04/07/2024
Please share - Lincoln & Louie are coming up for adoption, they are at the Richmond SPCA. They are from the litter that was seized by the SPCA. They had a very bad start to their lives. You can check out Lincoln & Louie and another sibling. Pickles, who is at the Burnaby SPCA at https://adopt.spca.bc.ca/type/dog/?breed%5B%5D=flat-coated-retriever&weight=any&age=any&gender=any&bonded=any&pet_name=&animal_id=&filter=search
Below is the information given to me by a person who used to own a flat-coat and visits them.
I was told by a staff member today that they are going to put the boys, Louie and Lincoln, up for adoption. They are quite the challenge still, as they won't let most people touch them (I think one staff member has been able to pat Louie briefly) - however, being retrievers, they are VERY food motivated and will take treats from your hand. If I sit down on the ground and put treats on my body (e.g. my legs), they will quickly come in and grab them. I am going to try slathering my whole hands with gravy-ish dog food and see if I can get them to lick my hands.
They still have no collars and have not been on a leash. Also, they are not used to the indoors (given that they were left outside on a run - in their own p*e and p**p - for their first 10 months; I think they're about 1 year now). They definitely need an outdoor space, with a gradual introduction to indoors. They obviously were handled at the very beginning, when they were seized from the owner - they would have had a bath at the SPCA - but were probably so terrified that they just froze. They have never bitten anyone and, although they can be VERY bark-y (esp. at the gates to their kennel/outside area), it's all show. Obviously, they have not been neutered yet.
I dearly love these boys. They really should go as a pair, as Lincoln is much happier when he is with Louie; Lincoln is short on confidence, but I suspect is the smarter of the two. He seems more play oriented that Louie - he will drop into that puppy-let's-play pose, whereas I've never seen Louie do that. I gather Louie may be better suited to hanging out with other dogs - we're not sure about Lincoln, as he seems to bark more at other dogs (when he sees them through the fence). If he was separated from Louie, it would likely help a lot if he had another dog pal. If you look at the Burnaby SPCA site, you'll see that Pickles, the other male, has bonded with another dog, and that has helped with his confidence.
I believe their photos will be up on the SPCA website soon. I do think they will eventually be excellent dogs; they do seem to have that pleasant, youthful flatcoat nature and I believe are very biddable.
Re the photos - Lincoln is the one with the curlier coat. The photos that include Louie aren't great - he seems to never stop moving! - but if you enlarge the one of him at the gate, you'll get a better idea of what he looks like. They are both very handsome dogs, although clearly not purebreds
