Reggie

My story

Meet sweet shy Reggie! DOB March 2022, Reggie is a smaller Golden Retriever/Mini Poodle mix weighing just 35lbs, who was surrendered to our rescue through no fault of his own, lacking proper socialization or training. PLEASE READ HIS FULL PROFILE BEFORE INQUIRING to be sure that your family is the right match for Reggie's needs. While we do often adopt to homes without a fenced yard, Reggie's best interests would be to have a forever family with a fully fenced yard as that is where he truly thrives and feels most comfortable, in his own space with his family and minimum one other dog to set him up for success and a happy future. He does of course require walks for socialization and training/mental stimulation outside of his own environment, but his happy place is where he feels safest. Reggie is a calm, quiet boy who is happy to nap while you work and go for a walk when you're ready. He is a homebody who likes the comfort and predictability of his home routine. He loves his people but needs the assurance of a calm, confident canine companion to feel confident in new situations - he takes his cues from another dog. Reggie is walked with his female foster sibling. He is outside multiple times a day for sniffs and zoomies in the backyard. Training is done after dinner for 5-20 minutes Is your foster dog food motivated? Reggie is very food motivated. He is learning to sit before getting his meals and his treats - this is a work in progress. He is also learning to be gentle when taking treats from your hand. Reggie is currently fostered in a home with 2 other large (twice his size) dogs. Within the first few days of arriving in our home, he attached himself to our 7 yr female Bernese/Poodle mix. Wherever she was, he was and whatever she did, he did. Even now, he makes sure she is always within eyesight. She is a confident girl, and Reggie looks to her for guidance on social interactions and reactions to his environment. He is perfectly fine with our male dog, he just prefers our female (not sure if this is a male/female thing, or a personality thing - our female is a confident dog, our male is anxious). Reggie does not really play - with the other dogs or with toys, despite our attempts at both. Occasionally he will do zoomies in the backyard on his own but if the other dogs join in, he'll usually stop. When the other dogs play (chase, wrestle, fetch) Reggie usually just watches from a distance. There have been a few times when he will engage in play, so I have hope that with time he'll learn that play is fun! Reggie has no interest or maybe still doesn't understand toys. We have given him many and showed him how to play, but he doesn't interact, other than taking them in his mouth and dropping them a minute later. When meeting other dogs (on walks) Reggie will usually react by barking or pulling but will then check in with his canine companion and see what her reaction is then follow her lead. We have a neighbour with 2 dogs that are often outside when we walk by and the first few times Reggie barked and lunged at the chain link fence between them (the neighbour dogs were barking at him). His canine companion didn't react to the neighbour dogs (she knows them) so with redirection, he settled. We can now walk by these neighbour dogs with no reaction from any of them. When at a group training course with 2-3 other dogs, Reggie's fear response of freeze (versus flight or fight) was apparent - he observed from a distance and didn't react, but he also didn't engage for the training as he was distracted by the other dogs. When people enter our home, Reggie reacts like his foster siblings by barking and eagerly waiting to meet them and get affection. He doesn't usually jump up unless there is a lot of excitement around a well known visitor. Reggie has met men, women and children (ages 2 - 10) and shows no sign of fear or aggression. When meeting new people on walks, Reggie's reaction is usually to continue walking (as we've been training him) or if allowed, he will go up to them for affection. Occasionally, there will be someone he is uncomfortable about and he'll bark at them. We redirect with "walk-on" and reward with "yes" and treat when he stops barking. When meeting people in other environments (vet, groomer, trainer), his fear response (freeze) activates first, but then usually his curiosity gets the best of him and he'll go to them for treats and/or affection. Good with cats? Unknown. Any guarding behaviours? For the first few months in his foster home, there were some minor signs of guarding when it came to toys and chews. Even though Reggie doesn't like toys, he would protect any that were given to him from the other dogs by growling at them - similar to kids not wanting another kid to play with their toy, even though they weren't playing with it. This has not happened for a while. Reggie would also growl if the other dogs were too close to him when he was given a chew (bully stick, tendon, etc). Again, this hasn't happened in a while. If one of the dogs is getting affection, he's right in there wanting his turn too. Housetrained? Yes Crate trained? Yes Reggie is crated at night in our bedroom and does very well. He enters the crate on his own and stays all night. He excitedly exits in the morning and gets up on the bed for morning snuggles. He is not crated during the day as the other dogs in the house are loose. When he first came to us, he was crated during the day and he would whine and cry for a few minutes (5-15) and then settle. If the other dogs barked during the day while he was crated, he would repeat the whine and cry for 5-15 minutes again then settle. Since being loose in the house when we're not home, he has behaved well. Reggie will whine and cry for a few minutes if left completely alone (no humans or dogs). When he is loose in the house, as long as there is another human or dog in the house, he is happy. Reggie has been learning to walk with a harness on a leash. He is very excited for the first few minutes and will pull, but after the initial excitement fades, he walks well. If he does get excited and start to pull, he redirects well with the mention of his name Reggie walks best with a confident canine friend. He matches the energy of his canine companion and often looks to them for guidance. When walking with an anxious or reactive dog, he will behave the same way. When walking without a canine companion, he is a little anxious and less curious and just wants to get home. Handling/grooming: Reggie is very compliant for all grooming. However, he will still "shrink" - because he doesn't know what kind of touch he will receive) if you move too quickly over him. One of the photos shown are Reggie in a longer coat, but he is prone to matting so we keep him clipped shorter for his comfort and for ease of keeping up with his daily brushing needs. Things needing improvement Reggie still needs to work on his basic commands (sit, stay, come, off) and his confidence. His fear response of "freeze" is triggered in new situations so patience and confidence building will be required. Breakfast is at 7:00am, dinner at 5:00pm. Treats throughout the day for training purposes. Chews/lick mats after dinner as treats/training/enrichment. Potty habits: We regularly let the dogs out every 2-3 hours, so he doesn't usually have to let us know that he needs to go out, but if he has to go, he will pace in front of you and look at you and wag his tail. He does not need to be let out through the night. Reggie completed a 4 week adolescent skills course with Mapleton Bark to learn basic commands and life skills. It was a group course, so Reggie was distracted and observing the other dogs most of the time. At home, we have been practicing the skills and commands learned at the course and he is doing well. He is a smart boy who is very food motivated, but when he is anxious/nervous, he shuts down in fear and just wants to hide, or be next to his human. *Mandatory: Reggie's new family will be required to attend positive method/approved training classes to help set Reggie and his new family up for success in his new home. * Due to his young age/life expectancy, he is not a suitable match for older seniors. Our goal for every dog is to be able to live a full life in their forever home without ever having to be rehomed If you are interested in applying to adopt a dog from Hobo Haven Rescue, please use this link to submit an application https://hobohavenrescue.ca/dog-adoption-application Adoption fee $800 + HST (a fraction of what we have spent on vetting): includes microchip, vaccinations, bloodwork, deworming, neuter, flea/tick/heartworm prevention, and all vet care, food and supplies during their time with us. For anyone possibly interested in adopting from Hobo Haven, here are a few, but not all, criteria to be aware of: We require all serious applicants to watched "Petfooled" which is a free documentary at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XC1rUWWnxI , or on Amazon prime Our motto is "know better/do better" and we ask all adoptive families to be as committed to providing our dogs with quality nutrition as they are to providing love. An adoption application https://hobohavenrescue.ca/dog-adoption-application must be completed and approved, incl vet references / home inspection, prior to meeting available dogs. All dogs are placed in loving foster homes during their time with us, we do not have a shelter to visit. We do not allow applicants to visit until pre-approved for adoptions. Our dogs are in private foster family homes, not in a shelter. Hobo Haven is located in St Jacobs Ontario. For approved families, we require in person meetings in St Jacobs ON If you are not willing to drive to this location to meet our dogs after you are approved, please do not apply. We do not meet elsewhere nor deliver dogs. Adoptions within Ontario only

If you have any questions or would like to adopt Reggie, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.