Benji 14-271

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Profile

In addition to LOVE this dog has the following requirements:
Entered Foster Care Fence Kid Friendly Another Dog Cat Friendly
 9/10/14 not required  yes  optional  not tested 
This is the most recent information available; however, it may change as we learn more about the dog.

Benji arrived a few days ago and we are enjoying this joyful spirit and energy! He is a gorgeous 3 year old a flat coated retriever that was found as a stray. Benji loves everyone he meets but is absolutely crazy about kids! He is great around our resident dog Mia but they've only been together a few days and haven't played together yet.  Benji was shedding like crazy when he arrived and has let me brush him for a half hour each night.  I think he really enjoys physical touch and presses the top of his head into me when playing with him. 

Now for the funny stuff.  He jumped our 4 foot fence and ran around the house to the front door and pawed at the door to get in.  Benji doesn't need a fence, but if he is going to be off leash, he either needs a taller fence or a person outside with him. He loves the car and it's actually difficult to get him out of the car.  It's like a game where he jumps from seat to seat trying to stay in the car! 
Benji has storm anxiety and when scared, climbs in the bathtub and lays down until he is comfortable.  Benji was adopted for a short time and surrendered because he has food aggression around other dogs.  People can take food away from him, but not dogs.  He is very gentle when taking treats from your hand, and I haven't seen his resource guarding but I've always separated dogs when feeding so he hasn't had the opportunity.
There are two things we are working on with Benji.  The first is he hasn't had any obedience training and has lots of energy. We take a long walk in the morning and at night to work off some of his energy and play catch in the yard.  He's quite smart and responsive with corrections when he jumps on people, etc. so I suspect he will be easy to train.  The second is he potty trained but marking in the house.  Not sure what that is about, but I've had a ton of dogs in my house and he may be reacting to all the smells. 
Benji heads to the vet this week and I'll update as we learn more about him.  Check out the photos of this gorgeous boy!

At a Glance #14-271

Mixed Breed Born: August 2011
Male Weight not specified

Status: Adopted

Profile

In addition to LOVE this dog has the following requirements:
Entered Foster Care Fence Kid Friendly Another Dog Cat Friendly
 9/10/14 not required  yes  optional  not tested 
This is the most recent information available; however, it may change as we learn more about the dog.

Benji arrived a few days ago and we are enjoying this joyful spirit and energy! He is a gorgeous 3 year old a flat coated retriever that was found as a stray. Benji loves everyone he meets but is absolutely crazy about kids! He is great around our resident dog Mia but they've only been together a few days and haven't played together yet.  Benji was shedding like crazy when he arrived and has let me brush him for a half hour each night.  I think he really enjoys physical touch and presses the top of his head into me when playing with him. 

Now for the funny stuff.  He jumped our 4 foot fence and ran around the house to the front door and pawed at the door to get in.  Benji doesn't need a fence, but if he is going to be off leash, he either needs a taller fence or a person outside with him. He loves the car and it's actually difficult to get him out of the car.  It's like a game where he jumps from seat to seat trying to stay in the car! 
Benji has storm anxiety and when scared, climbs in the bathtub and lays down until he is comfortable.  Benji was adopted for a short time and surrendered because he has food aggression around other dogs.  People can take food away from him, but not dogs.  He is very gentle when taking treats from your hand, and I haven't seen his resource guarding but I've always separated dogs when feeding so he hasn't had the opportunity.
There are two things we are working on with Benji.  The first is he hasn't had any obedience training and has lots of energy. We take a long walk in the morning and at night to work off some of his energy and play catch in the yard.  He's quite smart and responsive with corrections when he jumps on people, etc. so I suspect he will be easy to train.  The second is he potty trained but marking in the house.  Not sure what that is about, but I've had a ton of dogs in my house and he may be reacting to all the smells. 
Benji heads to the vet this week and I'll update as we learn more about him.  Check out the photos of this gorgeous boy!

Updates

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Benji here. I went to the lake this past weekend and had a great time. As you can see I'm all wet--yes I swam quite a bit.  I spent a lot of time riding in my foster dads Ranger helping him with projects. If you can't tell I just LOVE TO RIDE. I'm really tired from all the weekend activity so I'm going to take a nap now. I'll let foster mom take over.

Foster mom here. Benji had a really busy weekend and did just great. The weekend ended with thunderstorms and I found out that Benji does have storm anxiety but not real bad. He went into the bathroom and found a nice place in the bathtub. We left him alone to see if he might come out to be with us. During the storm he did come out a few times to see what the rest of the family was doing.He found another place to hide in our walk in closet. Overall Benji will start panting, a little shaking, and goes to a safe place. He didn't destroy anything and was very quiet. Next storm I will try a Thundershirt and see how he does with that. I was expecting the worse and got much better results than I expected.

We are working on Benji's greeting manners. He gets so excited when people come to visit. He likes to jump up on people. After a few minutes he settles down and goes and makes another much calmer greeting. This is a work in progress.

Benji needs a family that will take him to obedience class and work with him consistently. He's a great dog with a good amount of energy that can be re-directed. He walks really great on a gentle leader and loves to go for walks. 

Please contact your placement adviser if you are interested in Benji.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Benji here! I'm returning back to RAGOM because my family is moving. I'm back at my previous foster family and just settling into the routine.  I walk on a gentle leader and enjoy the outside. I spend a lot of my time watching window TV.  My favorite shows are Squirrel TV and Kids playing TV. I'm getting FM and FD's routine down. Bella and I like to hang out together during the day. 

Foster mom here. Benji is doing great here! He has been to the vet and is up to date on all his shot. He is a healthy, ideal weight and happy guy . He's getting the routines down and we've been reviewing basic obedience. Sit is going really well, he has great recall and comes when you call his name and when we are out on walks he understands leave it. We are working on his jumping on you (for a greeting). . Benji is afraid of loud noises and when walking him and a loud noise occurs he wants to run. I usually just stop make him sit--give a treat and he's forgotten the noise and continues on. We haven't witnessed any bad behavior out of Benji that can't be corrected with more training and some redirection. He will sleep on your bed if you want him to but he usually gets off the bed and moves to a dog bed or the couch. It has been noted that Benji has storm anxiety. I have not witnessed this yet but will update after a thunderstorm. Benji has a lot of energy but settles down quickly when in the house. He LOVES, LOVES,LOVES to ride in vehicles. He will stand next to our truck just waiting for a ride! we will be taking him to the lake this weekend to see if he likes to swim.

Benji needs a family that will work on obedience and take him for walks. He would probably do best in a fenced in yard where he can run and play. We don't have a fence and he is fine. So a fence is optional. We don't know id Benji is good with cats but we will have him tested soon.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Benji here! I'm in a new foster home and have been learning a lot. I have a resident brother who's showing me how to live in a house. Some of my old habits are in the past now and I'm learning new things. I'm learning how to sit but stay is really hard for me. I walk on a gentle leader and enjoy the outside. I spend a lot of my time watching window TV. My favorite shows are Squirrel TV and Kids playing TV. I'm getting FM and FD's routine down. Russel and I like to hang out together during the day. Well I'll turn it over to FM for her side of the story.Benji is doing great here! He's getting the routines down and we've started on basic obedience. Sit is going really well and when we are out on walks he understands leave it. We are continually working on his jumping on you (for a greeting). Benji is just starting to respond to his name. Sometimes he will and sometimes he won't respond. I've been using treats to reward him when I call him and he comes. Benji hasn't marked in our house since he arrived. When we are at home with him we keep a close eye to see if he shows any signs of going to mark. During the days when we are gone I use a belly band on him. Everyday I come home from work it is completely dry! Yesterday he didn't wear his belly band and there were no signs of marking. Hopefully he's getting over that habit. I haven't witnessed any counter surfing either. Since we don't have a fenced in yard Benji goes on a tie-out. He is good on this and knows when he's at the end of his rope. Benji is afraid of loud noises and when walking him and a loud noise occurs he wants to run. I usually just stop make him sit and sit down with him--give a treat and he's forgotten the noise and continues on. I'm not sure how Benji would be in a house for long periods of time alone and I haven't crated him. I read that he doesn't like crates and since he doesn't destroy anything I give him free roam of the house. Benji loves to be touched, brushed ( I bet I have another dog in hair that I've brushed out so far) and cuddled. He will sleep on your bed if you want him to but he usually gets off the bed and moves to a dog bed. 

Benji is a diamond in the rough--with patience and training he'd make a great companion!