Ben
Ben is an approximately 4yrs old neutered male Golden Retriever
CHARACTER & TEMPERAMENT
Ben is very affectionate and eager to please, He has a super nature. He has lots of energy but he is not excitable. He is alert and inquisitive, fairly confident and is mostly playful and happy. He loves a ball or rope and tries to get people to play with him.
His very experienced fosterer, Lynn, describes Ben as a friendly happy dog who has simply not been properly socialised with other dogs and had no idea how to react when meeting new ones.
His lack of good experiences mean he has a fear of dogs being in his face and he has learnt to distrust them but, with just a couple of weeks of proper socialisation and good interactions with friendly dogs, the improvement in him has been massive.
GENERAL HEALTH
His coat is quite brittle and dry but he is being brushed daily and is getting coconut oil. He is otherwise very healthy
SOCIAL LEARNING
He is well socialized with people and has been trained in basic commands
TRAVEL: He is happy and content travelling in a vehicle
HOUSETRAINING: Ben is very nearly house trained, sometimes having an accident during the night.
SEPARATION ANXIETY: He shows no signs of separation anxiety
RESOURCE GUARDING: Initially he was a bit possessive with his toys but he now tries to get another dog to play tug with him.
LEADWALKING and RECALL: Lynn says “He walks well on my tummy lead and does not pull. He came with a halti and doesn’t pull with it on but he hates it. He is obedient and has a good recall”.
ADULTS and CHILDREN: He loves people, is very friendly and interacts very well with adults but he has not been tested with children in his current foster home.
DOGS: He is a little uncertain with other dogs. Lynn says “Initially he was growly at my dogs through the baby gate but he soon settled. He also panicked if there was a bottle neck going through a doorway.
He has now accepted all of my dogs with no problems and even went out to play with a couple of the day care dogs today. One was a massive Irish Wolf Hound. He did have a couple of barks at him but then left him alone and had no problems with the other 2 day cares.
All he needs is as much socialising as possible”.
CATS: He has not been tested with cats in this foster home
BEN’S DREAM HOME
Going by the huge steps forward he has taken in the last couple of weeks, Lynn thinks Ben will be a fantastic addition to a dog savvy family,
He would benefit greatly from living with one or more very well socialised, friendly dogs who can continue showing him that other dogs are no threat to him and set a good example as to how he needs to behave around them.
Ben will probably be best placed in a loving, experienced adult only home where he will flourish having their full attention centred on him and on his continued development
THE PERFECT HOME (SEPT 2017)
Lucky Ben has finally hit the jackpot and found his perfect forever home with a loving, adult only, extremely dog savvy family. They meet all the criteria including having several, well socialised friendly dogs and all the space that most dogs can only dream of.
It was simply meant to be so clever Ben wormed his way into Lynn’s heart knowing full well that nowhere could be better for him than being adopted by his brilliant fosterer. Needless to say, we are all absolutely delighted for him.
HISTORY
Ben is a large, rather gorgeous Golden Retriever who was approx 14 months when rescued from a Pound in 2014.
Apparently, he greeted his rescuer with a big waggy tail and a smell that would have knocked out a giant. He had been picked up by the dog warden and placed into the pound five days beforehand but, amazingly, nobody had come to look for him. He was very excited to be out of the Pound but was, understandably, very skittish and unsure of people as he didn’t know what was going to happen to him next, poor boy.
Considering what probably happened to him, Ben was a very trusting boy who was just looking for love and attention. Someone had taught him to sit but nothing else. On day 5, he was bathed and trimmed as his tail, lower legs and rear end were straggly and he had tats behind his ears. There was no problem in doing any of the grooming and he seemed to relax and enjoy the hot water.
He went to bed totally relaxed that night and there wasn’t a peep from him. He was probably used to living outside so he had to be integrated into a family. When his fosterer put food into a bowl, he practically inhaled it every time it was set in front of him. An anti gulp bowl slowed him down by all of about 5 seconds but it was better than bolting down a whole bowlful in 2 seconds. It seemed as though he was worried about where his next meal was coming from.
He had no concept of lead walking so, clearly, it was not something he had been used to.
Although he accepted the fosterer’s two boys, who are 13 and10, he was not thought to be suitable for very small children as he would have easily knocked them over in his excitement.
Ben was introduced slowly to the fosterer’s 10 month old bitch and he showed no aggression or signs of worry that he was around another dog, The only problem came at feeding time when she walked past him. This was totally understandable behaviour from a starving dog and would simply mean, initally at least, he would need to be fed separately until he was able to realise there was no need to worry about the competition.
Ben came a long way and it was thought, in the right home, he would thrive as all he wanted was to be part of a family. We advised he would need continued obedience training with lots of praise and that he would be suitable for a family with no other dog if they were at home most of the time or else he could easily live with another friendly dog. We were sure, once he totally regained his trust, he was going to be a cracking dog and a joy to own but, sadly, things didn’t work out well for him and he needed to be rehomed again.
