Whiskey
Update: 05/28/2010
Gavin
and his brother have been in speech therapy for about 10 months for speech
delay. We adopted Whiskey in early November from Gold Ribbon Rescue. Gavin
bonded immediately with him and would watch my husband and i doing commands
throughout the day (sit, lay, eat, take, down, wait, etc). Within a week, Gavin
was using these commands with him as well. About two weeks after that, we
noticed Gavin going from 2-3 words to 5-6 word sentences. Both his preschool
teachers and therapists came to us without us prompting them. It's been a
little over two months, Gavin has been released from speech therapy and talks
all day! He and Whiskey especially have a special connection. Whiskey sleeps
beside Gavin's door, allows him to go down the stairs first, and loves all the
hugs he gets throughout the day:)
10/11/09
The heartworm shots are done… just one more month of exercise restriction, and Whiskey will be ready to go! At his foster home, he’s doing just fine. He has earned the right to be loose in the house during the day, and at night, too. He stays in the bedroom all night with us, even if the door is open.
Whiskey is a smart dog! He is learning to wait until he gets the OK when we hand out treats, and to wait his turn if we’re giving treats to both him and our Golden Sonia. He doesn’t have those down perfectly yet, but he’s learning well. And he’s already learned to wait until he’s told “go ahead” before eating his meals. He pulls on leash, but we’re waiting to work on that until after the activity restrictions are lifted. One thing that needs no improvement is his behavior with the cats! He watches them closely and wants to lick them. I've found him sleeping with the tomcat, and licking the ears of the older girl. They accept and trust him, and he doesn’t violate that.
He’s fine in the car, though it does take him a good few miles to settle down… he’ll pop up to look around at almost any excuse. However, he used to try to get in the front seat with us, but he doesn’t try that any more.
Whiskey visited the ranch last weekend, and found the stairs up to the loft. Here Whiskey displayed the adventurous and determined facets of his nature! He didn’t want to go up at first, but then he decided to try. He conquered the first step, then retreated. After a while we found him partway up, stalled and whining. We coaxed him down, but he was still afraid of the bottom step for some reason. It was funny to watch him thinking through the problem! Later he went all the way up, then was “trapped.” I coaxed him down, and he slowly navigated the terrain. Again, he was clearly over-thinking the problem. He would get frustrated when the other dogs passed him on the stairs! To his credit, he would try again later—I guess he figured if the other dogs could do it maybe he should learn. He often got stuck, though. He never got completely comfortable, but whenever he would get down we would all throw a big celebration. All in good time!
Pretty Whiskey would love a family who’s around to keep him active and teach him new things. He gets on just fine with other dogs but would be content as an only dog, too. He’s a quick learner and a great companion!
Update: 9/16/09
One down, one to go! Whiskey has had his first heartworm injection and is doing great. He’s calmed down a bit from his first few days in rescue and gets this report:
Whiskey is a great family Golden. He loves people and is always curious about whatever is going on. His tongue goes about 100 miles an hour, but he seldom actually licks you. He’s a medium-energy dog, currently on restrictions due to HW treatment, but we know he’d love to be more active. He loves to play in water—racing around playing in the sprinkler, running in the rain. He loves tennis balls & other balls, too; brings them back immediately and drops them instantly at your feet for another go. He does settle down nicely when asked.
Whiskey likes to know what the schedule is, so he can play along. For instance, in the morning I get up, go by the coffeepot, then head into my office to begin work. Whiskey goes right along with me, checking each step to be sure I've done it properly. Then he settles down at my feet.
Whiskey is learning to run to the crate on command and get ready for dinner. He also is learning his door manners nicely, although he gets distracted easily. When he’s excited he spins and spins, always to the left. When he’s ready to lie down he turns three or four full turns to the left, then drops. He really likes to be with us in the bathroom in the morning, and always investigates the shower when we’re done. He thinks the bathroom rugs are perfect.
A good home for Whiskey would have a young teen or preteen to play with; cats fine, other dogs fine, turtles (!) fine. He needs somebody who will work with him, as he really is smart and wants to be challenged to do tricks and learn. More details as we learn more about the pup...
He was probably named for the beautiful amber color of his eyes, but when we first met him, we thought that “Whiskey” kind of suited his behavior, too… that is, it was easy to imagine him cavorting with a lampshade on his head, tapdancing on the dining room table, and generally having a real spree, as if he made a habit of enjoying one snootful too many! His foster family quickly learned that he has an impressive vertical leap. (:
But in fact, beautiful red Whiskey isn’t such a “wild & crazy guy” at all. We think he was just so thrilled to be with people again he couldn’t contain himself: he’d been living almost all alone for several weeks. His family had to move out of the city & couldn’t bring Whiskey along, so he was left behind in the yard of the empty house with a neighbor coming by to feed him. Yikes, not a good situation and not a secure one, either. “He is lonely and bored,” said volunteer Jeanae after paying him a visit. “You can see where he is starting to dig. I am afraid he will dig out. We need to grab him NOW.” A busy afternoon of calls and paperwork, and Whiskey was whisked into foster care by nightfall. It was so good to be inside with a family at last that it took him a couple of days to realize it was safe to go OUTSIDE again—nobody was going to shut the door and leave him out there.
Unfortunately, Whiskey turned out to be heartworm positive, so he’ll be living in foster care for at least a few months. We’ll give him a couple more weeks to settle down before starting the treatment and exercise restriction, though. If all goes well, he should be ready to party down again just as the weather is finally cooling off. Meanwhile, he’s doing wonderfully. His foster mom says, “He is doing great. Seems very settled already. A bit interested in the cats but a good ‘ACK, ACK’ seems to warn him off. He is very energetic but no more so than our young Golden Kirby. He has been fine in the yard and no whining or barking... he just hangs with the pack. He discovered that he likes to swim!! He is a really nice boy.”
More news to come!