Robbie   is one of the eight Goldens we brought in from China. He is about 1 1/2   years old, 60 pounds and very handsome. Rescued from the meat trucks by the shelter in Harbin, he spent about a month in the overcrowded facility before being rescued.  Robbie was taken to a medical facility for a full evaluation where he arrived dehydrated and malnourished but in otherwise good condition.  We think he might have been a stray for a lot longer than some of the other dogs in the group, as he had some serious behavior issues, all of which probably developed because he had to defend himself and whatever food he could scrounge in order to survive.

While we were at the hotel in Los Angeles, we discovered he was not good with other male dogs, as he would lunge and try to attack if he got anywhere close to one of them. He seemed to ignore the females in the group, so he was placed in a home with a female dog. Things were fine until she found a toy he wanted. Being the bully-boy he was, he attacked her. Fortunately, he didn’t damage her. We moved him to a second foster that did not have another  dog. He proved to be unmanageable for them and actually went after the female human one night – didn’t hurt her, but sure scared her.

So, we moved him to a local dog training facility, where he spent four weeks in their intensive training camp learning basic obedience and socialization skills. They also worked to tone down his aggressive tendencies regarding food and other dogs. A young couple who had never trained a dog applied to adopt him. We made it clear to them that we would not finalize his adoption to them until they got themselves trained to manage him by attending eight follow-up classes we paid for as part of his Training Camp fee. They agreed, so Robbie was allowed to go home with them. They were very diligent about bringing Robbie to the follow-up lessons and practicing with him in between visits. All Robbie needed was to be convinced that they are “the boss”.

Both adopters handle him  well now, and he has proven himself to be a wonderful companion for them. Robbie needed very little vet work here, but he had to have the rabies vaccine again because Maricopa County would not accept as effective the vaccine given in China. Robbie also has had to have some treatment for allergies that developed after his arrival here. He is a strong, young dog and needed a home where he could get lots of exercise. Robbie is getting it now, as he runs with his adopter every day up to 10 miles! He is one happy dog now!