Alfie Corcoran

NEW YEAR NEW LIFE

A thrilled Tanya announced on Facebook ” We welcomed a new member of our family on New Years Day.

Meet Alfie who is 9 years old and a new fur brother to our Flo (also 9yrs) who has been on her own since we lost her mum, Izzie, in August 2019.

Having had several Goldens in our home over the last 26ish years, we couldn’t decide between a puppy or an adult rescue but, then, Alfie came to our attention. We were visiting family over Christmas near where he was being fostered so enquiries and visit made resulted in us collecting him on New Years Day.

My only concern was how Flo would take to an interloper on her patch but I needn’t have worried. Alfie has been the perfect gentleman, has slotted right into place and best of all, Flo now has a new best friend.

Alfie was a little anxious I would say when he arrived, a little hyper, not settled which we were expecting but, after two days, he is now totally relaxed, hasn’t made a sound in the house (I thought he might be a bit barky) and hasn’t made a peep at nightime which was the biggest test as he was thought to have separation anxiety.

He is such a lovely boy, we feel really privileged to have him join us. He’s already enjoyed a couple of longish walks and has taken a dunking in the sea.

Thank you to Paul, his fosterer. I know you had a hard time letting him go but trusted that we will love him as much as any dog we have shared our lives with.

We see similarities with our last Golden male, Obi, in character and loveable nature and I for one could not be happier.

Thank you Irish Retriever Rescue. I look forward to updating with pics of Alfie’s adventures!”

UPDATE 8.1.2020

“So it’s one week today since our Alfie came home and he has shown us he can jump, can run fast, pulls like a train on the lead and his recall needs work.

Indoors he is perfect, such a superb temperament, so some work needed outside. We are lucky to have a country park nearby (Upton Country Park) and heard they had an enclosed fenced area. As we were passing earlier, I thought we would take a look. So perfect! Fully dog fenced paddock where he had a lovely time with a young pointer.

Flo wasn’t with us as Alfie had his first visit with our vet. He had a clean bill of health and the vet confirmed my thoughts that Alfie, rather than 9 years and 8 months old is, he suspects, only 4 – 5 years old!! I’m so happy.

We’re taking both dogs back to the field later.

This photo was taken last night when Alfie came for a cuddle.

FURTHER UPDATE 2.2.2020

We have had Alfie a little over 4 weeks now and he is such a beautiful dog in every way. We do, however, have one issue with him. He bolts the minute he has any freedom. He doesn’t just run around or run off – he runs in a straight trajectory and does NOT stop!

Alfie came to us with an injured eye, which, according to his previous owner, happened after he had run off.

For the first week or so, he would run the boundaries of our garden, looking for escape routes. For obvious reasons, we didn’t let him off lead when out walking and have been working at building bonds with him and there have been marked improvements in him pulling on the lead and coming in from the garden (whistle training has helped here). He is always wagging his tail, and seems genuinely relaxed and happy with us.

We have a 20m line, have been whistle training etc but it all seems to go out of the window the minute he has any freedom.

Then, when my husband let him off lead while walking in the forest a couple of weeks ago, Alfie bolted the minute they came to an open area, was a dot in the distance and hubby had to run after him. By the time he caught up, he had gone through a barbed wire fence and had to be lifted back over. After this event, we realised it wasn’t going to be a quick fix.

Luckily, we have a couple of proper dog proof fenced in areas locally and we have been taking him there once a week or so in order that we can practice off lead recall and give him the opportunity to have a proper leg stretch.

Yesterday, we took him to a much bigger dog training field and all he did was run the fence, trying to find a way out! He did eventually come back to my husband when he realised he could not escape”.

HISTORY

Alfie is a 9yr old Golden Retriever boy who was fostered in Weston Super Mare. He arrived on 5^th December 2019.

FOSTER ASSESSMENT

Alfie is a very loving dog who gets on well with his fosterer’s 3 dogs. He loves to play with all 3 and knew his place in the pack very quickly.

He is a big dog and a very energetic 9yr old. He is also very strong and pulls like a train so lead training is a must. He is happy to share his toys and will get noisy if you don’t pay him attention when he wants to play.

He loves cuddles but doesn’t mind stepping on you to get them. Because of this we think he might be better with no young children but only because of his size and strength. Older children would be fine.

He has no problem with food or treats and eats  well with the other pack members, side by side.

He sleeps wherever he wants and has slept both upstairs and downstairs but he won’t go on the bed unless invited.

 He does like his cuddles on the sofa.

 He has been left for short periods and has been fine but, as he suffered from separation anxiety in his previous home, we think he will be happier with another dog for company and someone at home a lot of the time.

 He is very keen to chase the fosterer’s cat so a cat free home would suit him best.

 Overall, he is a lovely Golden boy who acts much younger than his 9yrs.