Dakota was found as a stray in a rural county and brought in by Animal Control. Animal Control was able to locate his owners, only to be told that they didn’t want him anymore. They notified us and we quickly agreed this cute little Golden-Look-a-like belonged with GRRCC and, after being neutered and recovering from a case of Kennel Cough from his stay in ‘jail’ he settled into his foster home. He is a little thin but only needs to gain another pound or 2…if he ever hits 50 lbs., he might be a bit chunky. We’re not sure what is in his family tree but our vets feels it is some sort of spaniel. Whatever he is, he is cute as can be and has a lot of energy. Low energy or low activity families would not be a good match with Kota! He has clearly never had anything in the way of training and city living was a mystery to him. A first, even the idea of getting into, much less riding in a car, was daunting to him and it was clear he had rarely, if ever, been on a leash. However, his curious and trusting spirit shown through and he has decided the life of a city dog and indoor living is a whole lot better than his previous circumstances.
Answers from his foster mom:
Q: Is he good with dogs?
A: He bugs our dog Emma sometimes because he’s so fast/athletic and Em snaps at him. However 90% of the time they co-exist very well. This is why another fun, athletic, younger dog might be great for him. We were told by his previous foster that he is a very, very boisterous player and occasionally doesn’t read another dog’s ‘signals’ when he is playing (when another dog is trying to tell him they have had enough or that Kota is playing too hard). If he goes to a home with another dog it will need to be one of Kota’s age and energy and play style and also one that won’t get too put-out when Kota’s ‘off-switch’ stops working. It will also need to be a home with dog-savvy people that can intervene and help him learn to listen to other dogs.
Q: Is he good with cats or do you know?
A: We met a cat on our walk – one that was obviously comfortable with dogs because it did not shy away from Kota and even rubbed up against him. Kota was quite baffled but took it in stride – he kept wanting the cat to run yet the cat was very content to just hang out. So we can say as long as the cat is dog-savvy and won’t run from him, it appears to be okay. Also wouldn’t hurt it a resident kitty still had possession of its claws!
Earlier in the day, he did spot a squirrel down on the path at the bottom of the deck stairs – boom – he went after it! His prey drive is the Real Deal.
Q How is he with kids?
A: Have not met any although he sees them sometimes on our walks and looks like he wants to play. He still jumps on people when he is excited so I would think kids 6-7+ years old would be best. Also, that age can be more actively involved with playing with him, running around, etc.
Q: How is he on a leash?
A: Getting better all the time. We go on lo-o-o-ong walks and he loves it!
Q: How is he in a car?
A: Great, jumps right in, loves it.
Q: Is he reliably house broken? Any accidents?
A:Housebroken, no accidents at all.
Q: Is he crated when you are gone? If not, is he ‘trustworthy’…i.e. nothing bad has happened to anything of value 🙂
A: I crated him one day when I knew I was going to be gone more than 3 1/2 hrs, with no problems. He is no longer being crated at night and doesn’t get on the bed. He does pull a piece of clothing out of the closet that has been left on the floor and then just leaves it in the bedroom….a subtle message??? And the typical golden, pulling a tissue out of a trashcan and chewing it up and leaving the pieces lying around – that’s it.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being The Energizer Bunny and 1 being a speed bump, how would you rate his energy level?
A: He can be very mellow – when I’m sewing, he chills. However, when we go outside in the backyard, he can and will run circles around the yard. I’ve started working more with a tennis ball to burn off some energy. He will be perfect for a really active family.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being Alpha/confident and 1 being Submissive/timid, how would you rate him?
A: Met a couple dogs on our walks and he does fine – don’t know when off leash as we never do that. He is submissive yet confident around people.
Q: How is he with toys…does he kill plush toys?
A: Loves, loves, loves chew bones – we have the ones you cannot chew up with the marrow in the middle and he stays busy with those (even though the marrow is 99% gone). He doesn’t really get plush toys…he will chase them if you throw but doesn’t gravitate to them on his own.
Q: Does he fetch and bring it back?
A: He fetches and brings back to within 20ft of you and then lies down and lets you take the ball out of his mouth. I believe this is a new sport for him so he needs some instruction in this area but believe he would like it.
Q: Does he know any basic commands…sit, stay, comes, lie down, etc.?
A: He knows sit and sits until you put his food down. He knows “no” and now I believe he knows, “just stop” as I say that when he won’t stop pawing or jumping.
Q: Any other cute anecdotes you can share?
A: We figure he doesn’t like water as he went in as far as his toes would go and wouldn’t even follow Em in when she went up to her shoulders. He’s a great jumper – we’ve taken him to the boat storage lot so he can be off leash and just run because it’s all fenced in and he just loves running and jumping on people’s flatbed trailers, etc. He comes when called and then runs off again. He is quite the snuggle-bunny. He loves attention and just wants to make you happy.
Dakota’s forever home will need to be one where:
*there is a large structurally fenced yard
*there is an adult home during the day so that he is not left alone more than 3-4 hours total in a given day.
* if there are kids, they are 6-7 years old and up and there are no family members that are unsteady on their feet
*there is an active family. Someone who loved to run/walk/jog would be a dream come true for Kota!
* if there is a resident cat or dog, they have the characteristics described above
We’re not sure why his original owners no longer wanted this adorable dog. What we do know is that there is going to be one very lucky family that gets to spend a lot of years with this smiley, happy little guy!
Check back for updates from his foster family
Foster Updates:
7/12/2017:
Dakota is making steady progress as a comfortable dog to have in our family. While he still shows his youthful exuberance at times they are less frequent than at first. We no longer find it necessary to crate him at night, he sleeps nicely in our bedroom, usually by choice in the open crate or at the side of the bed. Sleeps as long as we do and never bothers us. He also climbs on the furniture much less, usually only by invitation now. He is safe in the house while we leave, never a problem for hours at a time. He still follows us around room to room, he is a “shadow” dog who likes to be around his people. Likes chewing on bones, not particularly pleased with squeak toys. Has learned to chase squirrels out of our yard so that is a good thing. He generally does not bother our 10 yr old golden in the house, only seldom does he need scolding for trying to roughhouse. He will try and engage her in rough play outside so we have to intervene when that occurs. He looks forward to his twice a day walks and does fine on the leash. Loves to ride in the car either just because he likes riding or knowing that he is going on a new adventure somewhere. He is up to 45 lbs now, we have increased his food intake to try and fatten him up a little, he could still add 5 lbs on his frame but I think he is inclined to being a lean body type. Fireworks and thunderstorm anxiety is still a problem, he was not happy at all over the 4th of July and the recent spate of storms. He does not get destructive, just shaky and immobile. We are still trying therapies, next step will be a thunder jacket. We have learned to get him outside for potty breaks early before noise makes him scared to go outside. So all in all he is becoming a very good dog with the occasional puppy moments that must be tolerated. I’m sure a loving forever family that wants to help him learn how to minimize those moments he will mature into an excellent dog.
6/25/2017:
We got Dakota just over two weeks ago and he is settling in nicely into our household. He traveled nicely in the car and once we got him home he reminded us just how much energy young dogs have! Although he reminds us of that energy level every day, he is mellowing out as he gets comfortable with his new house. He is quite athletic and likes going on long power walks in the morning which allows us to get our exercise as well. His leash behavior is pretty good: he doesn’t usually pull too hard, stays under control, sniffs but keeps moving. He does zip around the backyard at times, trying to get our old female golden to play, but when he gets too obnoxious she just nips at him and he stops bothering her. He would love to have an energetic dog in his forever home to wrestle with, but he is also content to just play with his humans. In fact, he is mostly a “people” dog, shadows you all around the house, seldom out of sight and just wants to lay under or near your feet. He does visit with neighbor dogs at our fence line, but doesn’t bark and just seems to say ”hello” to them. The few times he has seen squirrels he strains to go after them, so we would rate his prey drive as “high”. Dakota is really a sweet, loving dog that just hasn’t had anyone consistently spend time with him. You can tell he wants to please you but doesn’t always know how. Fortunately he responds well to corrections and treats. He does show some anxiety during thunderstorms and loud noises like fireworks, and we have found a vet prescribed anti-anxiety med that calms him down during storms. His overall behavior in the house is very good and can be trusted without supervision. He is easily led into his crate at night with treats then sleeps all night long until his humans decide to get up. We have left him out of the crate in the house for a few hours at a time while we are gone and have had no issues with chewing or potty training. He is a snuggler, so if you want a dog that will join you on the couch, he is your guy, even though most times he will just lay on the floor near you.
Every day with Dakota gets better and better. He really deserves a family that can appreciate his sweet energetic personality.