active ENOUGH, wouldn't be a good bird dog, and couldn't keep up with their family. Bottom line, it just wasn't a good fit. Now, before you start flooding your placement advisors with requests to meet this so-called mellow pup, I should let you know that in the 24 hours she's been here, we have NOT found her to be low energy at all!!! Neither is she extremely hyper, but appears to be a very typical 23 week old pup. She bonded instantly with resident RAGOM boy Zach, who is almost 5 years old, but still acts like a puppy. The two played all day yesterday, and also entertained a friend's two dogs, as well as Sadie 07-202, who stopped for a quick visit on her way to her new foster home. Tobie appears to love all dogs, and has very good dog communication skills. Needless to say, both dogs were exhausted last night and Tobie slept in her crate without a peep.

Today we started with an early morning walk, and she did very well on leash! After an hour walk, the two resumed playtime for another hour before I had to call a timeout for breakfast. They've alternated playing & napping since then. Tobie's previous owners said she didn't really like toys, but this morning she emptied the whole toy basket, taking one at a time and playing with it for a few minutes before moving on to the next. Her favorites are definitely the chew toys -- nylabones & rope toys -- afterall, she is a puppy. The good news is that, while she likes to chew, she has yet to pick up anything that isn't a dog toy, or 'test' the table or chair legs.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that she is house-trained, both because her previous owners told me so, and because she went to the door after dinner last night and barked to go out. Good girl! That said, here comes the slight negative... (no dog is perfect!). She does have an issue with submissive/excitement urination upon greetings. When I first met her yesterday, she peed, and did it again when a friend stopped by. Later, another friend brought her two kids and two dogs over, and, well, let's just say that she is consistent. Now, keep in mind that I overloaded her (unintentionally) with new people and dogs yesterday, as she was adjusting to a whole new environment. Once the greetings were out of the way, she did fine and had fun playing with kids and dogs alike. Submissive urination is not uncommon in puppies, and many grow out of it on their own. We will be working on building her confidence, and keeping greetings low key -- not overly exciting, or the least bit threatening. When people unknowingly hover over, or reach down to pet a dog upon greeting them, that is perceived as a sign of dominance by the dog. Most dogs handle it fine, but a very submissive dog may react by "over-communicating" their willingness to submit, often by peeing or rolling over on their back, or both.

Thus far I would say that Tobie would greatly benefit from having another dog in her adoptive family. She is literally glued to Zach, and follows his every move. She is confident in playing with him, but definitely looks to him as the alpha dog (a huge coup for Zach, who has always been a big wimp!). :) Today she is also starting to bond more with me and follow me around, so I can't wait to see this little girl progress. As I'm typing this, enjoying a beautiful day on the deck, Tobie just woke up from a nap under my chair, and is reaching through the deck rails to play with the bushes down below. She is batting them around and having a ball. Silly girl.

More soon as we get to know Tobie/Stella better. She will be available for adoption as soon as she is spayed.

PS- sorry her ears are wet in most of the pictures. That would be Zach goobers from all the wrestling. :)