Della - 5 year old Female Leonberger x

Della is a 5 year old leo cross and is currently on foster in Tregaron, Ceredigion .

The Della Fact File
Dog status: Good
Cat status: Unknown
Child status: Would prefer a home with teenagers plus
House training: Good
Home alone: Not 100% comfortable alone at the moment but has been stressed by the move. Not suitable for full time worker.
Basic training: Knows the basics and has very good recall when she gets to know you.



Della is a stunning leonberger cross, she is 5 years old and a loving and gentle dog.

Della came to us as a surrender meaning we have her past history as she was signed over by her previous owner rather than coming from the pound. Della was very much loved and has found the move to her foster home stressful and difficult. It has taken her a while to settle and begin to trust her foster carers and she is rather anxious and stressed still. For this reason Della is looking for a new home with an experienced owner and would not be a suitable first time dog. Moving on again from her foster home to her forever home will be another difficult challenge for Della to overcome. However, once she settles in and learns to trust you she is a loving and loyal hound.
Della will be looking for a new home who are used to positive training practises and will train and bond with her using kindness and never force. Della does not cope well with raised voices and will not be able to tolerate any form of harsh words or handling.



Della is dog friendly and has lived in mixed packs of dogs both with her previous owner and with her current foster carer. She would be able to be rehomed with canine company or as the only dog (if she had a lot of human company). Della is a bit of a clumsy dog, she is living with small dogs in her current foster home and can tread on them and knock them out of the way accidently. This often happens around doorways and when excited so work is being done by her foster home on a wait command around doorways. When on lead she can be a little tense however off lead she is excellent with other dogs.

Della has not lived with cats before and would be best rehomed without feline friends. She has been living in foster care with ferrets and has been good after initial interest.

Della is a very loyal dog who bonds closely to people once she trusts them. Following her recent upheaval she has been having difficulty being left alone and has been stressed by it. Her foster home are able to work on this gradually and she is now able to be alone for around 30 minutes. She will not eat when alone which is a sign of increased arousal and potential anxiety when alone. She was able to be left in her previous home without worry for up to 4/5 hours and once she settles in to a new home fully this should be possible again. However, she will need a home who are able to limit time alone in the early stages and do not work full time.

Della is currently reluctant to greet visitors to her foster home and can be nervy around new people. For this reason we will not rehome her with children as we feel she would be too stressed and anxious by another move to settle in with young people. She could be rehomed with teenagers or in an adult only home. She is a very sensitive dog who feels happiest in a fairly set routine, she does settle down in a quiet environment so would prefer a home with someone who is a creature of habit and does not have lots of people calling around. In an ideal world her new owner would be able to come and visit her a number of times to help establish some sort of a bond/relationship before moving her to a new home.

All Hope Rescue dogs are neutered (if over 6 months), vaccinated, flea treated, wormed and micro-chipped prior to adoption. If a puppy is not old enough to be neutered then this must be carried out at the owner’s expense when old enough, and the relevant form completed by the vet and returned to Hope Rescue. A homecheck will be required, and you will need to come and meet the dog with your own dogs and family. Hope Rescue rehomes throughout the UK.

Oh bless her what a sweet girl.

I hope she finds a forever home soon xx

Della is making small improvements every day and is looking much more chilled the past few days. If a horrid noise frightens her (like when some baking trays fell out of a cupboard the other day) she is calming down a lot quicker after the shock than she was though she does tend to 'remember' ( she's no fan of the sneaky cupboard now).
She is a sweet and loving dog who is ever so gentle when she takes a treat or titbit. She is also a clever girly once she comes to trust you and is eager to please, she is coming on leaps and bounds in learning to wait at the door with the help of lots of scrummy treats.

I love this photo, I like to think she is wishing for a juicy bone from Santa on Christmas day

Della and Vic playing in the mist this morning. She's a real stunner, it's a joy to watch her race about.





Della 'wins' the match with her bear hug manoeuvre!



Love this one she's such a big clown!



Snoozing with her chums



Sharing the corner cushions with little Ripley



Awwww sleeping beauty



Enjoying a tasty pigs ear in her den upstairs

Some new photos of Della, her excellent recall makes her a real pleasure to walk, very different to my lurcher and terriers who can turn a little deaf when there's rabbits or squirrels around

Me and darling Della



She enjoys ranging ahead and racing about on her walks so gets more out of open fields (with no stock in of course) and beaches than walks with narrow trails and lots of bends where she has to stay close.



I just love seeing her mad/happy face as she races back after being called



Having a splash in the stream, Della is the sort of dog who adores mud and water and will make a beeline for it



She picks up routines really well, we wipe her paws with a towel after we've been out and now if you hold a towel out for her she will plonk a paw in it for you. (If only she could do it with her back paws too!)
It's very sweet so I will have to try and get a pic of her doing it for her next update

Lots of pics of our beautiful Della at the beach today













and an update from her fosterer

“She is a lot more happy and chilled now she's settled, we've also seen a big improvement when guests come over in the past couple of weeks.
About two weeks ago my usual bunch of friends came around and Della came in to see everyone and then settled down and stayed in the room, usually it would take her about 15-20 mins to feel confident enough to come down to see what’s going on and then she would take herself back to her room after a quick peek.
Also on Tuesday one of my mates who I hadn't seen for an age came to spend the night, someone Della had never met before, and she came to join us almost instantly and stayed in the room. She even went over and asked for some fuss off him in the same evening, I was very pleased.”

Still looking

Still looking

Della is still here and still making me laugh every day.
Despite her nervousness in some situations she is a lovely dog and settles down in the house very nicely after her walks.

Here she is 'hiding out' when some friends came over, bless her!

Oooh dear theres a lot of people!