Landry

Age 2
Available Now

Updated 11/7/11

It’s been a very “bouncy” year for this bouncy young guy, but he just keeps on rolling with the changes! His rescue story started this spring, when he was found stray on the outskirts of town at a Public Works facility—miles from anywhere residential, so we suspect he may have been dumped. The friendly fellow charmed the site workers in the wag of a plumy tail, and they arranged to get him to GRR.

Since then he’s stayed at three foster homes & been  adopted out three times & returned three times—it’s enough to make anyone’s head spin! So what’s been going on? Well, home #1 adored him, but the family was concerned that Landry’s tendency to drink lots & lots of water meant some kind of serious health issue. It didn’t – “he just drinks a lot,” said the vet (and bear in mind that this all went on fairly soon after Landry came to rescue, when he was likely still a bit stressed) – but the family was still hesitant, largely because they were planning to head off on a trip before all the test results were back in. Home #2 was perfect! That family adopted him in June and enjoyed every minute of his hijinks and abundant energy. The insurmountable problem here was their little girl’s allergy issues, which were unexpected and severe.They tackled the problem  in every way they could think of without success, and finally, tearfully, sent Landry back to GRR. Home #3 didn’t bargain for how active and zippy a teenage Golden can be—and, we think, were expecting Landry to settle in instantly, with no transition needed. He hadn’t been there even a day before he came back to foster care yet again.

THIS time we are determined to find him the family who will give him a home forever! Given the fact that he’s moved around SO much, he’s doing great in his current foster home, though the resident cats are none too pleased—more on that below.

The report from his foster mom:

Landry has been absolutely wonderful indoors. In fact, he’s one of the most well-behaved dogs we've ever had in the house.  He hasn’t once tried to get on the counter, in the trash, hasn’t chewed anything, doesn’t try to get on the furniture, he's amazing! No accidents (though he does like to mark everything in the yard). He’s left free to roam during the day.  We are crating him at night, as he is used to it and is very comfortable in there; he goes in willingly, and chooses to nap there during the daytime, too.

He hasn't attempted to jump up on us no matter how excited he gets. Reports from two different  homes are that he does jump up on small children, though. He is incredibly gentle taking a treat.  He just looks at it first for a couple of seconds, as if he's trying to believe his good luck!

Landry is very good with our other dogs—and he’s had five of them to get used to!  He is VERY vocal when he plays, so someone who isn’t used to being around a vocal dog might think there’s a fight going on. Nope—it’s all noise. Our puppy Dudley doesn't seem to notice the commotion.  They play and play.  Doogan (our self-appointed “policeman”) tolerates his noise to a point, and then tries to step in and calm him down.  Dusty hasn't quite figured him out yet.  She is still a bit intimidated.  She wants to play with him, but tries to keep Dudley in between herself and Landry!  Tucker (our old boy) just lets him romp past him. His playing does ocassionally get to a level where it borders on getting out of control.  It's just like two little boys who start to play and get a bit too wound up.  If we call his name, though, he reponds, and calms back down quickly.

Besides playing, Landry also just loves to run around in the yard.  The first day he just ran the perimeter, scoping out possible escape routes through the fence, though I think its was more just curiosity than actually wanting to escape—but    stout, secure fences and gates are a must for this dog. Landry is squirrel obsessed!!!  He runs out in the yard just looking up into the trees a lot of the time.  I'm just waiting for him to run smack into a tree one of these days.

We’re still working on the cat issue.  We have four cats in the house.  One cat simply refuses to run from him, so Landry ignores him completely. But if a cat runs, he’ll chase. He also loves to stalk them and try to sneak up on them and sort of pounce  at them with a surprise bark.  It usually yields wonderful results—from Landry’s point of view!  We try to keep an eye on him though, and if he starts after a cat we tell him "leave it" and he does.  Every now and then he can't help himself, but for the most part he listens when we tell him no.  If he loses the internal struggle and lets his quest get the best of him, he immediately lowers his head and looks at us as if saying  “oops.” I do think he would be better in a home without cats.  The temptation is just too great, and they just make him nuts.

His leash walking needs some work.  He pulls like the proverbial freight train, maybe with two engines working!  He is also very reactive to things around him.  I’ve actually taken one spill and come close a couple more times when he reacted to something off to the side and tried to take me with him.  It's things like dogs barking from behind a fence, cars driving by us in the close lane, other people out running, etc.  Thank heavens no deer chose to run past us that morning!  When I shortened his leash and kept verbally reminding him to heel,  he did much better, but it was still a lot of work.  For anyone looking for a total body workout while running, this is your man!  He is not a sniffer, he wants to go from point A to point B—FAST! 

Landry has been really great with toys.  We removed all toys, bones, etc for the first couple of days while we determined if he would be possessive, but a few have surfaced from the yard and he has been fine with them.  No fights over them at all. No food issues either… but I will say he is the neastest drinker in the world.  He is one of those guys who sticks his whole nose down in the water and when he's done just strolls away from the bowl dripping like a fire hydrant.  We've learned to place towels around the bowl to try to limit the lake front.

All in all, Landry is a great dog. He is a happy boy, and is just one of those who live life with gusto! He is Mr. Energy with a capital E at times.  The first 24 hours were a challenge with him, as it was a new environment,  filled with feline fuzzballs to chase in every direction he looked!  He had a terrible time calming himself down.  However, over the past week he has done a great job of learning to chill.  He is a wild man when he goes outside, but when he comes inside he has become so much calmer.  At night when I sit down at the computer, he will lie down with the other dogs by my feet and rest.

This is not the dog for a family who is looking for a low-energy couch potato. He needs an active family who wants a peppy, lively dog to play with, run with, etc. I would really like to see him in a home with another dog, because he wants and needs to play and play.  He is a physical player, so he would do better with another dog to play with rather than kids, because a dog understands the way he plays.  He’d love to play with kids, too, but I think he is too physical for small ones, and just doesn't understand that he can't play rough-and-tumble with them. And needless to say, NO CATS. A huge backyard would be great,  but you might want to put some bubble wrap around the bases of the trees to make sure he doesn't knock himself out running into a tree while looking up at the squirrels! His new family will need to be prepared to go through a few adjustment days where h’s likely to be unsettled.  It gets better quickly.

Landry is a loving, smart, beautiful dog who deserves a family who will love him back, enjoy playing and running and training him, and give him a home forever. 

Updated 6/21/11

A note from Landry’s foster mom:  To get the true effect of Landry writing this, you’ve got to read it fast, because he thought it fast and wrote it fast! This teenager has so much pep and zest for life that it’s hard for him to sit still for too long.

Since there seems to be a growing trend with some GRR Goldens doing their own write-ups  for the adoptables page, I thought I’d better get my paws pattin’ and set the record straight on my own behalf here. 

My first foster family had some really special summer plans, so I moved to another foster home.  Got to go for another car ride – which I loved.  I had to stay in the back cargo area of a very large SUV but I got to put my paws up on that third row seat and totally see right out the front windshield.  Cool!  I really like to be able to see where I’m headed.   

At first, I was a little nervous about heading to yet another “home.”  After all, I’ve been calling so many other places “home” over the past months!  But it’s all worked out great. I ended up with two boys ages 13 and nine, a five-year- old little girl, their 9-year-old Golden girl Sadie, AND a great big yard and a swimming pool.  WOW!  You can’t even imagine ALL the things there are to do around here.   

Since I am just a young dog and haven’t had much stability, my family has been busy polishing off a few rough edges. For instance, at first I was so excited I just didn’t know how to contain my enthusiasm!  So, I barked. Part of it was just that there was so much to see out in that fantastic yard – the cotton-tail bunnies, the roadrunners and the jackrabbits,   runnin’ in all directions, and the birds chirpin’ and flyin’ all over, and through the fence I could see people headin’ out for morning walks or exercise or off to work. I just HAD to say hello to EVERYONE! But foster mom explained that they all would know I was there &  the people would be happy to say “hi” to me even if I was quiet. Okay, I get it.  I ain’t no dummy.  I want these peeps to like me and say good things about me so when I’m told “No Bark” I’m workin’ really, really hard to contain my exuberance. You can imagine the effort that takes for a chatty dog like me, though, so sometimes I do have to be reminded to stop “talking,” especially early in the morning when I wake up ready to go while the humans want to keep sleeping!  But I have realized that bouncing and wagging and running around that big ol’ yard is an okay thing to do and I just LOVE to do that.

Speaking of running… this little five-year old girl here at the house, well she likes to run around and ride on this little car and man oh man is chasin’ her ever a bunch a fun!!  It’s all in good spirits but my foster family thinks little kids who are, well, less little would suit an active guy like me better. That’s OK! I love children of all sizes. Teenagers too. Besides, littler kids have a bigger tendency to leave doors & gates open, which brings me to rough edge #2…

I lived on the street for a while (so glad THAT’S over) & got used to being on the move, so of course I automatically looked for a way out of the yard—not that I really WANT to run off or anything, just force of habit. So first I squeezed out of a little gap in the fence (those spaces were small and I had to work really hard to fit my head and body through them!) and then one time I just strolled out through the garage—seemed like a perfect opportunity to say hello to the other dogs on the block.  Lucky for me foster mom spotted me pronto and said “Landry, come” and walked me back home by the collar.  Guess she likes havin’ me with her, huh?  Kinda nice actually.

Anyway, I am trying really hard to become a “smoother” guy. Foster mom says I am really smart and want to please… but I AM just a young dog, so don’t forget to keep reminding me about what I’ve learned! 

Remember I told you about the pool?  Now, that’s some fun on these hot, hot days.  Boy howdy does that ever feel good!  I can just stand on the steps or take a few laps if I want.  Thing is though, I dry pretty quick so I wanna get in a bunch but my people have to open the gate for me. 

So there’s this other dog, Sadie, here with me.  Says she’s a Golden Retriever but she’s way more red than me – I’m more of a blonde.  And, don’t tell her I said so but she’s a big girl compared to my 51 or so pounds.  Gal acts like she owns the place – geez.

My foster mom and dad work a lot from home and I like being able to lounge around while they’re using those “computer” things that I’m using now, but I sure don’t stay in one place for near as long as that Sadie Lady does.  Did I tell ya?  She’s nine.  Now that’s old!!  I can’t imagine EVER being THAT boring!!  Wonder if she was ever any fun? She’s not even interested in play time, but  I just love bitey-head and bitey-leg and I think I’d like a younger dog to wrestle with!  

SO…. here’s what ELSE I’m lookin’ for in my FOREVER home, besides maybe another dog to play with… lots of activity, lots of attention, lots of love, lots of patience cause there’s sooo much for me to learn, some walks, some swimming, some consistency with rules cause the last few months have been tough for me, a little evening chill time, some obedience training so I can reach my full potential and oh, and did I mention love & patience?!!!  C’mon, you KNOW you want to meet me!!

Updated 6/14/11

Updated 6/7/11

Check out my video!

adoption/2011/11043landry/LandryWhoISThat.MOV

Updated 6/2/11

Young, handsome, athletic, clever, resourceful, friendly, playful, responsive, and alert… whew… that’s quite a list!  We’ve discovered a few more things about him over the past month.

Now that Landry has settled into his temporary home, his true colors are coming out.  This young boy has lots of energy!  He and his little foster brother will chase each other around and around the yard, take a short rest, then get up and chase some more.  He has an unlimited reserve of energy.  He sometimes likes to play ball too and, of course, he likes to go for walks.

Speaking of walks, he is definitely going to need some training.  He pulls quite a bit, and when he sees other dogs, he barks and gets agitated.  He doesn’t seem to know how he’s supposed to act around other dogs, so with some training and correction, he’ll learn appropriate behavior.  He’s very responsive to voice correction… he wants to please; he just doesn't always know exactly how to do that.

One thing that will help with his training is the fact that he loves food, treats, cheese, and anything he can find to put in his mouth.  He eats and drinks voraciously and finishes all of his food within seconds.  He snatches treats quickly, but with no teeth.  He’ll do almost anything for a treat, even let you brush him.  He’s been known to counter surf when given the opportunity, so anything left out on the counter is fair game to him.

There’s no doubt that Landry is a handful, but he’s not always wild and crazy.  In the car, he’s pretty calm.  He sleeps through the night in his crate.  And, believe it or not, he’s actually calm during thunderstorms. 

All in all, he’s a great dog… energetic and friendly.  He can be quite entertaining too, like when he dunks his toy in the water bowl and then slings it (and the water) all over the kitchen.  He’s looking for a household that will (a) adore him, (b) exercise him daily so he can burn off some of his energy, (c) give him good obedience training, particularly so he can learn to walk calmly and quietly on a leash, and (d) be patient with him as he grows up and matures.  He will be well worth the wait!

Updated 5/4/11

With his red-brown fur, golden eyes and chocolate-pink nose, Landry is a very distinctive Golden Retriever!  The young fellow showed up on the outskirts of town at a Public Works facility—miles from anywhere residential, so we suspect he may have been dumped. The resourceful dog soon sent about befriending the staff—and stayed put around the buildings day and night. “If I stick around for a few days, maybe someone will decide to take me home.” Bingo! The clever canine’s plan worked to perfection. A nice gentleman kept the sociable boy safe and sound until he arrived in GRR care.

In his foster home, he’s playing well with his tiny terrier foster brother and sticking close at hand to Mom and Dad. On his very first day, he selected a plushie from the toy basket, and he totes it around for security.

He’s doing well in his crate and sleeping through the night with no fussing. When offered a treat, he takes it gently and gratefully. “Friendly, alert, and responsive,” says his foster mom—which we already knew, from the way he managed to get himself off the streets and into a home! He needs extra loving and attention to make him feel safe, and that is just what he’s going to get.