Zumo Doble

REPORT ON ZUMO FROM APRIL 2009

Zumo is incredibly affectionate and would spend all his time with his head in your lap if he could. He has lots of energy and is very playful. He is good with children and cats. Zumo is not food or toy aggressive and doesn’t mind if you take things away from him, which is just as well as he tends to run off with anything he can get his paws on, ie socks, shoes and his personal favourite – toilet rolls! He is good with other dogs as long as he is not on a lead. There may be a possibility he was attacked by another dog whilst he was restrained and this has resulted in aggression towards other dogs if they get too close whilst he is on the lead.

Zumo makes a fantastic family dog and is a good traveller, he loves the car and will be content looking out of the window or curling up on the back seat, he is so gentle and good natured. You can’t help but fall in love with him when you meet him and look into his chocolate brown eyes.

Zumo has had very little training and will need time and patience (he doesn’t tend to come back when called very well ), but is very responsive to, and needs a gentle approach. He is a strong dog and does pull on the lead. He also likes water and went for a swim in the canal recently. He also needs to learn some manners, ie not to jump up and take food from work surfaces and he will take food from you if he can! But these issues can be sorted out with training and patience.

We think he may be younger than 7, possibly 4/5. Also our vet has detected a very slight heart murmur which is rated as a 1 on a scale of 1 to 6.

All in all he is an absolutely lovely dog.

INITIAL REPORT

Zumo is approximately 7 years old and neutered and is absolutely adorable! We think that he is crossed with a collie, but not 100% sure.

Malcolm arrived in the early hours of Friday morning after collecting him from the transport. When he arrived he seemed that he was strong on the lead, but that might have been because he hasn’t had a proper home before.

Zumo is a gorgeous dog and very placid and laid back. He is very docile and quiet, but he likes the early mornings!

He loves to go on walks. He also likes a ball but doesn’t like to bring it back.

He is not totally house trained, but that might be because this is a new place and he wants to mark his territory.

Zumo doesn’t like sleeping in a basket and prefers to sleep on the floor. He’s like a baby when it comes to going to sleep because he likes being stroked under the chin and behind the ears until he’s asleep and he also likes to sleep next to my bed.

Today when I was walking him a cat jumped down a fence and Zumo started to chase him.

He does occasionally answer back to “Zumo”.

Zumo loves attention from other people and has fitted in nicely here.

SECOND REPORT

We fostered Zumo for a few days and in that time became very fond of him. Such a character! He is a lovely chap, very gentle and gets very attached to you – wants a fuss all the time. He played and mixed with our two dogs, Kenzie and Turner with absolutely no problems at all – kept pinching the toys! He is not completely house trained but it wasn’t really a problem as we just kept letting him out in the garden. He settled well at night, all three sleeping together with no problems.

I think he seems to be particularly drawn to women and followed me everywhere I went, however he is definitely not afraid of men and kept wanting fuss from my husband as well. He was fine to be left in the house when we went out. He does know ‘sit’ and ‘down’ and I think he slightly understood ‘close’ to walk to heel. He doesn’t pull on the lead and is brilliant in the car – just lies down and goes to sleep. I walked him across the fields (on a long line) and he enjoyed splashing through the mud. He is also not frightened of traffic when walking him along a busy road.

He was starting to get to know his name and did respond when I called Zumo, but this may take a bit longer. When approaching other dogs it may be wise to exercise slight caution of him getting to close at this early stage as I think he can on occasions feel threatened by other dogs – not surprising really with the background the poor chap has had. He is very underweight but that will soon get sorted and we give him around 4 small meals a day. He loves dog biscuits, cheese (which dogs don’t) and pilchards! He has a beautiful coat, very soft and shiny and will look wonderful when he puts on a bit more weight. He is a lovely boy and I so hope he finds his forever home very soon – he will make a fantastic companion. He so deserves a loving home.

FURTHER UPDATE

Zumo is a really friendly beastie who isn’t fazed by anything really. He likes playing with and collecting all the toys up although he’s still working out where the squeak comes from in a few of them. He is too gentle to make them squeak himself! He shares toys/food and waits his turn for treats. He takes food very gently indeed. He’s great on the lead but can pull to get out of the house at first. A real home loving sweetie who thrives on attention.

Zumo could easily win the waggiest tail competition, it never seems to stop. He is eager to please and will sit, stay, and come on command. He totally ignores my cats (I have three) and has gotten on well with Annie (our dog) from the moment he stepped through the door. I have three children aged 6, 13 and 17. He is great with all three and will sit and wait to be stroked by my six year old. He seems very adaptable indeed. Zumo will make a wonderful family dog and/or companion.

Zumo having a fun time with his new friends Danny and Rhani

ZUMO IN HIS FOREVER HOME

Emma said, “We have had the lovely Zumo with us for a little over two weeks now and he has settled in so well. He is such a great dog who seems to adjust well to nearly every situation. Apart from his apparent need to show certain other dogs that he is the boss (including a rather large Bull Mastiff!). He is always on his best behaviour and is very eager to please. We feel incredibly lucky to have found him and feel he has made a perfect addition to our family. He goes to work every day with his ’Daddy’ which he seems to thoroughly enjoy and has made a lot of new canine friends there.

I am so happy that I happened across Zumo whilst looking at the Oldies Club web site. As soon as I saw his picture and read his write up I just knew that he had to be mine! After being without a dog for nearly a year, I didn’t realise how much I had missed all the dog hairs and muddy foot prints everywhere! My house is now a home again and it’s all thanks to a little Irish boy named Zumo!”

ZUMO CELEBRATES DAD’S BIRTHDAY

Thought you might like to see what naughty little Zumo thought of his daddy’s birthday present wrapping paper – and he so looks like butter wouldn’t melt!

TWO RECENT PHOTOS OF ZUMO

UPDATE 13.11.09

Emma says. “Zu is wonderful!!!!!! You wouldn’t recognise him now! He has gained weight and is now a very big boy!! He looks fab and has definitely grown into his long gangly legs. He has become best friends with my nieces, the little one in particular! It’s beautiful to see them together.

He is such a gentle boy and I never imagined loving another dog so much after losing my last one. He still goes to work with Andy everyday so gets lots of exercise which he needs because he now has a VERY healthy appetite at last. All in all I would say he is a definite success story for Irish Retriever Rescue!

Thank you so much for Zu, we just love him!!!!”

UPDATE 13/02/2010

Emma says. “Zumo continues to settle in incredibly well and has certainly claimed this place as his own. His health is great (although he does seem to suffer from the odd tummy upset) and he seems to be a very happy and well adjusted dog. I cannot believe it has been nearly a year since we adopted him! Time flies when you are having fun!!!!

His behaviour towards other dogs is improving slowly but surely. The photos of him are with his Great-Aunt Poppy and his Uncle Chester. As you can see, there are no problems with him and these two!! In fact, it seems that Zu is the follower here and Chester is the boss. I had to stop Zu from peeing on Chester’s head the other day whilst they were out for a walk together as Chester seems to forget to get out from underneath Zu when he is cocking his leg!!

Once again, I cannot thank you enough for introducing us to Zu. He is a lovely, lovely boy and we are so lucky to call him our own!”

UPDATE 23 DEC 2010

Emma said. “It’s been over 2 and a half years since we adopted Zumo, how time flies! It feels like he’s been with us forever. He has a new best friend in the shape of a tabby cat named Newbie who is the newest addition to our family. Zumo is so great with all 3 of our cats. My nieces adore him and I have never in my life met a dog who is so amazing around kids. He is a gentle giant and just adores having both my nieces around.

Zumo still suffers from allergies but thankfully this time of the year he is not as bad. He remains unpredictable around other dogs but once he gets to know them he is fine. He has lots of doggy friends who he goes for walks with.

We are so grateful to the IRR for rescuing him and allowing us to adopt him. He has bought so much happiness to my life. He is such a character and makes me laugh on a daily basis.

He is very much looking forward to Christmas. I have had to hide his mountain of presents from his Nan, Grandad, Aunties and Uncles as I’m not sure he understands that he cannot open them until Christmas day! We love him dearly and think we are incredibly lucky to have found him!

Zumo has asked me to wish all his doggy friends a very Merry Christmas!!”