He is quite good on the lead. He was not housetrained when he arrived, as he had lived in a shed but, having been fostered with Natasha and her family for a few weeks, he is now fully housetrained.
He doesn't attempt to go on furniture or to go upstairs but, like most retriever puppies,
he does like to steal things.

Our thoughts are with Natasha and her daughter, who is very poorly and needing to undergo an operation. Because of this, Doolin is currently in temporary foster in Hampshire with Jan.

Jan says, "Doolie and Max won't stop puppy playing, until they drop asleep exhausted, then they wake up and do it all over again. Doolie is the instigator of all the puppy fun".

UPDATE ON DOOLIN 11.2.08

Doolin is going to be castrated this week. Whilst under the anaesthetic, he is going have his hips X-rayed as we want to be sure that he has no major problems. We have been told that his movement isn't good because of bad nourishment and a lack of exercise in his original home and we have been assured he is just suffering from "growing pains", which he will grow out of, but, to be absolutely sure, we are getting a second opinion.

FURTHER UPDATE 15.2.08

Doolie was castrated and needed to have 6 X-rays altogether starting on his hips and going downwards.

His hip X-rays shown a mild degree of displacia at the moment, but nothing too serious, and certainly not as bad as we were expecting. His right leg (which often he won't put any weight on) is apparently very inflamed (but not infected) and his hock bones are rubbing together, which could be part of the cause - the vet term is 'sclerosis of his distal tibia'. The problem could easily have been caused by bad diet and/or lack of exercise as a puppy, apparently. He has been put on a full dose of Metacam for 7 days, which will be gradually reduced, with exercise being increased, over the next few weeks to see how he fares.

Doolie is now doing well since, he came with me to dog swimming today (I couldn't leave him alone in case he chewed his stiches out) - obviously he didn't swim!. He is going back to Newbury on 16th for a check-up on his wound. He is an absolute dream whilst travelling in the car - absolutely perfect in every way.

LETTER FROM THE VETS

This is the report from the vets at Vet4Pets in Newbury


"Re: Doolie, 1 yr, Retriever

'Doolie' presented to us for castration on 12 Feb 2008. His foster carer had noted some lameness on the right hind leg.

On examination there was mild right hind lameness and reduced weight bearing on the right hind compared to the left hind. No pain could be detected on manipulation of spine, hips, stifle, hock or foot.

We radiographed 'Doolie' before he was castrated on 12th Feb 2008. We noted mild hip sub-luxation (very mild hip dysplasia), the right hip being slightly worse than the left. There was also some increased sclerosis (bone whitening) around his hock. Sclerosis can suggest increased bone turnover and inflammation in that area.

We recommended either rest and anti-inflammatories with a slow and progressive return to exercise, or referral of radiographs for a 2nd opinion. Doolie's carer opted for rest and anti-imflammatories. We will assess Doolie's response and formulate a further plan once his response has been assessed."

The vet commented that, even with Doolie's very mild hip dysplasia, a family would be very privileged indeed to be fortunate enough to adopt a dog with such an adorable character, Doolie being such a very special dog.

©2008 Irish Retriever Rescue UK