Happy Spring Alana! Love, your fur sister Cait 16-045!
Happy Spring! So glad you are a Ragom Rescue now! Thank you SFHS for your efforts! From RD in SD
| In addition to LOVE this dog has the following requirements: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date Posted | Fence | Kid Friendly | Another Dog | Cat Friendly | |
| 3/23/16 | Preferred | Ages 10+ | Preferred, but not required | Yes | |
| This is the most recent information available; however, it may change as we learn more about the dog. | |||||
Please welcome beautiful Alana to the RAGOM family. Alana came to us, along with 10 other dogs, from a hoarding situation. She should weigh between 60 and 65 lbs., but she only weighs 45 lbs.
In spite of her hard life, she is a very sweet girl. She met our two dogs without any problems. She shows little or no interest in either of our two cats, and they are not afraid of her. She is very affectionate to us. This past weekend, she met our dog-savvy grandkids (ages 10 through 16) and did just fine with all of them.
We took her to the vet on Wednesday, and we are glad to report that medically, she checks out just fine. They estimated her age to be about 6 years old and that she is a (mostly) Lab mix. Doctor Amanda was concerned about her weight, of course. She recommended that we not have her spayed until her weight gets up to 60 lbs. She is on a diet of three feedings a day of a high-protein, high-fat dog food (similar to what hunters give their field dogs during hunting season). Our first job will be to put some weight on those bones! We won’t be walking her longer distances at first so that she doesn’t burn large amounts of calories, but instead, turns them into fat and muscle.
Because of her background, we realize we have a lot to learn about her, day by day as her personality comes out. For that reason, as well as her weight issues, Alana will not be available for adoption until she can be spayed and we can be surer of what she will need in her forever home. Until that time, her web page will say “unavailable.”
We are learning new things every day. Because she likely never had enough to eat and was competing for what food she could get in a household with 10 other dogs, most of her daily life revolves around food. She is an extremely talented counter-surfer – the best we have ever met. We thought we had our house dog-proofed, but we soon found that no spot on any counter was safe. We feed her in a separate room, out of sight of our resident dog and with the door closed. She is VERY protective of her own food and will aggressively seek other dogs’ food if given the opportunity. At this time, our strategy is to eliminate potential counter-food opportunities and dog-dog conflict around food. Our hope is that she will gradually come to realize that she is loved and protected here, and that she will ALWAYS have the food she needs to survive and thrive.
Alana loves her walks with our resident dog Beau. She has no leash discipline whatsoever, so our next step will be starting to introduce her to a Gentle Leader Head Collar. We found out yesterday that she also enjoys playing. She enticed our blind resident dog to play with her, and it was wonderful to see how gentle she was with him. Here is a short video.
She loves dog beds. Actually, if she had her way, she would join us on our bed every night. At this point, for her safety and ours, we kennel her in our bedroom at night and whenever we need to be out of the house. She goes in happily with the enticement of a treat and doesn’t bark or fuss.
Please stay tuned for more of Alana’s story. She is an amazing girl to have survived so much in her life to this point, and we want to share her journey to the Golden Life with you.
| Mixed Breed | Born: March 2010 |
| Female | 45 lbs |
Status: Adopted
Happy Spring Alana! Love, your fur sister Cait 16-045!
Happy Spring! So glad you are a Ragom Rescue now! Thank you SFHS for your efforts! From RD in SD
| In addition to LOVE this dog has the following requirements: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date Posted | Fence | Kid Friendly | Another Dog | Cat Friendly | |
| 3/23/16 | Preferred | Ages 10+ | Preferred, but not required | Yes | |
| This is the most recent information available; however, it may change as we learn more about the dog. | |||||
Please welcome beautiful Alana to the RAGOM family. Alana came to us, along with 10 other dogs, from a hoarding situation. She should weigh between 60 and 65 lbs., but she only weighs 45 lbs.
In spite of her hard life, she is a very sweet girl. She met our two dogs without any problems. She shows little or no interest in either of our two cats, and they are not afraid of her. She is very affectionate to us. This past weekend, she met our dog-savvy grandkids (ages 10 through 16) and did just fine with all of them.
We took her to the vet on Wednesday, and we are glad to report that medically, she checks out just fine. They estimated her age to be about 6 years old and that she is a (mostly) Lab mix. Doctor Amanda was concerned about her weight, of course. She recommended that we not have her spayed until her weight gets up to 60 lbs. She is on a diet of three feedings a day of a high-protein, high-fat dog food (similar to what hunters give their field dogs during hunting season). Our first job will be to put some weight on those bones! We won’t be walking her longer distances at first so that she doesn’t burn large amounts of calories, but instead, turns them into fat and muscle.
Because of her background, we realize we have a lot to learn about her, day by day as her personality comes out. For that reason, as well as her weight issues, Alana will not be available for adoption until she can be spayed and we can be surer of what she will need in her forever home. Until that time, her web page will say “unavailable.”
We are learning new things every day. Because she likely never had enough to eat and was competing for what food she could get in a household with 10 other dogs, most of her daily life revolves around food. She is an extremely talented counter-surfer – the best we have ever met. We thought we had our house dog-proofed, but we soon found that no spot on any counter was safe. We feed her in a separate room, out of sight of our resident dog and with the door closed. She is VERY protective of her own food and will aggressively seek other dogs’ food if given the opportunity. At this time, our strategy is to eliminate potential counter-food opportunities and dog-dog conflict around food. Our hope is that she will gradually come to realize that she is loved and protected here, and that she will ALWAYS have the food she needs to survive and thrive.
Alana loves her walks with our resident dog Beau. She has no leash discipline whatsoever, so our next step will be starting to introduce her to a Gentle Leader Head Collar. We found out yesterday that she also enjoys playing. She enticed our blind resident dog to play with her, and it was wonderful to see how gentle she was with him. Here is a short video.
She loves dog beds. Actually, if she had her way, she would join us on our bed every night. At this point, for her safety and ours, we kennel her in our bedroom at night and whenever we need to be out of the house. She goes in happily with the enticement of a treat and doesn’t bark or fuss.
Please stay tuned for more of Alana’s story. She is an amazing girl to have survived so much in her life to this point, and we want to share her journey to the Golden Life with you.
Alana has found her forever home with the K family. She will be a pampered only dog who will enjoy her new home in the country with a large lawn and her own woods stocked with rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks. She will be going to obedience classes and should get a chance to do some therapy work as well. Welcome to the Golden Life, Alana! We'll miss you.
Hi, everybody. Alana here. It’s been a while since the last update, so I thought that I’d better start my own update to push FM and FD to finally get something done. It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me. We all went to my first meet-and-greet in someplace called St. Michael.
I got to meet a lot of nice people, including one couple who came just to see me. Last week, some folks and their dog came all the way out to Spicer to meet me. That was fun, and we played, and played, and played. FM and FD told me that I won’t be going home with either of them because we weren’t the right match for each other. They seemed to think that I was too much of a high-energy dog for their families. That’s OK with me, because I am a high-energy girl and I think that I want to live my forever life in a home where being high-energy is a good thing! I’ve had a talk with FD to let him know that he needs to do a better job of letting folks know what I need in my forever family.
Since RAGOM rescued me and my buddies, I’ve never been hungry and I know that I’m loved. I feel SO GOOD now and so full of energy that I want to run and play! FD says that my “inner puppy” is finally coming out. I’d love a fenced yard (or trips to a dog park) to play in, another dog buddy who likes to play, or maybe even a chance to run or jog with you. Got to go now – my foster brother is just waking up, and it must be time to play.
Thanks for reading about me.
This is Alana’s FD. We think that Alana is having the time of her life right now. She has enough food; she is warm and comfy; and she is gaining confidence every day that all this isn’t going to be taken away from her. As she said, she is a happy bundle of energy. We’re seeing that as she is putting on needed weight (she is at 60 lbs. and headed toward an ideal weight of about 65 lbs.), and she now has much more strength and stamina than when she came to us.
As we are learning more about her, we think we need to adjust the requirements for her forever home. We are changing the requirements for a fence from “Not required” to “Preferred.” She needs to have the opportunity for aerobic exercise every day. This could be accomplished without a fence if you are a runner or have access to a dog park every day, but short of that, we think she would really benefit from a yard to play in.
We’re going to leave the requirement for having another dog in the family as “Preferred, but not required” for now. A family with someone home most of the day and able to pay attention to her would work, but she does enjoy the company of other dogs, especially to play and get her exercise with.
We’re also learning that we need to work to provide her with more mental stimulation. We’ve started mini fetching games in the house, which she loves. The balls roll into and under things that require lots of thinking and work to get at. She and her foster brother Beau love to play with their rubber balls, but they do need some supervision and occasionally a time-out if they get too rambunctious. Here they are after I took their balls away for a short time-out. They weren’t happy, but soon got over it and forgave me.
With her exercise every day, she does well and is just a sweetheart. Here she is after supper and her walk.
She is a wonderful girl and is ready for her forever home. Please let RAGOM know if you are interested in her. We would love to talk with you.
We’re thrilled to announce that Alana is now officially ready to find her forever home! She had her spay surgery (and also got her teeth cleaned) this past Thursday. This week will be her recovery week, but we and she are ready to start talking to interested adopters, and she will be ready to head out to her forever family as soon as her sutures heal.
When we got home from the vet clinic, Alana was not a happy girl. She was tired and in pain, but just couldn’t settle down. She was practically asleep on her feet and we felt so bad for her.
Finally, at bedtime, she headed into her kennel and was able to lie down and get some sleep. In the morning, she was back to her usual self.
Today, she is back at her post – watching for squirrels and protecting the house from both red and gray rodent intruders!
We think that Alana would love to have another dog to play with, but she also would do just fine as an only dog with a family whose lifestyle would give her a lot of exercise and attention. Her Lab background shows in her intensity and energy. She wants to be the center of your world. She is very treat-oriented and eager to please, so she could be trained to be your running or biking companion. She will need a family committed to giving her at least basic obedience training, as she is still working on not pulling on the leash and not jumping up on your lap when she wants attention. While she loves kids, she could accidentally knock the little ones over in her enthusiasm, but ages 10+ should work fine.
In spite of her high energy level, at times she is amazingly gentle. She now takes treats nicely. You can take her ball or toys from her without a fuss. She loves to spend time getting her pets – especially getting her head stroked and chin scritched. She would like to play with our cats, but she backs away when they tell her they don’t want to play.
Coming from her background, she has made amazing progress since she has been with RAGOM. We think that she is gorgeous now, but she will be drop-dead gorgeous as she puts on additional weight.
Every day, she gets more confident. As you can tell, it is going to be hard for us to give her up, but we know that she is ready to move on with her life. If you are interested in talking about becoming Alana’s forever family, please click here to learn how to start the adoption process.
Hi, Alana fans. Our girl now weighs 57.5 lbs., and Dr. Amanda says that she is now ready for her spay surgery! We have her scheduled for April 21st. While she is under, she will also have her teeth cleaned. When she has recovered, she will be ready to find her forever family.
Meanwhile, Alana loves her walks, playtime with her foster brother Beau, and guarding the house from the squirrels and deer.
She is such a happy girl - especially at playtime and dinnertime!
Thank you so much to RD from SD for Alana's latest Icon!
Alana has continued to make steady progress on her weight-gain program. She has now gained 10 lbs. and is just 5 lbs. shy of her 60-lb. goal. Her happy food dance when she knows that her meal is on its way is something to behold. She has been able to learn to sit (briefly) before her food bowl is put in front of her.
On Monday, we head back to the vet for her final vaccination booster. If she has gained enough weight, we will be able to schedule her spay surgery and a good teeth cleaning. She loves her trips to the vet. Actually, she loves to go anywhere in the car. She sits up most of the time and looks at the world passing by outside the car windows. Once she recovers from her surgery, she will be ready to find her forever home.
The last few days, she has discovered squirrels. We have many bird feeders on our deck, and she will spend hours sitting quietly but intently watching them.
Alana has a lot of energy to burn off. We are starting to think that, although another dog in the family to play with would be ideal, a family with someone home a lot of the time and who enjoys biking, running, or frequent trips to the dog park for exercise would work fine, too. She can run like the wind! We are changing her requirements for another dog from "required" to "not required." We'll let you know how the vet visit goes. More to come!
Hi, everyone.
This is Alana. I’m going to try writing one of these myself – wish me luck! I know it’s only been a couple of days since the last update was posted on my website, but so much is happening that I told Foster Mom and Dad (FM & FD) we needed to get another report out.
First the bad news. Just a few days after I arrived, the head dog here went to the Rainbow Bridge. I didn’t know him very well, but I was sad to see him go. My other foster brother, Beau, took Harley’s leaving very hard, and he was pretty depressed for a few days. He was so sad that he didn’t want to play with me, although I was begging him to. Hopefully, he will be feeling good enough soon that he’ll want to play again.
Now, the good news (and there’s a lot of it!). First thing – I have my very own spring icon. Thanks to my fur sister Cait and her fosters for the wonderful icon. I love it, and FD says that RAGOM can really use the money to help pay for the care of us 10 hoarder pups.
Second, I got to go to the humane society for what will be my weekly weigh-in. Guess what – I’m up to 52 lbs. You should see all of the food I’ve gotten here since I came. They’ve fed me 35 times now (I’m counting). I get four cups of dog food every day, and every time we come in from our walk or from doing our jobs, Beau and I get big treats! FD says that I can count on them to feed me EVERY day without fail. I’m starting to believe them! I don’t get as upset with the thought that someone is going to steal my food before I finish it. FM and FD have even given me a challenge when I eat. They feed me in something they call a six-cup muffin tin. I think the idea is to test me to see how fast I can eat my food from six little compartments. I’m really good at it.
Finally, FM told me that the goal of foster care is to help me find my forever home. Because I don’t weigh enough to have some more medical procedures (I love the vet – they give me treats), I am not available for adoption yet. But FM says that if someone out there thinks they might be the family for me, they would be glad to talk to them and maybe even take me to see them at a meet-and-greet event. She says that you can fill out an inquiry form on the RAGOM website. Believe me, I’m worth the wait.
That’s about all for now. Thanks for reading about me.
Your friend, Alana