Kara 18-227A
At a Glance #18-227A
| Golden Retriever | Born: November 2016 |
| Female | 70 lbs |
Status: Adopted
Profile
Updates
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Kara has become a beautiful, confident dog. When she first came here, she was so underweight, but now has filled out beautifully and her fur is long and silky. It is amazing what good food does for a dog’s coat! She loves to ride in the car!
There are a few things that still scare Kara. If something falls to the floor, even a sheet of paper, it will send her scurrying away. If something has been moved, like the bag of dog food that I just bought was next to the refrigerator, she wouldn’t walk past it to go outside.
She has gotten a lot better at coming in the back door, but still wants to see me as she is walking through the doorway. When she goes to her forever home, she will have to get used to a different doorway, so it will just take time.
Kara went to 2 meet-and-greets and did great! The first one was scary for her, since it was inside of a store and there were a lot of people walking around. A 10-year-old child sat by her the entire time we were there and made her feel relaxed.
At the second meet-and-greet, she was able to sit by the RAGOM booth, so she wasn’t out in the open. She loved all of the hands petting her for two hours.
Kara met a wonderful family who was looking for another dog to join their family. She will have a 4-legged Golden sister to wrestle with and a 4-legged Chocolate Lab brother who is getting older, so he will probably just watch them play.
They were out of town for a few days, but couldn’t wait to get back home so they could adopt Kara. She is at her new home now and is settling in nicely. Here is how they announced her arrival to their out-of-state family.
I miss you already, Kara, but it makes me very happy knowing you chose such a great forever home!
Friday, February 15, 2019
I have to apologize for the late update. Time has gone by so fast as we keep busy clearing snow! I have to keep a path plowed in the back yard for my 12-year-old resident Golden, while Kara loves to leap through the deep snow like a deer. She also loves to wrestle in the snow with my 6-year-old male Golden.
Kara has come a long way since she came to stay with us. She still has trust issues when she sees something out of place.
For example, I set a large bag of dog food against my refrigerator, and when she saw it, she scurried back into the living room while trying to get traction on my hardwood floor. Anything that is out of place will keep her from walking past it.
To teach her that it won’t hurt her, I put the leash on her and walk with her to the scary object. I tell her, “That’s OK,” and give her a treat when she sniffs it.
She also reacted when I left the shovel against the house when they were coming back inside. She wouldn’t come within 10 feet of it, so this time I moved it since she wasn’t on a leash and it was cold outside.
Kara’s forever home will have to have patience with her while she learns that she is safe. Everything is going to be new to her, so she will depend on a confident resident dog to show her things are OK. So glad she is treat-motivated, too!
Telling Kara that she is a good girl also makes her feel safe. There are times that something spooks her and she doesn’t want to walk through the service door into the garage. I have to call her while I am standing in the garage so she can see me and tell her she is a good girl. Then she will walk cautiously into the kitchen. Once inside, she gets a lot of praise and ear rubs. She absolutely loves the attention that she never got as a breeder dog.
When Kara first came into RAGOM, her fur was dry and rough. She didn’t have any feathers on her tail and her ribs and hip bones were showing. Since she has been eating good food in each of her foster homes, her fur has become soft thick and her tail has doubled in size! No more bones are showing and she feels great! I haven’t taken her to the vet to weigh her yet, but she has gained at least 10 pounds!
Kara is a big dog – very tall with long legs. She would knock over a toddler very easily. Check out the size of her paw! She is a big, beautiful girl.
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Kara moved to my home in Ham Lake, MN, a few weeks ago because I am retired and home during the day. Since she was a former breeding mama who spent her time in a kennel, she had a lot to learn about being in the house and needed to learn to trust people.
In her previous foster home, Kara barked a lot when crated and chewed the mat in the crate. When she was at the vet for her spay, she hurt her nose trying to get out of the kennel. We think the barking dogs there scared her.
They thought it was best to move her to another foster home so she didn’t have to spend so much time in the crate and where someone could work with her on trusting people, get her housebroken, and feed her more often to help her gain weight.
In her first foster home, they found out that she can’t live with cats, so she had to move from there. She is doing great here with my dogs.
She has free roam when I am gone and has never chewed anything that wasn’t for a dog. She had one accident here the first night she was here. She woke up at 3:30 am and had to go out, but didn’t know how to tell me, so she pooped in front of the kitchen door where we go out.
After that, I shut the bedroom door with her in the room with me so I could hear her moving around. She sleeps on the bed with me at night, and I now can leave the bedroom door open.
During the day, she comes over to me and paces back and forth if she has to go out. When I ask her if she has to go out, she starts going to the door. She is such a good girl!
When Kara first came here, she was scared because everything was new. The main issue that we had to work through was coming through the service door into the garage, then through the kitchen door. These breeder dogs usually aren’t allowed in the house, so they have to learn how to walk through a door, go up and down stairs, what the new sounds are, and what was expected of her.
Her last foster brought her over with a 30-ft lead so I could make sure that I could get her into the house. After a week, I switched the lead to a 10-ft leash that she dragged outside because she was afraid to drag the long lead through the door. She would follow my dogs to the patio, then stop. I had to go to her in the yard and step on the leash or she would keep running in circles. Once I picked up the leash, she walked like a charm right into the house.
After a lot of treats and practice walking into the house, I could go into the house first while calling her name. She started following me into the kitchen for her treat, but was skittish with the leash dragging behind her. Finally, I could let her outside without a trailing leash on, and she now runs into the house on her own with my dogs.
Kara started running around the yard with my dogs while she dragged the 10-ft leash. Now that she doesn’t need it, she has started wrestling with the other dogs in the snow. She needs another dog to continue to follow and learn from.
She is a real sweetheart and loves attention! She is not afraid of new people and loves kids! Due to her size, Kara should go to a home with kids over 10 if there are kids. She plays rough and moves quickly, so she would easily knock a toddler over.
Now, my next challenge is getting her to get into the car, then start enjoying car rides. I have been feeding her 3 meals a day to help her gain weight and I can tell that she has gained weight since she came here so her ribs and hip bones aren’t sticking out anymore. I want to get her to the vet to use their scale. She has been spayed and is up to date on everything, so it won’t be a scary visit for her.
She is such a sweet dog and will make some family happy!
Monday, November 19, 2018
Kara here to tell you what I have been up to this past week:
I had surgery at the veterinarian's office and I am recovering from that very well. I do not have to wear a cone because I am not licking my incision at all. I will no longer be having puppies since this surgery.
I am currently on antibiotics to get rid of conjunctivitis in my eyes, but I take my medication extremely easily because it is hidden in a tasty hot dog.
I am enjoying being pampered here. I am getting massages, bubble baths, groomings, regular meals, and lots of treats. I have discovered that I love bananas, mangoes, strawberries, peanut butter, and whipped cream, too.
My furry sister and I have been going for walks every day now. I am sporting a gentle leader when we go walking. I do not pull at all on our walks and I am thoroughly enjoying being outside in the fresh air.
I have mastered going up and down stairs in my home.
I am learning to approach humans now. Many times I get pets, belly rubs, or treats when I approach them.
My crate is still my safe spot and I often lay on my blanket with the door open so I can come and go as I please.
We had snow and I love it!
Monday, November 12, 2018
Kara is a purebred Golden Retriever that has spent her life producing puppies in a breeding facility. She produced her last batch of puppies in August of 2018.
That previous life has taken a toll on her body: every one of her ribs is showing, her hip bones are sticking out, her fur is very rough, and she doesn't have a single feather on her tail.
She has beautiful, long legs and a very long body. She is underweight at only 70.2 pounds, so she is currently being fed three small meals each day to help her gain weight.
Kara is heartworm-negative and is microchipped. She is up to date on all vaccinations and will be spayed next week.
She is crate trained, and her crate is her safe spot. She has not had any accidents in my home, but we are outside on a regular schedule. She has not yet developed a signal to go outside.
Kara is from a large breeding facility and has behaviors related to spending all of her life in a cage and having very little human contact. She is learning what noises inside a home are like for the first time.
She has recently begun to seek human attention and enjoys having her ears rubbed.
Please stay tuned for updates on Kara!
