Ralph

Ralph is a fabulous, ten year old neutered male, golden coloured, Golden Retriever who came with his Irish kennel club registration certificate. He was health checked by the Animal Welfare Clinic and inoculated in order to attain his Pet passport to come to the UK.

HISTORY

He was relinquished to IRR as family circumstances had changed and they could no longer keep him. Kathryn, our IRR Irish Co-ordinator explained that all IRR dogs sleep inside and are part of the family. Ralph’s owner has since been in touch to check on his progress.

PERSONALITY

Kathryn describes Ralph as a great all rounder. She said he had been loved all his life and is a typical adorable Golden Retriever.

Peter, his UK fosterer, describes him as a good natured, friendly, loveable senior dog who is confident, alert, inquisitive, playful and happy whilst also being calm and laid back.

On Tuesday, April 25, Ralph celebrated his 10th birthday.

HEALTH

Ralph is in good health apart from his back legs which are a bit wobbly. He also struggles getting into the back of Peter’s car but, for his size and age, this is to be expected.

SOCIAL LEARNING

Ralph didn’t respond to his name or any basic commands. Walking on the lead was challenging as he pulled like a train, even pulling on a slip lead. Peter believes any negative points are not his fault but are simply due to a lack of training in his past.

Peter tells us “Ralph is responding well to basic training  and is also making good progress on the lead although there is still work to do.

We just got back from our second one and a half mile walk of the day. Ralph is a lot fitter and has lost a bit of weight in the last 13 days.

Overall, he is a good natured, friendly, loveable senior dog”.

TRAVEL: He loves travelling in the car and can’t wait for an opportunity to go out.

HOUSETRAINING: He is housetrained even though he slept in the shed.

SEPARATION ANXIETY:  Ralph can be left for short periods. Kathryn thought he may be a little disorientated due to new surroundings but, so far, he has settled well.

RESOURCE GUARDING: He has shown no evidence of resource guarding  

LEADWALKING:  Kathryn described him as very strong on the lead and noted his recall would also need work. Ralph’s UK fosterer, when he first arrived, completely agreed that walking Ralph on the lead was a problem so he enlisted the help of a highly recommended local trainer (Caitlin of Walking Paward) who sent him her own training sheet on loose lead walking which Peter decided to try out.

It does seem you can teach an old dog new tricks and, after a couple of weeks, Ralph is progressing nicely. Peter is pleased as, not only has it made walking a more pleasurable activity for both of them, Ralph’s improvement is also bound to help in rehoming him.

ADULTS AND CHILDREN:  Ralph is very friendly towards both adults and children

DOGS: He has made great friends with all the other dogs he has met.

CATS:  Ralph has still not come across any cats as yet.

RALPH’S DREAM HOME

Ideally, Ralph would like a fairly quiet home where his forever folks are home most of the time. He just needs people who will have plenty of time to devote to him, who are happy to continue with his successful training regime and, most importantly, who will love him to bits.

Having a nice placid bitch to keep him company would probably be the icing on the cake but is not essential as long as he becomes the centre of someone’s world.

JULY 2017

A very happy ending. Ralph’s fosterer has adopted him, so he will be staying with Peter in his Forever Home.