Rusty 09-351

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Profile

Welcome to RAGOM Rusty! Rusty is a one-year old beautiful Golden Retriever mix. Rusty was surrendered to RAGOM by a shelter in northern Minnesota. Prior to that Rusty lived with an older couple who could not provide this high energy dog with enough daily exercise.

Rusty came to our home on August 14th and has been very busy since. We went to the vet for a wellness exam and micro-chipping. Rusty weighed in at 72 pounds, is in good health and is up-to-date on all of his vaccinations. He has met our resident Golden’s and our cat, had a bath, got his ears cleaned and discovered the toy basket. As we have been getting to know Rusty, here is what we’ve learned so far:

  • Rusty is house-trained, he will stand by the door when he needs to go out.
  • Rusty crates well, but is VERY energetic when he comes out. He definitely needs to burn energy once out of his crate. Rusty loves activity, car rides and being part of whatever is going on. He will do well with a family that will take him places, do fun things with him and include him in everything they do.
  • Rusty knows several commands; sit, lay down, come and no; but he is not consistent in obeying commands. Our first experience with Rusty on a leash indicated he is not leash trained, however, he has shown great improvement during the last couple of days, and so it may be that he was just too darn excited with all the changes. He will greatly benefit from obedience classes.
  • Rusty likes other dogs (we have 2 resident Golden’s here) and is very enthusiastic about playing. He would do well in a home with another dog, but we don’t think he has to have another dog in the home. He does like toys and will play with them by himself well.
  • Rusty has discovered our resident cat and wants to play with him. Unfortunately for Rusty, the cat is not interested in him. This has not discouraged Rusty one bit, he keeps trying!
  • Rusty is a very friendly dog who greets people enthusiastically (yep, he does jump up on people and we are working to stop this behavior). He has not been around small children here, only teenagers. Because Rusty is so enthusiastic/high energy we think he would do best in a home with older children.
  • We do not have a fence at our home, so Rusty is either on a leash or tie-out when outside. He is doing well on the tie-out, but it is really too soon to know if he needs a fence or not. We’ll keep evaluating this.
  • Rusty is following his Foster Mom around during the day and sleeps on our bedroom floor at night. (He gets hot at night and often goes into our bathroom to lay on the cooler linoleum floor.) That said, he is not a “Velcro” dog. He likes to be in the room with me, but not right on top of my feet or smashed up against my side.

Rusty is a wonderful dog who will be a treasured addition to his “furever” family. Please contact your placement advisor if you are interested!

At a Glance #09-351

Mixed Breed Born: July 2008
Male 67 lbs

Status: Deceased

Profile

Welcome to RAGOM Rusty! Rusty is a one-year old beautiful Golden Retriever mix. Rusty was surrendered to RAGOM by a shelter in northern Minnesota. Prior to that Rusty lived with an older couple who could not provide this high energy dog with enough daily exercise.

Rusty came to our home on August 14th and has been very busy since. We went to the vet for a wellness exam and micro-chipping. Rusty weighed in at 72 pounds, is in good health and is up-to-date on all of his vaccinations. He has met our resident Golden’s and our cat, had a bath, got his ears cleaned and discovered the toy basket. As we have been getting to know Rusty, here is what we’ve learned so far:

  • Rusty is house-trained, he will stand by the door when he needs to go out.
  • Rusty crates well, but is VERY energetic when he comes out. He definitely needs to burn energy once out of his crate. Rusty loves activity, car rides and being part of whatever is going on. He will do well with a family that will take him places, do fun things with him and include him in everything they do.
  • Rusty knows several commands; sit, lay down, come and no; but he is not consistent in obeying commands. Our first experience with Rusty on a leash indicated he is not leash trained, however, he has shown great improvement during the last couple of days, and so it may be that he was just too darn excited with all the changes. He will greatly benefit from obedience classes.
  • Rusty likes other dogs (we have 2 resident Golden’s here) and is very enthusiastic about playing. He would do well in a home with another dog, but we don’t think he has to have another dog in the home. He does like toys and will play with them by himself well.
  • Rusty has discovered our resident cat and wants to play with him. Unfortunately for Rusty, the cat is not interested in him. This has not discouraged Rusty one bit, he keeps trying!
  • Rusty is a very friendly dog who greets people enthusiastically (yep, he does jump up on people and we are working to stop this behavior). He has not been around small children here, only teenagers. Because Rusty is so enthusiastic/high energy we think he would do best in a home with older children.
  • We do not have a fence at our home, so Rusty is either on a leash or tie-out when outside. He is doing well on the tie-out, but it is really too soon to know if he needs a fence or not. We’ll keep evaluating this.
  • Rusty is following his Foster Mom around during the day and sleeps on our bedroom floor at night. (He gets hot at night and often goes into our bathroom to lay on the cooler linoleum floor.) That said, he is not a “Velcro” dog. He likes to be in the room with me, but not right on top of my feet or smashed up against my side.

Rusty is a wonderful dog who will be a treasured addition to his “furever” family. Please contact your placement advisor if you are interested!

Updates

Monday, August 15, 2016

 

 We are not sure what happened, one day he was playing with his brother Norton, another RAGOM pal from the puppy group computer components 15 years plus, other dog friends and the next day he was gone at such a young age, 8 years going on 9.

Our hearts are broken and we miss him desperately.

 

Friday, September 25, 2009

Hello, this is Rusty taking a turn at writing my own update. I want everyone to know that I have been very busy playing with the resident dogs, going for car rides and learning some manners (okay, I’m still not entirely clear what “manners” are, but I guess they have something to do with me not jumping on people and not eating the good food that is on the counters). I really like to play outside with my foster brother, McKenna. We roll around in the grass and wrestle; it’s great fun! I also like to go for walks and sniff the ground to find out what’s been going on around the house. Oh, and Foster Dad has these great things he calls treats! I work really hard to do what he asks of me so I can have just a little piece of those…they are so very tasty! I’ve been watching the other dogs get treats and I do what they do; come, sit, speak, shake and such. They keep telling me that I’m a very smart boy and that I’m a quick learner.

Foster Mom here; Rusty is a joy to have here. He is such sweet boy. When Rusty first came to our home he liked it when we petted him, but he never asked us to pet him. Well, this has changed significantly. Rusty now comes over and nudges my arm and asks to be petted! He even sits down right on top of my feet, squishes himself backward in between my legs and wants his chest scratched!! He still gets very excited and has loads of energy, but he gets plenty of exercise and that helps him focus on using his manners! We think Rusty will do best with a furever family that will make sure he is exercised, socialized (he loves to be out and about), has a routine and structure for him so he knows what is expected and most of all will love him. Rusty really likes people and loves to play. We would like to see Rusty in a home with children, however because Rusty is a big boy and weighs in at 72 pounds we feel he should be with a family whose children are older. If you are interested in Rusty please contact your placement advisor.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Rusty has settled in very nicely with us. In the past weeks he has really relaxed and is showing more and more interest in playing with us humans. And, he is showing more of his Golden side, he is now sitting next to people, looking for treats from us and following us everywhere we go. We have experienced a couple of counter-surfing incidents, but he is learning that this activity is not okay. He does like being in the kitchen when we are cooking…his nose is very busy taking in all of the good smells!

Rusty LOVES to be outside. He enjoys playing in the grass with our son and his friends; football is now one of his favorite sports! He thoroughly loves to run in the yard chasing balls, frisbee’s and such. He does not “retrieve”, but rather picks up the toy and just wants to chew on it or toss it up in the air for fun. One of Rusty’s favorite activities is “tug o’war”. He and our McKenna will play this game with almost any toy until they are worn out.

Rusty also likes to go for rides in the car. When we walk past the car he stands and waits for the door to open so he can jump in. He and McKenna sometimes accompany me on my many trips to and from football practice. He really enjoys looking out the windows. He would definitely like a furever family that will take him places.

Rusty continues to need work walking on a leash. He has made good progress (my arm isn’t tired anymore), but he still wants to lead rather than being led. He is walking at a slower pace, most of the time, but he stills gets excited sometimes and wants to get from A to B as quick as his four legs will take him. He will need obedience training to help with this. That said Rusty is an intelligent dog that catches on quickly. We’ve been working to stop him from jumping up on people and he is making good progress. He stills jumps up, but the amount of jumping is considerably less and he is calming down much faster now.

Rusty is learning all about the Golden life and soaking up lots of love and attention here while we help find him just the right furever home.