Lance

Lance is a 3 year old Golden Retriever who was given to IRR following a change in family circumstances. He was fostered in the West Midlands with Simon and his family.

INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Simon said. “During the first few days Lance was very eager to please but this was tinged with certain amount of insecurity because as soon as you sat down he was immediately seeking attention. However, this trait has slowly subsided as he has settled into his new environment and he is now much more relaxed and well behaved.

Lance seems fine with children, although our three year old son Thomas has taken a dislike to him. This is because Lance will invade his personal space and then lick his face and hands. I’m pleased to say that Lance is learning that this is not acceptable behaviour and is now allowing Thomas to come to him rather than him mugging Thomas. In fact, yesterday I found Thomas lying on the rug resting his head on Lance’s flank. As for the older children we’ve had no issues at all.

On the lead Lance is a bit of handful but considering I’m walking three then he’s by no means unmanageable. Once he’s overcome the initial excitement, he calms down a lot and is then much easier to walk. However, the one flaw is that he does want to chase the local cats and then he is a handful. I also suspect that he’s a water dog and that if given the chance he would happily dive into the nearest pond or stream. He’s also very friendly when meeting other dog walkers and has a bad habit of jumping up which we’re working on.

Surprisingly Lance has got a very small appetite and very rarely finishes his tea. Lance enjoys any titbits that might be offered and initially we needed to keep a close watch on him around Thomas as he would snatch food out of his hand. Fortunately, Lance seems to be quite intelligent and quickly realised that this was not acceptable behaviour and so has stopped snatching from Thomas.

Around the house Lance has been very well behaved and is fully house trained. He also has shown no interest in tackling the stairs even though he has had plenty of opportunity to explore. He has also calmed down considerably since arriving and is now relaxed within the home environment and a pleasure to have around.

He gets on famously with our three other middle aged dogs, two Golden Retrievers and a Shih Tzu and from his arrival we had no issues. Initially, he gave our big lad, Freddie a wide berth but now they quite happily have the occasional wrestling match outside. They also all cuddle up together on the sofa which is very sweet!!!!

In summary, Lance is a lovely natured, clever Golden Retriever who probably tries too hard to please and that coupled with some insecurity lets him down. However, given time I’m sure he will become a wonderful and loyal pet.

LANCE HAS GONE TO HIS FOREVER HOME 14/11/2010

“We’re pleased to report that young Lance has gone to start his new life with Rita in Suffolk. We wish them every success.

As ever we’re very sorry to say goodbye to Lance as he has been a super dog with a wonderful temperament and he has come such a long way in short space of time. However, we know he has gone to a wonderful new home where he will have a great time and will get all the attention and affection he deserves.”