River 18-108
At a Glance #18-108
| Golden Retriever | Born: September 2013 |
| Female | 62 lbs |
Status: Adopted
Profile
Updates
Monday, September 3, 2018
River's birthday is tomorrow and she landed the best gift ever: a fur-ever home. I'm happy to say she now has two playful fur-brothers who will continue to show her the ropes and two loving parents who already adore her.
This house already misses her, but she's on her way to living the perfect "Golden Life" and I couldn't have asked for a better family!
Sunday, August 19, 2018
I was finally able to record a video of River and her foster brother in action:
This play is initiated by one of them before I go to work, throughout the day, and before and after dinner, too! Have I said she loves to play? This is such a great way for her to burn energy, and they are fun to watch. Her adoptive home will need a dog that can keep up with this type of play.
In the house, River still startles by weird objects dropping, strange sounds on the TV, and things you wouldn’t normally think of. This is why she needs older children in her adoptive home. This is not only for River’s comfort and confidence but for the safety of children or grandchildren in the home.
While River waits for her fur-ever home we will continue to work on walking on a leash and getting her to enjoy car rides!
Thursday, August 9, 2018
River finished her antibiotics for her bladder infection about a week and a half ago. I'm happy to say she is doing great! If I leave for an hour or two she will have free run of the house with the others, and there are no accidents. She also has learned to tell me when she needs to go out, so she's made a great improvement.
I've watched River really come out of her shell during the couple of months since she came into RAGOM. And I really do enjoy having her at the house, but she deserves to find her forever home.
The ideal home for River would be:
- A home with a playful and confident resident dog. River is still nervous around new people, and some noises still startle her. She follows the lead of the resident dogs when she is unsure of a noise or new person.
- A house with a fenced yard for River to run, play, and hang out in.
- A family that is patient with her as she re-adjusts in a new home. I do expect an adjustment period as she learns her new family's routine.
- A family who is ready to give this girl a ton of loving! She LOVES attention and once she gets used to her new family, she would be one to cuddle with you or follow you EVERYWHERE. She's a true "pocket pal"!
Friday, July 27, 2018
Well, Ms. River hit another road bump a couple weeks back. Right before her spay I noticed some accidents again. I chalked it up to longer free reign in the house, so I was going to crate her a bit more. On July 13 she was spayed, and although her spay went well, things just seemed to get worse with accidents.
I took a urine sample to the vet, and sure enough, she had a bladder infection. We are on the tail end of her antibiotics, and I’ve noticed an improvement. She’s also getting this housebreaking thing down, and she has learned how to tell me she has to go.
On the positive side, the stitches are out from that bump on her chest, and her spay incision has healed. This means she can get a really good bath this weekend, so we’ll see how she does—but she does love water!
Sadly, these unexpected vet visits have caused a setback with her wanting to leave the yard. She relates the leash and car to a vet, so this is something we need to work on.
I tried taking her and her foster brother out for a walk earlier this week. I noticed River was a bit stressed this time, though we made it about five houses. She was getting more panic in her eyes, so we headed home. The poor girl couldn’t get inside the yard fast enough.
On the way back into the yard she saw my car and flipped her foster brother over by going underneath him. But as soon as we got in the yard, she was back to herself again.
Since then, if she sees the leash she does not even want to leave the house, and of course we had the visit this week to get the stitches out, which meant another car ride to the vet. Her foster brother came along for the ride, and that seemed to help. But as soon as we got home she couldn’t get in the house fast enough.
Now that we have no reason to visit the vet, I’m hoping that with her foster brother we can take “fun” car rides, so she will be able to at least leave the yard.
Time will tell us how River will do with walks now. Though we were making it around the block, she gets stressed towards the end of the walk. So long distances are not for her right now.
Because of this, River will without a doubt need a playful and energetic dog in her adoptive home, as well as a fully fenced in yard. She does have energy and LOVES to play, and this is one way she can burn that energy off.
About a week ago we had another large firework show, and it was completely unannounced. This time though, River was 100 times better. She came by me for pets for the first 5 – 10 minutes, and shortly after went to her bed and just stared at the ceiling.
So I think she’s realized this is nothing to worry about. Storms don’t seem to bother her as much either. She still tries to get close to me, but the stress panting has gone down.
River has made herself very comfortable when we are inside. Now when we settle in for the night, I find her sprawled out on a bed closer to the rest of us, rather than being curled up at the doorway. At bedtime she has the option of her crate, but now she has decided the dog bed is also OK.
She loves squeaky toys, and I always catch her playing with them, even by herself. River has learned that giving a ton of kisses makes me laugh, so it’s become a goal of hers.
Though River has had a few setbacks, she is one of the happiest dogs I’ve ever met, she loves people once she warms up to them, and I swear she always has a smile on her face.
Friday, July 13, 2018
River made it through her spay surgery with no problems. RAGOM's vet in Rochester is amazing, and they took great care of her. The vet tech assigned to River’s care brought her a comforter of her own to lay on.
Since River is a licker she's wearing a soft cone. She's getting used to it, but I feel right now we hit a mild set-back. She's startling again at the small things: noises upstairs, someone coming in the room, the dishwasher, etc. But I do not blame her; the cone limits her vision.
Foster Grandma hated seeing River so sad and bought her an inflatable collar. So let’s hope that will help her see more of what's going on around her.
During the spay surgery, we found out River has a double ear infection and a small lump was discovered, so it was removed. The vet felt it was nothing to be concerned about, but figured while she was under it made sense to remove it. This required a couple stitches in her stomach/chest area.
River will be rechecked in about two weeks to make sure her ear infection is gone and to get the stitches removed.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
River has started to figure out this "Golden" life. She is quite the character, and I have nicknamed her "Happy Feet." When she is excited I’m home, about breakfast or dinner, or even sometimes just a treat she does this happy prance with her front two feet. She really truly is a happy girl who is always smiling!
When River first came to RAGOM she did not know how to play or even engage in play with her foster siblings. Over the last couple weeks, I have caught her playing numerous times with her foster brother or even by herself. She’s also mastered shredding toys with stuffing, and she gets so excited when she does.
Though River is almost five years old, she acts about two and has a lot of energy, so a house with another active dog would be ideal. River is the submissive one of the group, and even at feeding time she eats her dinner and respectfully sits off to the side or comes to me for some loving.
I was able to catch some playtime with River and her foster brother, which is always so entertaining to watch.
River is finally back on track with her housebreaking. We do have an accident now and then, but it happens less and less. As long as her adoptive family is on a routine with her, once she settles in I know she’ll do just fine in her adoptive home.
I have started taking walks with her and foster brother. She always is very excited to go, but if our neighborhood traffic is busy she does tend to get a bit stressed, and we head back home.
The weather has been so hot or rainy we haven’t gone out as much as I’d like. I don’t doubt with consistent walks she’ll get over her uneasiness, but she will need another dog with her on walks for a little bit yet.
We have had a couple storms and a firework show. Storms she does OK with; she does find comfort in being close to you and may pace a little bit. If we are in bed and River is in her crate, she does just fine.
Fireworks, now, are a different story. These do stress her out, so a house with a TV on or a family to pet her would help her through these. I will be trying a Thundershirt for the 4th of July, since we live about a block from Rochester’s show.
She’s a very special girl and will make a great addition to a family.
Friday, June 22, 2018
River is great with the cats when indoors and overall can care less about them. I do have one cat that will go outside on a leash/harness, and that’s about the only time I have to supervise because River and her foster brother tag-team and get a little rough.
When indoors, that same cat will swat at River and she walks away, so I really think it has something to do with the cat being outside. The other cat annoys River by rubbing up on her chest or under her belly.
River is about 80% housebroken. She is crated during the day and can make it about 4½ hours with no accidents. She’s dealing with a UTI (urinary tract infection), which is contributing to the housebreaking delay.
Right now, she’s crated about 4½ hours in the morning, then she’s out of her crate with the other dogs in the afternoon, with a dog walker letting them out about 2 hours in. At night she sleeps in my room with the option of a dog bed, but she still chooses to sleep in her crate with the door open.
Enough of the basics—here are some fun facts about this sweetie:
River LOVES water! We do have a kiddy pool that she also really enjoys and will pout when it’s time to empty it. If I don’t put it in the garage, she will stand on it and paw at it. I really think a lake would be right up her alley!
River can sit forever and let you brush her, but you’ll also get the “Golden nudge” if you stop. I’ve been able to clean her ears, and she has never fought me on it. She gives kisses at the most random times and will follow me around the house. Once she is comfortable with you, she is your typical pocket Golden.
At this time River is marked as “Unavailable” as she needs more time in her foster home to adjust to this new life. Since her personality is continuously changing, I want to see the real River to make sure she finds a home she’ll continue to grow and gain confidence in.
She’ll be spayed in the next few weeks, and at that time I think she’ll be ready for her fur-ever home.
