After I lost my first Golden, I was so broken-hearted it was two years before I could even think about getting another dog. But oh, how glad I am that I did!

Eli came to me as an 8-month-old “first to adopt” rescue. He’s a loving, gentle, intelligent, high-energy, goofy Golden Irish who just wants to run and play and play and play some more. He had a bit of trouble at first figuring out the difference between playing with other dogs and playing with people – his dog friends like to jump up and mouth with him, so why wouldn’t his human friends?

Three months and two obedience classes later, how far he’s come! Getting a front-clip harness and a chain-link leash have improved our walks tremendously – now he can walk in heel position instead of trying to play tug with the leash. He figured out how to sit for attention, when jumping up just gets your human’s back turned on you. He still gets mouthy when excited, but he’s able to focus and respond to commands even when he really, really wants to play. He learned quickly that lying down and waiting is better than trying to help with your human’s shoelaces before a walk, and he knows how to hold a down stay on his mat in the kitchen while waiting for his breakfast or dinner. He’ll even open the door of his crate and go inside for a nap when he wants a little downtime – pretty amazing, since he came to me with a healthy suspicion of all crates in general, and his own in particular.

He still has a lot of puppy energy – we go for walks four times a day, he goes to daycare every day while I’m at work, and he has a good run at the dog park on the weekends. But he’s as smart and eager to please as any Golden, and he’s adding a repertoire of cool tricks to his basic obedience skills. Just ask him who’s a good dog. He’ll raise his paw and show you!

Eli was adopted on September 21, 2019

Posted in Success Stories