Golden Retriever / Poodle (Standard) / Mixed : : Male : : Young
Learn more about the Golden Retriever. Learn more about the Poodle (Standard).
23-100 Leonardo, a Goldendoodle, has had a storied history with AGR. He was 2 years old when he came to us in December 2023, a big boy who was very overweight. The owners told us they had jobs that required a lot of traveling and could not give Leo the time and exercise he needed. He was described as energetic, loveable and sassy. Leo had been allowed to develop some bad habits, including jumping up on people and being very mouthy. We tried Leo with a couple of different fosters. One, which looked promising, said after 5 days: He does not listen to me whatsoever, does not respond to his own name, non-stop digs through trash and the whole house looking for food, non-stop barks and whines at everything, tries to hump when he's stressed and overwhelmed, does not get along with my other dog, doesn't seem happy in any way, and he opens doors and breaks through gates and blocks. I’m really sorry, I really tried to give him lots and lots of love and attention, but I just don’t feel like I’ve gotten anywhere with him at all in the 5 days I’ve had him. Sometimes love and attention are just not enough. The AGR Board finally decided that Leonardo needed one-on-one training, so we placed him with a private trainer in a board-and-train program. We also started him on anti-anxiety medications. He did well the first day he was there – got along with the other 9 dogs the trainer had at that time. Her assessment of him: Overall his temperament and personality are very good. He is a smart boy with much potential. His second day there was challenging, as he went after several of the bigger dogs. After a couple more days of true decompression time and settling into a new environment, he balanced out and started behaving much better. The trainer commented after two weeks: Leo continues to behave well and has learned many new house manners and boundaries. He understands OUT now and responds quickly when free flowing. He is very good at PLACE now – he will stay until he is given the break command up to an hour. That is really good! I am continually working him with the jumping up with visitors – so much better. Taking a second field trip to The Home Depot this Saturday to get as much consistency as I can with meeting new people. Overall, doing so well and a very sweet boy! The new-and-improved Leonardo was finally granted a meet-and-greet with an adopter in Scottsdale. It went well, even when the adopter had her 2-year-old grandson with her at a second meeting. As part of the training agreement with the trainer, the adopter was given a couple private lessons so that she could follow through with how Leo had been trained. Leo now has a forever home and is doing well. The adopter recently spoke about Leo: He is doing great! I learned that Leo likes to swim when we were visiting someone with a pool. I’ve also learned Leo is a counter surfer. Recently my daughter and grandchild were over and brought a pizza. They went to give a slice to the baby, and when they turned around Leo had taken half the pizza! Leo is tall enough that his chin can rest on my kitchen counters, so I now know better than to leave food out! Leo does not demonstrate any food aggression though he likes to bark at me if I don’t give him enough attention – I just laugh. All in all, I am very happy with Leo. AGR is happy that Leo finally has a forever home.
More about LeonardoGood with Dogs, Good with Older/Considerate Kids Only, Good with Adults, Somewhat vocal, Does Good in the Car, Requires a yard, Leashtrained, Plays fetch, Likes to play with toys, Playful, Goofy Other Pictures of Leonardo (click to see larger version):
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