An update on our little girl from her foster Mum ...
“I have fostered Carol for several weeks now. When Carol first arrived she was a very insecure little dog. With calm, consistent direction she has settled down and I think that she will continue to learn so much more as time goes by.
Since Carol has become a part of our family she has learned to:
Sit in the porch with the house door open until she is given the signal to go in. This is useful for wiping those muddy paws and learning to take direction, but we make it into a game.
Sit and wait for her food to be put down.
Play with various toys and learned to drop them on command.
There are many other positives to having Carol in your family:
She loves to sit with you and get a tummy rub but is equally happy to sit separately and relax with all 4 paws in the air.
Carol is 100% housetrained and will ask to go out if necessary.
Carol lets you have a lie in! When you come down and open the door for her to go out she chooses not to go out until she has had breakfast. We let her sleep where she likes as she has been so insecure. However this has not been a problem as if she starts off sleeping in your room she will take herself off to sleep on the sofa. In the morning she comes back up and if you give her a little tummy rub she will go back to dozing on the bed until you have had a shower etc. as she doesn’t want to go out even if you open the door.
She has the most beautiful eyes that let you know she is capable of so much more.
She doesn’t scrounge food when you are eating.
Carol doesn’t chew anything that she is not given to chew.
Although she loves to be near you (at my feet as I write this; resting her head on my slipper) she is not demanding in any way.
When the patio door is open she is happy to relax on the mat inside the house and doesn’t bother about digging an escape tunnel or trying to climb over the fence.
She is not reactive to any household noises or practices e.g. sweeping the floor with a broom. If you are hoovering she will ignore you until you get within a few feet then will take herself off to a quieter spot.
Carol can now be left for a few hours but you will have to reward her with tummy rubs etc. as she will greet you unconditionally like a long lost best friend.
Behaviour that has improved:
Barking at strange noises and movement outside the house. This has improved dramatically and Carol is now taking more direction when she barks at noises outside (when she is not ignoring them completely). When other dogs are barking she now gives a few barks or a few huffs and if you gently say no she will go back to relaxing.
Walking past other dogs. When I first fostered Carol she was reactive to every dog we passed. This has improved so that we can walk her past about 25% of dogs. She is most unsure of dogs off lead and dogs with excitable energy. If we go to a high density dog area we muzzle her and she is very accepting of this. However she can be very vocal. Carol also requires further training with lead walking.
Trying to jump out of the car as soon as the door is opened! She will now usually wait whilst we unclip her harness.
Walking past unfamiliar situations such as children/pushchairs. When Carol first arrived she was very unsure about pushchairs and young children. She is still very unsure of children staring at her while standing within a few feet of her but I am very pleased to say that now she doesn’t react to children whizzing by on their bikes/scooters. What a star!
Carol knows that she will only get a tummy rub when she sits instead of jumping up to your level. However she loves you sooooo much that she just has to give it a go! Sorry Carol but its not going to work!
Now that Carol is more trusting, we are able to touch her all over without her feeling threatened.
Staying in the bath long enough to look even more beautiful”.
If you are interested in re-homing Carol please complete our homing questionnaire so we can ensure our dogs are matched and will suit your circumstances/lifestyle.