** Adoption Pending**

Charlie’s original family ran into some issues and were no longer able to keep him. In addition they were first time Golden owners and didn’t realize they need training, exercise and attention to thrive so were pretty much at the end of their rope. Some dog savvy people they knew agreed to take Charlie before he ended up somewhere where this sweet boy certainly did not belong. They gave him to some dog-savvy people they knew who immediately had him neutered, fully vetted and started on the training and socialization he had not received from his original family. However, since they already had 4 dogs of their own, they knew Charlie was just more than they could take on long-term, so they contacted us.

Charlie went immediately into foster care so we could find out more about him.  He is completely housebroken, loves car rides and walks well on a leash (with a no-pull harness). There is detailed information from his foster mom in the foster update section (below), here’s the shorter recap and what Charlie’s Forever Home will need to be:

• If he goes to a home with another dog it would need to be a high energy, young, tolerant dog. Charlie is very, very playful with other dogs…to the point of not having an off-switch and irritating those that don’t want to play with him. He seems calmer and more focused when no other dogs around. Our sense is he would probably be better off as an Only Child.
• Based on his reaction to cats he has seen, he is probably not feline-compatible.
• Given his age and energy level (and general rambunctious-ness and his lack of knowledge of how big he is) he will need to go to a home which, if there are kids, they are over 10 years of age. Ball-throwing kids would be icing on the cake! In addition, no members of the household (including frequently visiting relatives) should have any mobility issues.
• A home with a large structurally fenced yard and one where an adult is home during the day, so that Charlie is not left alone more then 2-3 hours total in an average day
• A young, active family; willing and able to see to Charlie’s needs for exercise.
• Ideally a family with experience in raising large breed puppies.

Charlie is going to be a super dog. It’s just that he is a bit of a diamond-in-the-rough now because he’s behind the curve with manners and training due to his original owners’ lack of breed knowledge and commitment to him. The family that gets sweet Charlie and is willing to spend quality time with him will have everything that is good and happy and wonderful about a Golden Retriever!

Please see his foster mom’s comments below:

August 3^rd:

I just wanted to send you some info on our foster pup Charlie. I will also send what pictures I have.  Charlie does really well with our 3 year old golden male Frehley.  They play quite a bit and seem to do well.  Charlie doesn’t do so well with our older two.  Tanner will be 9 soon and Bella will be 7 and he is constantly jumping on them and trying to get them to play. If I wasn’t around he would bite on their feet, ears, and neck until the cows came home. He doesn’t understand they don’t want to play incessantly and he doesn’t listen to their cues. They are very submissive so I have to watch him closely so he doesn’t hurt them.  We have tried our best to do our part to train him to be gentle with them but being the Energizer Bunny that he is, he doesn’t quite understand yet.  We are continuing to work with him on this but I feel he would do best in a home with either no other dogs or younger dogs that are interested in playing. My husband and I have tested a few scenarios and when Charlie is by himself all alone with my husband and no other dogs in the room he seems to behave so much better and is able to focus.

I don’t have a cat so I am not sure how he would do. I do know that the few he has seen outside from a far he has wanted to chase them and barks at them. My inclination is to say no to a home with cats, even dog savvy ones.

He hasn’t had the opportunity to be around any children.  Unfortunately all my nieces and nephews live a great distance from here so I am unable to test him on this.  I do know that his inside manners at this point would not be good around small children.  As is typical of his age, he seems to be unaware of his size and will step/walk/jump on anyone and anything in his path. Doesn’t mean to, he’s just a gangly adolescent that doesn’t know his size or how much space he takes up!  Again we are continuing to work with him on this but he will need some patience in this category till he learns that this is not allowed.

He does really well on a leash.  He has a special collar/harness that helps him out a ton. He goes with us on our nightly walks and does around 2 miles and has definitely got the hang of it.  He does well on car rides.  He is always ready to go for a ride and loves to jump up in the car on his own.   A couple of times we have rolled the window down to let him  stick his head out and I think he gets so excited about all sights and smells that I don’t really trust him with the windows down too far.

He is fully housebroken and hasn’t had any accidents.  Charlie is crated while we are gone as well as several small intervals during the day.  If I didn’t put him in the crate a few times a day he would never rest. He would play and pester the other dogs constantly non-stop. He walks around and surveying the room to see who or what he can find to play with.  If I sit in the floor with him, I can sometimes get him to sit with me for a few minutes to let me rub his belly but if any other dog makes a move he will run to them thinking they want to play.

Again, typical of a young Golden and exacerbated by the fact he has had essentially no training before he came to us, his house manners need work.  He has chewed shoes, surfed the counter for a loaf of bread and will sometimes even chew on his bedding in the crate.  Charlie definitely needs to be watched and correct behavior reinforced. He wants to learn, he just doesn’t know the rules and what good-boy behavior is!

Charlie has a lot of energy…he is, after all, a 9 month old Golden….a puppy’s brain in an adult dog’s body. After our long walks at night we take all of them for play/fetch time at the park off leash and he will fetch a ball 20 times and still want more!  This boy LOVES to fetch!!!

I would say Charlie is a dominant dog (as respects other dogs) and can be a little toy possessive.  Again, we are trying to work with him on this so that he knows this is not allowed.    He does not do well with plush toys….in fact they have a very short life in his presence! He is a typical puppy so he needs the strongest toys on the market at this point. He does know how to sit and will now wait until his name is called while I am giving out treats before jumping ahead. It’s so cute to see him sit patiently and wait his turn and for his name to be called. He has so much potential!!  He knows where his food bowl is but sometimes if I am not watching will sneak over to the other dog’s food and try to go for it.  He is learning those do not belong to him.

Charlie’s personality is 90% playtime and about 10% cuddles/down time.  I can tell he loves to be rewarded and loves the occasional belly rub but just doesn’t sit still long enough to really appreciate them yet.  He really is a sweet boy he just needs patience and structure so he can be develop into the excellent dog that is inside him.

July 8^th:

Just wanted to let you know Charlie is doing great and has settled in. Introductions to my crew went well and everyone is getting along nicely. We got him around 8 last night and in just a few short hours we were able to test him out in the crate for 30 minutes or so, took him to the park for playtime, and went on a short walk on his leash. He did really well on all of those! Especially for it to only be his first few hours with us. He is definitely smart and sneaky when it comes to getting in to stuff but we have puppy proofed the house so we should be good to go. He slept at the foot of the bed with Bella all night and woke up happy and hungry. He’s a sweetheart:) just wanted to give you an update!