Walter

Walter is a cream coloured, 3 year old Golden Retriever.

HISTORY

Walter came from a fabulous home but, due to a change in family circumstances, it meant that he wasn’t being given enough time. He was brought up with little children but can knock them over if they are very small.

He went into foster in Ireland with Niamh who described him as “A complete and utter gentleman”. He is super clean in the house, great with cats, dogs and ducks, basically anything that breathes. He longs to be loved and needs the feeling of being the centre of attention.

He does jump up and this does need to be worked on. He has a few basic commands, so a little more training is needed with this boy. He is a good traveller and has a great recall. He is strong on the lead initially but is fine after that.

HEALTH
His UK fosterer, Sue, says “Walter is very healthy and drinks well. He is a gorgeous looking dog who is very bright eyed with lovely white teeth. His hearing seems good, he is very agile for his size and he is a good runner.

I would say he is quite overweight and I think some advice from a vet would be good on this matter. Walter bolts his food alarmingly – I thought he had stopped breathing the first time I fed him. He now has an anti-bolt bowl, which has really helped and I would recommend he uses one until he gets calm about being fed”.

PERSONALITY
Walter is a happy boy who looks you in the eye and constantly shows how overjoyed he is to have company. He relaxes totally if you sit quietly reading, watching tv etc – you can see how much he relishes being indoors with people. He has settled in so quickly, showing no signs of sadness or fear – quite incredible really. He is friendly, loving, intelligent, sociable and enthusiastic. Walter greets guests with a toy and a wagging tail.

He loves being brushed and having his tummy rubbed and head ‘scritched’. He has a very open personality with no signs of any hidden feelings. He has not reacted to the vacuum cleaner or steam mop and the New Year’s fireworks, which went on for a good half hour, didn’t bother him at all.

He cannot catch a ball or toy in his mouth, – we’re trying to teach him to – but he likes toys a lot and holds them in his mouth.

SOCIAL LEARNING
BASIC COMMANDS: He is well socialized and trained in basic commands. He knows ‘sit’ and comes when called.
SEPARATION ANXIETY: He shows no signs of separation anxiety although we have only left him for 15 minutes or less. He sleeps through the night & is really pleased to see you when you wake up, coming over for a head rub. The first night he needed lots of persuading to come upstairs and in the morning he was terrified of coming down, crying, salivating etc. It took two hours to get him down but he learnt really quickly and is now happy to go up and down. Food was the key!!

Walter enjoys the garden but looks for you all the time he is in it. He chases foxes out of the garden and barks at them. He seems to be used to being made to stay outside as he displays complete joy when you let him back in.

LEADWALKING: He is lovely on a walk and is happy to stay on a lead.

DOGS: He got on with our dog straight away. They play fight together and run around the garden and also spend time quietly dozing together.

He avoided an aggressive dog without reacting but got very excited when he saw one particular Spaniel and barked loudly at it.
RESOURCE GUARDING: There is no evidence of resource guarding. He doesn’t guard his food or take anything he hasn’t been given and he lets our dog eat without attempting to take her food, although I am standing between them just to make sure! He is, however, completely nuts about being fed so this would really help in training him.

WALTER’S DREAM HOME
Walter could probably settle anywhere but he would be best suited with another dog if possible and he would flourish in a family situation as he loves being with children.

JANUARY 2017

This lovely boy went to his forever home at the beginning of January.