Rufus 13-365 [1]

Please welcome Rufus who came to us ten days ago through the Red Lake Rosie's Rescue organization which was just too overcrowded. They knew RAGOM would get him into a foster home and on his way to a new life. He is a young, neutered male Golden Retriever/Lab mix (?) and is likely less than two years old. He came in with very little background info, but was quite malnourished and dehydrated.

He was recently given a clean bill of health at the vet and is UTD on vaccinations. The vet said he could stand to gain another 10 pounds as he is only 60 pounds right now. His ribs are still visible. We have him on a three-meal-a-day feeding schedule. Rufus LOVES food and treats. I do not say this lightly. He is learning to be more patient, but it is a work in progress. He just has the hardest time waiting and bounces up and down when he knows it's time to eat. It's incredibly cute the look he gets when told to wait. He sits and wiggles and tap dances and looks at FM as if to say, "I'm trying soooooo hard!" I am happy to report he has no resource guarding issues. We have pet him all over his body and head, and put our hands in his bowl and taken it away from him as he is eating to no reaction. Our smaller resident dog has even walked under him while he is eating with no problem. Rufus does inhale his food and we are working on slowing him down by putting his food in muffin tins.When giving treats, you must know that as gentle as he tries to be, it is very common for him to get fingers and hands in his mouth with the treat. We are working on a human's definition of "gentle" versus Rufus' definition and starting to see a little progress, but I would still be wary of young children with him. Also, Rufus is big, tall, and very, very strong. Even my 16-year-old son, at 6'1", finds him to be quite the handful.

Obedience classes would be a great thing for Rufus! He likes going for walks, but pulls hard on the flat collar/leash. He is slowly being trained on the Gentle Leader. He does know his name and has very good recall. He needs an active family dedicated to giving him tons of exercise. Rufus is a go, go, go type of dog and, at less than two years, still has some of that extra energy associated with pups. He has a hard time settling down and just cuddling. This is hard on FM since he is so darn cute!

Rufus does however sleep beautifully in his crate at night in the dining room (away from the rest of the family because he is terrified of the stairs which lead up to the bedrooms). We hear not so much as a peep until we open the crate door the next morning. I do give him free roam during the day since I work from home. I check in on him every few hours. He will occassionally chew on things he shouldn't if they are within reach (like socks and pens). Like I said, he is terrified of our stairs, and no matter how much bribing we do, he will not ascend or descend them. We thought it was just the tile set at first, but he won't do the carpeted ones either. Strangely, the stairs outside on the decks (wooden and cement) he has no issues with. This appears to be his only fear.

Rufus loves toys, but will destroy them within minutes! The only toy that has survived is his extra large Kong and a Nylabone. Stuffed toys are dismembered in seconds, rope toys shredded in minutes, rubber toys with squeakers end up in a hundred pieces, tennis balls and sticks, no chance!

If Rufus - who we lovingly refer to as Dufus on occasion when he looks at us with his head tilted as to say, "What? me?" - seems like the Active dog for your family, please contact your placement advisor. If you have seen Marley and Me, this should give an idea of what he is like. He is a great dog!