Bonnie arrived at her new foster home. She is an adorable bite-sized Golden mix who weighs 51 lbs. You can most definitely see the Golden in her feathering and coloring. She is chestnut colored and her white chest and legs have tan patches, and who can’t help but love that face?
We had a vet appointment today and she is UTD on all vaccinations and preventatives. Her milk is just about dried up, and once that is complete she’ll get spayed. She is a little on the thin side from caring for all those puppies, so we are working on getting her to a good weight. She has a pellet from an air rifle embedded in her muzzle. The vet tried to excise it today but could not quite get at it, so we’ll have that taken out during her spay surgery when she is under anesthesia. She was just a trooper when he was trying to get it out—I don’t think there is a mean or defensive bone in her body.
Bonnie is a quiet girl with incredibly open and lovey energy. She has excellent social skills and loves people and gets along beautifully with other dogs and cats. In spite of her history, she is easy-going and trusting, and about as perfect as they come.
Bonnie LOVES to be outside taking in all the sounds and smells. We live out in the country so she is intrigued with her surroundings. She’ll sometimes stand there looking off in the woods as content as can be—I think she senses the deer and wild turkeys in the woods. I’ve been exploring what works best for her for walking. She walks well with a flat collar leash but pulls just a tad. I’ve tried an Easy Walk harness and she pulls a bit with that too, so I am going to drag out a Gentle Leader and see if she can get the hang of that. With more practice she’ll be a pro. When we get back in the house after walking or playing she immediately chills out. She is well behaved, mellow, and beyond words affectionate.
She has been sleeping in the crate at night mostly because the two resident dogs are in crates. I think she'd love to sleep on a dog bed in the bedroom. In the daytime she doesn’t like being put in the crate. I've been exploring leaving her out free roam when I leave for short periods, and so far there have been no accidents or destruction of any kind.
Her eyes look wiser than her 2 years. I was so pleased last night when I saw her smile for the first time when she was playing with Mikey the 1-year-old resident dog. She's been smiling quite a bit since. I am so pleased to be a part of helping her "lighten up" and just be a young dog again and not have to care for puppies. She loves to play and her whole body language changes when other dogs are around. I believe she'll be happier in a home with another dog. She deserves just to have some fun and be loved up.
I suspect she is great with children of all ages, so I look forward to seeing how she does with a family member’s toddler over the Thanksgiving holiday. There was one incident with resource guarding when the dogs were helping me fill the bird feeders. One of the buckets had a suet cake in it and she was very interested in that. When Mikey the resident came to check it out she gave him a warning growl. I had them both sit and wait and that quieted the situation. When she originally came into RAGOM she and her daughter were found wandering and they were both underweight. It is anyone’s guess how long they had been out on their own, so food and high value treats may be something her new family will have to keep an eye on and exercise thoughtful leadership with.
Bonnie is doing great going out on a leash to go potty. She does NOT like pooping on a leash though so we are working on getting into a rhythm with that! I think her recall is good and it will get better as she bonds with her new family, so if she gets plenty of exercise she will not require a house with a fenced yard. I will continue to test this though and keep you updated. She is very interested in all the outside smells and sounds so will need firm boundary training. Bonnie is young so will need a family that can give her consistent exercise and regular opportunities to run full throttle off leash, ie play dates or outings at a dog park.
She is super attentive and so eager to please, so obedience training will be perfect for her. She has some basic commands down: sit, down, and come. We are working on leave it, stay, and wait. It will be so rewarding to work with her and help this beautiful girl be the best dog she can be. She is so ready to be a faithful companion, and is about as sweet as they come!
If you think you may be a good match for Bonnie, please let your placement advisor know. We will update more as we learn more about her!
