4.5 Year Old Male Golden Retriever - Great Family Dog!

Leander TX

Description

Hello, I am currently searching for a good home for my four-and-a-half-year-old male Golden Retriever Marcus Aurelius. He's been my baby his entire life and I'm devastated to have to let him go. But unfortunately, my life has changed drastically since moving from North Dakota to Texas and I think my boy will be better off in a home that can provide him with a yard and a stay-at-home family. It has taken me months and months to come to the decision to let him go but me and my wife decided it was the best move for him due to the fact that we moved from a house in the oilfield with a yard and a trucking company; to selling all of our things and moving to Austin in a travel trailer to pursue meaningful careers. The long and the short of it is that he is a very well mannered and well-trained dog, he has up-to-date shots, he has always done exceptionally good around children and other dogs, he's very very people/family-oriented, he has OFA certified hips and elbows and is a fully registered purebred with the AKC and comes from champion bloodlines making him one of the most handsome male goldens you will ever encounter. The only caveats to all of this is as follows: 1. He has never been neutered, and I wouldn't recommend nuetering him. (I used to breed and sell purebred golden retriever litters with him in North Dakota because his genetics were so dang good, and all of his puppies turned out so beautiful. To date he has sired 7 litters.) So because he has never been neutered he has exceptionally high energy levels/stamina compared to your average couch potato dog. Not an unbearable crazy amount that has him jumping up on people and running around the house, but enough to where he will keep up on foot easily on any adventure you'd care to take him on, and he will need to be with someone that wants to get out of the house and hit the trails with him weekly. Or else someone with a lot of wide-open spaces where he can roam freely. Also because he has all of the natural testosterone of a fully grown alpha male he occasionally wants to pee on things/objects so other dogs know it's his. He has been very good in my house and any of my friends or family's house that I've taken him to. But occasionally this translates to accidents at the vet, and him stopping every 30 ft on his walks to mark every bush and rock he sees. 2. He is extremely people/family-oriented, and he gets separation anxiety easily if left alone for too long. Every dog inherently has it in their DNA to want to be a part of a pack, and has a deep rooted identity with their group. And thus, they tend to want to spend a lot of time with whomever they believe to be their person/people. This is 100% normal and expected of any dog, but in Marcus's case, especially if he is left alone for too many hours, for multiple days in a row he tends to misbehave. Not in any drastic fashion immediately, I can leave him in the backyard with food and water while me and my wife leave for the day. And he'll do just fine all day long, and just need extra pets and affection when I return. But if I do that for multiple days in a row he begins to get depressed and destructive (digging, scratching at the door, barking, etc...) Also, he IS very scared of thunder and lightning/heavy rain and should NOT be left alone during storms. However, he is perfectly fine around vacuums, lawnmowers, heavy equipment, etc... Also, he absolutely LOVES riding in the car. I let him drive around with me in my semi on the daily, and also in the bed, and backseat of my pickup, and it's his favorite place to be. He'll drive around for hours and has held up just fine on many cross-country road trips. 3. Last but not least, in the last year or so he has begun to develop, or at least show signs of allergies. So far it is an ongoing analysis as to what needs to be done about it, but I've switched his food and helped him with his symptoms. (I.e. itchy paws, ear infections, and hotspots one time before I realized he was getting ear infections.) And since I've moved him down from North Dakota and changed his dry food to Science Diet, he has shown significant improvement. He is currently on no medications or special food restrictions. I'm just feeding him a high-grade dry food with added probiotics for gut health, and he's taken to it just fine. However, because I have only been in Texas a short period of time I have yet to see if his symptoms will continue to improve or if he'll need added changes to his diet. I have a blood analysis report that was done by my vet in Williston, and the list of things he is allergic to IS quite extensive. I was thinking about switching him over to a home-cooked fresh diet once I got here, but have yet to have done the research necessary to make it happen as of now. The allergies are definitely not the reason I'm re-homing him though, to anyone that is wondering. I love cooking and would not mind doing monthly batches of dog food to meal prep and freeze for my dog. For me, it really just comes down to choosing between pursuing an intense career or staying home and giving this beautiful animal the time and emotional connection he needs. The re-homing fee is 2200 - I have much more to say about this dog of mine. He has been a faithful and loyal companion to me for four good years, and it honestly breaks my heart to say goodbye to him. But I feel like if I can find a home for him that he will do better at than mine, I will accept my loss with a smile and a happy heart. Please call me directly, or else text me to set up a time call if you would like to come and meet him. I am not in a huge rush to re-home him, to me the most important thing is that I find a good fit for him. And that the person that gets him feels like they are getting a well suited companion. Thank you and have a good day.