Dewey 06-03-003 [1]

2/15/06: This introduction to Dewey is a little late, but it has given me a good chance to get to know him. Dewey first showed his face as Eddie (http://www.ragom.org/updates/eddie03003.htm [2]) the little puppy that was part Golden and part Lab. Well, I think his Mom might have been withholding a secret relationship from all those concerned. Little Eddie is now huge Dewey, that I would not mistake for a Golden unless I was going by behavior only. Dewey weighs a hefty 110 lbs. His head weighs probably 1/3 of that. He is a little over three years old. A general description of him would be a Yellow Lab, but he is for sure mixed with other things. Once we get him on the Jerry Springer show with his Mom, we might be able to get the identity of the father within 99.9% accuracy. Without that, his heritage is a mystery.

Dewey has been a lover from the second he set foot in my house. His bed lays right next to mine and he sleeps there, unless he can sneak into bed with me before the other dogs claim all of the available spots for the night. One night he slept with his head on my back the entire night. He is like my little yellow shadow, too. He likes to keep track of me and loves the random pets he gets. It's hard to not pet him though because he is always right there. He's good about sitting down and hanging out though when I am finished petting him. He has ignored the cat and gets along with the other dogs in the house. One day I came home to find my male dog's tags off his collar and on the floor and Dewey had a little cut on his face. Ever since then, there has been no posturing between him and my male. So, I assume they settled the score on that day. I have no idea who won, but it's working for them and that's all that matters.

Healthwise, Dewey has some hip problems. We took x-rays and the vet feels that with a weight loss of 15-20 lbs, he should feel better and his hips should do well. They are not at the point where any surgery is indicated. Dewey also came in with allergies. It's not entirely clear what his allergies are from, but I've noticed more scratching when he doesn't have a bone to chew on. I gave him a nice soothing bath which he tolerated, but didn't notice a huge change in how much he was scratching. He also came in with reports of eating something like 17 beds so far. I've seen him with his beds and, well, lets just say he REALLY loves his beds. That includes some love nips and one love nip leads to a bite and pretty soon you've eaten your bed. He does seem to be easily distracted when he is biting his bed though and likes to have alternatives to chew on. I rarely see him without a chew of some sort.

Dewey also whines, which looks really dorky coming out of a horse, but, nonetheless, sweet little Dewey is kind of sensitive. This is good because he listens to me and really wants to please. This is also bad because he whines when he wants something and sometimes it's just not right that a big strapping fella like him sounds like a little squeaky dog :) No offense to you little squeaky dogs reading this right now. I'm sure you're wonderful, too. I have found that whining is usually with a purpose, such as wanting to go out or wanting water or wanting to be petted, or sometimes just to say hello.

I have been having some issues with my camera, so no pictures yet, but Dewey will be manning (dogging?) the RAGOM booth at the Twin Cities Pet EXPO on Saturday from 3:30-7:00 if you want to stop by and meet him.

I think the best home would be one that is committed to his weight loss and then maintaining that loss. A home that either has no dogs or enough hands to give Dewey all of the love he wants and deserves. A home that has children who are old enough to know how to set boundaries for large whining dogs and be respectful in their interactions with the dog. Basically, a dog savvy house. He is not the typical Golden by any means, but for sure has the "Velcro dog" behavior down pat. Due to his size and young age, he will continue to need guidance and reinforcement of the good skills he has built up to now.