Clifford 08-177 [1]

Sponsored by: Bill and Linda H 

Clifford, a Big Red 4 year old very handsome male golden, arrived in Ames Iowa on August 5 after an extended stay in boarding. Clifford’s story is a sad tale of a dog whose biggest fault has been that he hasn’t lived in a home that is right for him. You see, Clifford is a hunting dog with high prey motivation and little bite inhibition. This makes Clifford unfriendly to some other animals. This also makes Clifford sound much worse than he really is however.  Clifford simply shouldn’t be paired with small dogs, cats or young kids and needs a leader who will be alert to his instincts. But he will be a great dog for the right home!! We just need to do a better job of finding that home for Clifford!!

Clifford certainly fits into our pack well. He is completely housetrained so has run of the house.  He stands by the door when he wants out to potty. He is very obedient and loving. He is extremely alert and energetic but is easy controlled as he responds immediately to voice commands; sit, drop, come, no, off, leave and stay. He gets along great with foster brother Chopper, our 10 year old super mellow male golden. He has been trained to a gentle leader, walking at heel with little pulling or tugging. He sleeps by the side of our bed the whole night through.

We are told he is crate trained and will “crate up” on command but haven’t experienced this since we don’t have anything large enough for him to try. We do know that Clifford is a talker but not a barker. When he is anxious or nervous he might whine or whimper but isn’t the least bit loud. He just has a nice conversation with you.

Clifford is a healthy boy weighing about 100 pounds. This isn’t fat either; he is very tall and thin.  He is up to date on all vaccinations and has checked out negative for everything else. His medical history says that he had a seizure in March 2007 but nothing since. He is not on meds now and shows no signs of having any current problems.

This boy loves to retrieve!! A fenced yard (6 ft. or more) would be a big plus but this guy is currently living in a condo with no backyard at all so it isn’t absolutely necessary. We are told that Cliff can easily jump a four foot fence so he isn’t a dog you can just throw outside and forget.

If you are an outdoors type, jogger, roller bladder, hiker or hunter, Clifford would be a great companion dog for you.  He is big, energetic and extremely athletic. I bet he would make a great fly ball or agility dog too. We would love to tell you more about this lovable guy if you are the right kind of home for him.