Oakley has been adopted!
Sponsored by Toba, in honour of Toby, Riley and Penny. Every furbaby deserves a loving home and happiness.
Friends of Oakley’s foster family fell in love with him after meeting him and we are happy to say he has found his forever family.
Here is Oakley! He is between 12 and 18mths old. He weighs approximately 80lbs. Oakley has been used a breeder in his short life and probably has been kept in a crate that whole time so he does not have much experience being an actual dog or the puppy that he is. That being said, he has the sweetest, more gentle personality. He is just a big lug who wants all the attention and love that you can give to him. Being a retriever he will walk around the house with a toy in his mouth so he is ready at any moment for you to throw it for him. He could play this game all day, every day. We have been training him with the “drop it” command to make the game more fun and easier for us.
As mentioned, Oakley is a very gentle giant. However, he has probably been in a crate all his life so he has not been taught any skills. He only does what comes naturally to him. We have been working hard on teaching him “sit”, “come”, “stay”. He is a quick learner and loves to please us. The only issue we have found is that he has some fear when encountering new things such as new people, getting into a new vehicle, going into a new house etc. He becomes very. hesitant and will lay down making it impossible to move him. He needs time and patience to work through these fears. You will need to kind and teach him to trust you so that he can move through these issues without scarring him.
He is quiet in the house. He likes to bark at the people going by when he is in the yard though. He is not crazy about eating his dog food but eventually he gives in and will clean out his bowl. He has tried to take things from the kitchen counter though when. he weren’t looking. A sandwich is much more appealing than his dog food apparently. He has not tried to take anything from the garbage. Mostly he is a very well behaved boy who just wants to spend time with his people.
We have not crated Oakley at night but he does have a very nice bed in the back hallway where he close the door at night to keep him safe. He goes to sleep no problem and will sleep all night. You could easily put him in an extra large crate if you wanted to but we have not had any trouble just giving him his own space to sleep in. Oakley also goes into the back hallway when we have to leave him alone for awhile for shopping or work. He is not as happy to go into that space during the day but he doesn’t complain as long as he has been given a good walk and some playtime before hand. The trainer has mentioned not to leave a retriever alone with any toys as they are likely to pull them apart and swallow pieces. Since Oakley has pulled apart quite a large supply of toys and stuffies since his arrival, this feels like a very good rule to follow.
Oakley loves to go for walks and is learning his leash manners quite well. He goes out the door a bit quick but after his initial pee, I pull back on the leash a bit and tell him to “heel”, the rest of the walk is absolutely wonderful. He will prance beside you at your pace. He is not usually interested in meeting other dogs but he does like to meet new people. I would like to find a home for Oakley that would take him on lots of walks and adventures. I took him on a 5km hike through the forest and he was so happy with all the sights and smells. Watching him learn to be the pup that he is brings me so much joy. He has the ability to keep up to any pace and any distance you choose. He is a great walking partner.
Oakley has met the other dogs and the cats in our home. He does not really care about any of them. He is not mean or rough, he just prefers to be the only pet. If you are trying to pet another animal, he will walk right up and sit on top of you as close as he can so you can’t see the other animal anymore. He has probably not known what love and attention were from his background but now that he has felt that affection, there is no looking back.,
We would like to see Oakley go to a home with no other pets so that he can have all the love and attention that he deserves. We feel he would make a wonderful family pet and would respond very well to dog savvy children. He should have a large, fenced yard to explore and enough room for a dog his size to move around in the house. People who work from home or are around the house most of the time would also b e preferred for Oakley has he does not like being left alone.
Oakley was lovingly fostered by Angie
