Rickie, Staffie, DOB 05.08, Gatwick, Surrey

Rickie, Staffie, DOB 05.08, Gatwick, Surrey



Homing Requirements: Rickie is a wonderful family dog as an only pet. He needs a family who are confident outside with Staffies. He hasn't had that so far. He has had lots of experience living with very young children and though he can be bouncy, his instincts are kind and loving. Rickie has always slept on the bed and obeys boundaries when given. Rickie is a larger Staffie so probably would benefit from a Gencon or Halti to soften him on the lead initially. Gentle intros with dogs to develop his self confidence. He is in good health and travels in a crate, but has worked his way out by rattling the crate gently so he could get the door open; clever dog - poorly designed crate!

His Story: Rickie was bred and sold to a man who was seen to beat him ... he returned him to the breeder, whose daughter took him in temporarily. Living with her children and cat. This is the only cat he has ever accepted. They then found him a home with very young children as an only pet. This suited Rickie, though they never walked him. We will be neutering Rickie and chipping him. He is fully vax'd. Rickie still has a puppy look and innocent feel about him although he is only 2 years old.

Advert: Rickie isn't quite the boss of the office ... his confidence is fine within the parameters he has known, but now he is ready to expand his horizons. Rickie has lead quite a sheltered life though he had always been loved. He has always lived with children and is a great friend to adults too. He hasn't been walked for nearly a year in his old home so we are reintroducing him to meeting dog and he is doing so with a smile on his face and awkwardness in his step just like 'being the new boy on the dance floor'!

Our judgment of Rickie is that he is very well meaning, just a little gushing and needs to relax and tone down his energy which walks and company will do. A model dog in the house. Rickie loves his toys and company. He has a beautiful orange brindle coat, is young and ready to learn.

If you are interested in re-homing please complete our homing questionnaire so we can ensure our dogs are matched and will suit your circumstances/lifestyle.

"Please note this dog is currently in boarding kennels and is also available for foster until a 'forever' home is found".




***PLEASE NOTE: We are a rescue finding dogs their forever homes. We usually ask for a minimum donation of £150 at the time of adoption, for each dog, to help us continue helping homeless dogs***.

An update on Rickie by one of our volunteer kennel walkers:

"I took Rickie for a sopping wet walk. We bought our dog Lola along and they got on really well. He wanted to give her lots of kisses, nibbled her ear and only wanted the ball when it was in her mouth! Rickie is an excellent dog, so friendly and happy. Hope he finds a home soon, can't believe anyone wouldn't want him. He does a weird little thing (obviously I wasn't moving fast enough for him) where he reverses between your legs then jumps forward to get you going! He does walk really well though! Love this dog, wish I could take him home! It was difficult to get photos as it was raining and he wants a cuddle every time you bend down so the lense got a bit wet too".

An update on Rickie from one of our kennel volunteers:

"I took Rickie out for a day trip to Brighton on Tuesday. He was really good in the car considering he went in there straight from the kennels so he was VERY excited! He came back to the house to meet our dog again, after lots of licking each others faces we went for a 2 hour walk around the parks to get rid of some energy. He is such a lovely dog but needs to get his confidence from some polite dogs as he gets a bit scared by dogs running up to his face (obviously) which a lot of people let their dogs do around here. He came back to the house and we stayed in the garden playing with him for a few hours before going to the woods. All he wants to do is sit on your lap and cuddle all day! He got so relaxed he kept falling asleep on us. Rickie surprised me by sitting at the speed of light when I said 'sit' then started waving his paw at me! He is such a people dog, he really needs to be around someone again. It was really hard picking photos to put up because we took so many of him and he is so handsome! Here's a few" ...

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Rickie's YouTube clip:
http://www.staffierescue.co.uk/page45.htm

Two updates from two of our kennel volunteers:

Marie:
"Rickie was our second walk of the day, he was easy to harness and ready to go for his walk. He does do this strange reverse thingy that has been mentioned before but I think he is just so desperate to have a run around and stretch his legs. He has a lovely smiling face and is very easy to cuddle. I think Rickie would really benefit from an active lifestyle, he just needs more regular excercise then his is getting at the moment and then I'm sure these funny little habits will disappear.

Love his long tongue"!



Sue:
"I completely agree about the reversing/running thing with Rickie.
I took him for a 45 min walk in the rain Friday and he was still full of beans when we got back.

The paddock was free so I had my first venture into it and let him off. He loved it and ran around like the happiest dog and his smile just got bigger and bigger.

I think we were in there for 20 mins of which probably 10 mins were spent haring around. He does have really good recall though, he would stop to peep through the fence at the other dogs to see if they wanted to play but as soon as I called him he'd come racing back.

Doesn't seem to have a clue about playing though. Couldn't understand what to do with any of the toys I tried - ball, stick, squeaky bone and also wanted to touch my hand each time he raced back - which was a little unnerving at first given some of the speeds he reached. Although it was clearly just all excitement and pent up energy. He also seems to respond to commands. Each time he touched my hand I stopped him and told him no and it only took about 3 times for the behaviour to stop.

If you ever get the chance take him into the closed paddock - it's a real treat to see him running with that great Rickie grin from ear to ear. Plus as Mholland suggests he did seem to stop the reversing back to me once I'd put his harness back on to go back to the kennel.

Great dog, so much fun in one gorgeous bundle".

Rickie is a lovely boy - and his reversing "technique" charmed me today! He did start to settle on the lead eventually, unfortunately I didn't have the energy to give him a jog as he was the third dog of the day (as well as my own two this morning!) but in the last 5-10 minutes of the walk you could see him getting worn out and a bit better on the lead.

Your photos of him are beautiful, thank you. They will be doing the website rounds tonight in the hope that someone will spot him and offer him his home.

Delighted to report that Rickie has found his forever home!