Here are a couple more photos of Sheldon at Goldzilla, courtesy of Lynda S.

Sheldon wanted to do his own update this week, in honor of Goldzilla, so here it is.

I am still having fun at my foster home. The resident dog and I are learning how to burn off some energy playing together. We were introduced rather carefully, since we both really like to play, and it took us a while to figure each other out. But we are having some fun in the backyard now and foster mom said she'd post a picture of that this week. So, hopefully, you can see how much fun I could be to have around. One day this week, foster mom and the resident dog went away for 24 hours. I heard them say it was sort of a test to see how I would do as an only dog. I was completely fine. I like playing with the resident dog here, but I could be fine on my own too, I think. I just need exercise and some good playtime. If I were an only dog, I wouldn't have to share toys with another dog. I do fine sharing toys now. But it might be fun to not have to wait for the resident dog to to drop the toys I'm really interested in. Plus, I like attention, so being an only dog would have that advantage. And for the attention you give me, I'm more than happy to give lots of kisses. I'm looking forward to meeting people at Goldzilla. Just remember that I'm a little shy meeting new people. Foster mom says that maybe my forever family will be there. I sure hope so. See you on Sunday!

Well, we've had one more week getting to know Sheldon. He took a big trip to the lake cabin last weekend and almost learned how to swim! He really wanted to get in the lake and do some retrieving with his foster brother, but instead, he took a few steps in and turned around and came back out. He did that twice, so we think he may turn into a swimmer if given the opportunity. He also did really well in the car for the long trip. He was a little nervous getting back in the car on the way back, but we quickly worked through it.

We also learned that we have too many things out on the counter! We've been lulled into laziness with a non-counter surfing resident dog, but we are going to do better this week! In the meantime, Sheldon enjoyed a hot dog and a piece of peanut butter and jelly toast! He gets down quickly when told, "off," though. Sheldon is also enjoying taking long walks and his leash skills are already improved from last week. He goes to the bathroom very quickly when we take him out and he still has not had any accidents! We also learned that Sheldon is a bit shy with new people, but he warms up to people quickly -- there's just a little initial shyness. Sheldon is really excited to meet his forever family and show off his tennis ball skills!

We graduated from Puppy Kindergarten with great success! If there had been a category for Most Improved, Raphi would have been the clear winner. When he started class, he was very timid and wanted to hang out by his people. On the first night, he tried to hide in the agility tunnel. At this last class, he was running, romping, and wagging his tail - and you could tell that he was really enjoying himself. What a good boy! While Raphi is still appropriately cautious out in public, he's gained a lot of confidence and experience thanks to the great trainers who helped him (and helped us!).

Raphi got to go on a sleep over to visit some of his fellow RAGOM fosters this last weekend and had a great time. When he came home, he must have slept 8 hours straight, he was one tired pup. We were so proud to hear that he behaved well and played hard. All good news!

Raphi is becoming more affectionate and engaged with his people. He clearly loves playing with his dog buddies, but he is now enjoying time snuggling on the couch, resting his head in my lap, and working hard to talk me into sharing whatever snack I might have. He is a great cuddler at night too - he's equally happy sleeping on our bed or settling into his comfy dog bed.

Raphi is definitely maturing, although he's still just a young pup. He's a tall guy, slim and trim. He's really good about waiting his turn, has learned the phrase "off," as in "get off the furniture, please," although we don't mind if he's on the furniture, to tell the truth. He's also learned to eat pancakes off a spoon....

Talk with your Placement Advisor. This is a cute boy with a personality all his own and he is ready to meet his forever family.

Raphi is a growing boy and we think he has more growing still to do. The pictures below give you a better sense of his size. He's not a big bulky guy, but still sleek and trim. He looks very healthy and while he may not have a lot of Golden Retriever in him, he has a lot of Golden personality.. His ears are still a mystery. They don't necessarily stand up (well, occasionally they do), but mostly are out to the side or a bit close to his head. They are very expressive and he uses them to help communicate with his people. He's become even more talkative lately, not in an annoying way, but in a very humerous way. It started a few weeks ago and now he is darn right chatty sometimes. He's not necessarily loud, but does seem to have an opinion to express. Sometimes he's quite dramatic when he's talking and he'll throw his head back and talk away. It's just one of his endearing habits.

The other habit that is really sweet is something he's been doing for a while now. When the older dogs are ready for a nap and he's still feeling playful, he tosses his toys in the air to try to get them interested in playing. If that doesn't work, he tosses his toys down the stairs and runs down to retrieve them. He can do this for quite some time. We think it's the sign of a very smart boy! At the end of the day, he typically has emptied his toy basket and has a full array of toys in the living room.

Raphi has now mastered the use of 'shake' and deploys it to get treats, get on your lap, and to try to talk you into sharing whatever you might be eating. He has excellent house manners and it's been some time since he's had an accident in the house. He does occasionally do submission urination -- just a dribble when he's a bit afraid or uncertain. He's a very confident dog at home with his dog buddies, but he's still a bit shy and uncertain when he's away from home particularly without one of our resident dogs.

Raphi is a healthy boy, up to date on his shots, good at the vets and he doesn't have any qualms about having his nails trimmed. He likes to go for a ride in the car, although that works best when he hasn't recently eaten.

Raphi went to the Meet and Greet in Iowa City at Leash on Life this weekend, where he impressed a number of people with his quiet disposition. I had to tell people that his calm demeanor was a bit deceiving, as is his a very active puppy when he's in comfortable surroundings. He's a typical 5- to 6-month-old puppy running and romping and looking for someone to play with. We call him Thud sometimes because he sounds like a big dog when he runs down the hall with a toy in his mouth trying to keep it away from the big dogs.

If you think Raphi would be a good fit for your household, please contact your placement advisor.

What a spunky little boy this Raphi is!

Raphi has been with us for just over two weeks and he's been a fun addition to our household. He's at a great stage - he's grown a bit in height, possibly gained a bit of weight (he goes to the vet later this week and we'll know for sure), but what's been so incredible is how much he's learned. He's a giant knowledge sponge right now -- he watches everything to see what he should do and where he should be. He's a very quick study, but also smart enough to be cautious. The dogs in our household are a bit older than his playmates at his original foster home, and our dogs just aren't as much fun for a puppy, I think. But Raphi has made it his mission to coax our resident dogs into romping in the backyard and even a game of tug-of-war. He'll find a particularly special toy and flaunt it in front of the other dogs, and then drag it by them until they give in and find themselves engaged in a great game of tug-of-war. Mind you, one of our dogs is 85 pounds, but Raphi doesn't let that stop him. He tosses the toy in the air to make it particularly enticing -- what dog could resist that? One of our favorite Raphi moments was to see him in full-out tug-of-war with our 7-year-old female, Dory. Raphi decided to quit pulling and just stretched out on the floor and let Dory drag him around slowly. Wish I had a picture of that to show you!

Raphi sleeps through the night most nights and whines softly if he needs to go outside. During the day, we make sure to let Raphi outside every time he wakes up from a nap, after he eats, and after he's been playing for a while. This has worked very well -- he hasn't started to go to the door and ask to go out yet, but he has trained us to know just when the need is urgent. Raphi loves to play and when our resident dogs aren't up to the task, he will run laps in the backyard, or we will toss a toy down the hallway repeatedly to give him a chance to stretch his legs and tire himself out. What's really impressive is that he hasn't destroyed a single thing. He has a basket of toys that he empties throughout the day, and he can keep himself busy and content by carrying toys around, tossing them, and doing some serious teething on them as well.

Mr. Raphi shares his toys very nicely and doesn't seem to have any problems if the other dogs come take a look at his bowl while he's eating either. He's a slow eater, he starts his meal standing, and then pretty quickly settles down and stretches out and eats the rest of his meal slowly, enjoying every morsel. Last week, we took Raphi to the pet store to pick up some more dog food and he was a bit overwhelmed by it all. But then he met the shop owner's dog and instantly relaxed, although he was still careful not to stray too far from us. We're going to get him out more this week now that the weather is a bit nicer. I'm including some pictures so you can see how much he's grown.

If you're interested in Raphi, please contact your Placement Advisor!

Well, Santa didn't bring my forever family... but Foster Mom said she wasn't surprised... that's a lot for the big guy to fit in his sleigh! I still got a lot of great gifts. I liked playing with the wrapping paper as much as my new toys! Santa brought rawhide candy canes - yum!!

I am doing very well with house training! I have had 1 accident in the past week, and I think that was more FM's fault than mine. I was busy playing with Finn and she forgot to let me out, so I piddled a bit on the floor. She is more diligent about letting me out every hour or so now, especially when I am playing as that is when I tend to need to go potty more often. FM gets SO excited and gives me treats every time I do my business outside! I am able to hold it all night while I sleep in my kennel and have gone about 5 hours during the day (in the kennel) without having an accident while FM was gone. FM still comes home at lunch during the work day to let me out and I will need that for another month or more. When FM is home, we go out about every hour or so during the day so I learn to go outside instead of inside.

I love to play and snuggle with the other dogs here. Finn is my favorite since he likes to play fight and wrestle. Vinnie just sits there and lets me bite him, which is fun, but I like a little challenge sometimes! FM tells me that I can be a little "landshark" to the resident dogs, but I'm so good at not using my teeth on people! I chew and bite toys, but I haven't touched things that aren't for us dogs to play with! OK, I admit, FM does a really good job of keeping things picked up so I won't get into them, but I am way too busy with all the cool toys we have here to be bothered by any of her boring stuff. I did try to sneak a glove that my foster sister left by the door, but I quickly dropped it when FM made a "EGH" noise.

I do great with my foster sister (I don't bite her at all and I play nice with her!). FM thinks I would do fine with kids of any age, as long as my adoptive parents know that I am growing into a big and energetic pup, and that I sometimes don't always realize that I bounce into things when I play. I also don't care if my forever home has cats or not. To tell you the truth, I'm terrified of the ones here, even though they ignore me. I barked at one of them my first week here and it hissed at me, and now I stay as far away from them as I can!

I think FM forgot to mention some of the great things about me! I am the BEST at giving kisses! I also know how to sit already, and we are working on come and down. I know the word "outside" and I run to the door! I don't mind being in a crate (no crying), and I don't jump or climb out of my puppy pen or the baby gate in the hallway. I do whine in the morning when I get up and I need to go potty, but I usually let FM sleep in a few hours on weekends, so she doesn't mind a few whines and barks waking her up. She says it's better than cleaning up pee! I am also very respectful when meeting new people and I don't jump up on them at all! As with any puppy, there are a few things I need to work on still, but doesn't every dog have a few things they could improve on? I haven't been on a leash much since it was way too cold to go outside for a week, then I had to be on exercise restriction because of my neuter. We are working on it, but I still need more practice! I also have a habit of not wanting to come inside after going potty - FM puts a trailing leash so she can catch me if she needs to, but usually she just gives me a few more minutes to play outside (by myself, as she usually takes me out without the other dogs, as I tend to get too distracted to do my business if my buddies are out there too!). Sometimes she has to tempt me with treats to come inside, and other times she just has to put her shoes on and come outside, and then I zoom in the back door. She thinks I'm being stubborn... little does she know I'm just playing with her!

I want to send a big THANK YOU to Molly 10-069, Shea, Ellie, and Anna for the holiday icon! How nice of you to donate to RAGOM!

That's all for now - I need a nap!

Love,
Raphael

Is this boy cute or what?! He cocks his head to the side whenever he hears a funny noise. Those ears of his have a mind of their own sometimes and they give him so much personality!

Raphael has two new requirements - a fence and another dog - in his forever home. As we have gotten to know him more, we see how he interacts with us with and without our dogs around. He is shy and reserved when they aren't around, but is a wild and happy puppy when they are. Our two resident dogs are teaching him how to trust us and about everything new to him (like living indoors). If my dogs aren't around, he would much rather hang out in his puppy pen than be out interacting with me and his environment. But, luckily, he is getting a lot better already and I think that with another confident dog for him to model after, he will grow up to be a happy and socialized dog.

Potty training is a work in progress, but I feel like he is doing a lot better! Most nights he can hold it all night, but he has cried a few nights around 3 am needing to go outside. He has had a few accidents during the day even though I let him out every hour or so when I'm home. I think he gets so busy playing outside that he sometimes forgets about what he needs to do when he goes outside! During the work day, I come home at lunch to let him out. He is in the puppy pen during the day, and I put down puppy pads down for him to use if he needs to. Some days he does use them, other days he doesn't have any accidents. I have a very easy schedule the next few weeks with the holidays, so it will be a great opportunity to work on his potty training.

Raphael was neutered today and got his rabies vaccine and distemper booster. He will need one more distemper booster in 3-4 weeks, then he will be good for that one for another year. He was quiet on the way home after his surgery, but he is feeling very comfortable and acts like nothing happened. He is not enjoying going on to potty on a leash or that I'm making him stay in the puppy pen to rest, but at least he doesn't have to wear the cone of shame (yet)!

We are working on training and he already knows how to sit for treats! He takes treats very nicely. I switched his food (he didn't like the Wellness puppy) to Taste of the Wild High Prairie puppy and he loves it! He has gained 2 pounds in the past week. With proper nutrition, he has grown quite a bit taller, too!

If you are interested in Raphael, please contact your placement advisor! He is a very special puppy and he will make some lucky family very happy!