HEY! Has Anyone Seen My 100 Pound Doggie?!

[ACMESkydiver 0]

His appropriate name is 'Bear'. He's a 3 year old 1/2 Golden Retriever, 1/2 Lab that we picked up yesterday in Puyallup.

His owners were really sad about having to let him go, but they now run an in-home day care and they can't keep Bear in the house due to potential allergy problems for their daycare kids...

We just went to meet him yesterday, but little Derick LIKED him! Derick doesn't like dogs at all...but he liked Bear once he warmed up a bit. The goal was to get a dog for JOEY, and by having a dog in the home, allowing Derick to get used to him/her before getting a second one...interestingly enough, Joey was scared of Bear until right before the bus came this morning. He walked up and patted his tush, but didn't like it when doggie swung his ENORMOUS head around to see who was patting him.

So we told the previous owners we'd take him for a week and get a pro to check him out for service potential...and if things didn't work out, we'd bring him right back to them no problem (they were really concerned that he go to a good home)

They gave him to us free of charge...including his big kennel, all of his shampoos and food, bowls, mat, the whole works.

He's adjusting, and so are we.

Aye, this big boy is gonna need some obedience trianing pronto if he stays...holy Hercules, Batman!!!

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[shropshire 0]

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[NWFlyer 2]

So cool that you have a new family member!!!! And that your boys continue to surprise you.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[ACMESkydiver 0]

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So cool that you have a new family member!!!! And that your boys continue to surprise you.

Hooray!!

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[skycat 0]

Read through this, it will help through the transition period.
http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

Fly it like you stole it!

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Good info, thank you!!

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[jakee 1,271]

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He's a 3 year old 1/2 Golden Retriever, 1/2 Lab that we picked up yesterday in Puyallup.

Two of the best

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[Michele 1]

Best of luck to the most amazing Mommy around. Jaye, he's gorgeous. I'm wondering if the boys know what a bear is, and that scares Joey a little bit...maybe a name change might be in order?

Mike Forsythe (the poster here) does dog training for Search and Rescue. He might have some information or some help or a contact in your area to help with both the obedience as well as the service aspect.

Good luck - and well done!!

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[porpoishead 5]

awesome!!! that is one very good looking beast, big dogs rock!! congrats.

if you want a friend feed any animal
Perry Farrell

[Jewels 0]

He looks great! I hope he gets to stay.

TPM Sister #102

[ACMESkydiver 0]

The boys don't have any association with animals yet, unfortunately...so 'bear', 'dog', 'cat'...none of it means anything...I was just surprised as Joey is usually not afraid of dogs except for small, yappy ones.

And I did just leave a message with a dog trainer out of Tacoma that does service dog training named Tony Wolf (good name for a dog trainer! ). He will be the one evaluating Bear for service. We would have had him go to the owner's house to look at him, but I think the evaluation is going to be very extensive and includes behavior we see when he's here at our place.

If Bear passes the test, we keep him and he'll go to a kennel out in Orting for 10 days of intensive 'basic training'...that's the good ole' sit, stay, down, heel, don't jump on people, yadda yadda yadda. After that, I will follow up with continuing dog training right up the street at Petco so that he gets used to 'me' being his commanding officer...hehe.

After that, the two of us go back to Tony for intense training for service and all that that will entail.

It's extensive, and I'm hoping that Bear will be fit to begin. He did just have a vet exam which is good; I am helping to finish off an ear infection (just goo in the ear once per day for a few more days; I did the same when I had a dog growing up) other than that he has a clean bill of health...

Now we are waiting on a clean bill of 'mental' health and socialization with us...

I hope it works out! ). Service dog training success rates vary, but a pretty average estimate between many programs we have found is about 40% of dogs make it.

We hope we picked well. I feel good that we told the owners that we needed to make sure it was a good fit; for the love of Pete I couldn't handle 3 objects weighing better than 75 pounds each all running in different directions...it must be service dog, family dog, or NO dog. Bear is not a 'family' dog -by that I mean he isn't a real companion dog; he doesn't care much for hugs and snuggling- so he's got one shot. If he makes it, he will be wonderful!!

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[ladyskydiver 0]

Bear looks adorable. Good luck! Hope he works out for you.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[lilDevil 2]

wow bears a good name for him :-)

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" Cant keep a good woman down "
Angels have wings, but devils can fly !

[MF42 0]

Big dogs are cool.

I hope Bear likes learning. Sounds like he's about to be pushed pretty hard. And the result will be a great new friend for your kids.

Matt

[DFWAJG 4]

congratulations, he's a beauty!

[aprilcat 0]

I think you made a good choice just by looking at your son and Bear on the floor. Don't family dogs come in all sizes? And I don't blame the other son for being scared of the little yippy ones. Bleah!

That photo looks like love and the training will get Bear where he needs to be. You've got some good plans...best of luck with them!!~~April

Camelot II, the Electric Boogaloo!

[karenmeal 0]

Good luck with the new dog! I hope everyone adjusts well to the new family member. He looks like a big sweet pup.

I didn't think that I was a big dog person until I fell in love with Jeff's dog Jonah. It's great to have a big dog to cuddle with, wrestle with and to make me feel safe.

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Dang it....

Bear doesn't have any problems, but he can't deal with our very challenging boys. They are confusing him and his tolerance level isn't what it would need to be. That became apparent today, and we're just so bummed out.

Poor Jaleesa was crying; I just don't know what to say. Nothing wrong with the doggie, but at 3 years old, we aren't going to change him and he isn't happy here.

Some day in the future we'll look at getting a large breed puppy...that way he can grow up around the boys and won't freak out about their bizarre behavior...

I really hope Bear finds a nice home with bigger kids that don't have our unique issues.

I really did hope that things would work out...but as I said, I'm going to be practical. We can't be worrying if the boys are going to hurt the dog, or the dog hurt the boys.

His owners didn't seem too upset about us bringing him back tomorrow; I guess Kristy was having a hard time with him being gone, so maybe they will find a way to keep him now.

Sheesh. Ah well...I had a dog for 24 hours...

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[ladyskydiver 0]

Sorry to hear that it didn't work out, hon. Best of luck finding a dog that fits the family completely. Hugs!

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[airtwardo 6]

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wow bears a good name for him :-)

I have a Bear TOO, but mines even BIGGER!


Don't mind the dog food going IN, it the 'south side' part of keeping a big 130 pound dog that's kinda shitty!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[karenmeal 0]

Aww, I'm sorry Jaye. That sucks.

Can you get a puppy from somewhere? Maybe a great pyrenese, a lab or some other large mellow breed?

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[pfloyd 0]

My Rotty's name is Rufus, he is 120 lbs. He is a wilderbeast and has knocked me over football style just to get to his food, but he is such a big teddy bear!

My drinking team has a skydiving problem

[vixsal 0]

Here is a great description of Labs:

The dog was having a grand time.
That’s the thing about being a Labrador Retriever – you were born for fun. Seldom was your loopy, freewheeling mind cluttered by contemplation, and never at all by somber worry; every day was a romp. What else could there possibly be to life? Eating was a thrill. Pissing was a treat. Shitting was a joy. And licking your own balls? Bliss. And everywhere you went were gullible humans who patted and hugged and fussed over you.
So, the dog was having a blast, cruising in the station wagon -----The new name? fine. The dog didn’t care what they called him; he would’ve answered to anything. ‘come on Buttface, it’s dinnertime!’ and he would’ve come galloping just as rapturously, his truncheon of a tail wagging just as fast. He couldn’t help it. Labradors operated by the philosophy that life was too brief for anything but fun and mischief and spontaneous carnality.
(Excerpt from Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen)

[ACMESkydiver 0]

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Aww, I'm sorry Jaye. That sucks.

Can you get a puppy from somewhere? Maybe a great pyrenese, a lab or some other large mellow breed?

We are going to wait a bit; we want the same breed; the size is AWESOME! We have a breeder in Indiana that specifically breeds 'Golden Labs'. It's just that those pups are $700, and then we have to fly it in from Indiana. She has a perfect pup, too...pick of the litter, she wasn't going to sell her, she was going to keep her for agility and trials, but she said that since she was such a promising baby she would sell her to our family. I just don't have $700 right now. We'll wait.

We were wanting to fundraise for the service dog, so if we get a puppy, we'll hold fundraisers as well, because the dog will have to go through basic and then advanced obedience even if we just keep the dog as a family pet and don't bother with the service dog part. I was looking at $1500-$2000 needed if we go purebred from a breeder puppy, equipment, and training for the basics. It's some change, and we have to raise money for Sprouty's $2500 Washington DC trip, too.

We're not going to look in shelters this time. i know that's not the popular thing to do, but I can't risk unknown genetics and predispositions. -And if I have to take another dog away from the kids, they are going to be devastated.

Chin up though; he's a good boy. I sure do hope they can find him a good home! -Maybe I can help...

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[GalYoungin 0]

SO cute! Have you read Marley and Me...
If not, you should, a must read for lab owners
... sorry, I did not finish reading before I posted, still rocommend the book though ;)...