We've got him!!!!

We went down to Evesham to pick him up on Friday. He was great in the car especially considering it was over an hour journey home.

We introduced him gradually letting him have a good sniff round the garden before letting him explore the house one room at a time.

He's settled in really well. We've had no trouble with him at all. He knows his name and we've managed to get him to sit relatively consistently. He pulls quite a lot on the lead and can mouth a bit when playing but it's to be expected due to his age and we shouldn't have a problem training it out.

Today's the first day he's been left on his own without us in the house (we've been leaving him in the kitchen while we're upstairs for an hour or two at a time over the weekend to get him used to it). I left him this morning with his favourite ball and a kong stuffed with broken up dog biscuits. I've just heard from Kate's dad who agreed to pop in and he said he's absolutely fine and the neighbours haven't heard a peep from him which is encouraging.

I can't believe how easily he's settled in and how little trouble we've had with him, it's great! We're both really happy with him although I'm a bit tired as I'm not used to the early mornings yet!

He seems to be responding really well to the amount of exercise we're giving him. Before a walk and straight after he's bouncing off the walls but once he's calmed down he'll lie down and chill out for a few hours.

I've saved back a few new toys for him so he can have them on different days this week to give him some variety and hopefully stop him from wanting to chew the kitchen to shreds!

Anyway as promised a couple of pictures of our new addition:





We've decided to keep his name as Sooty. He's almost eleven months old and is a Lab X Basset Hound.

Fantastic news

I can't see the photos on my work PC but will have a look later.

He sounds adorable & seems to be settling in really well.

I don't want to jinx things & he'll probably be absolutely wonderful, but just so you're prepared ~ sometimes this is the "honeymoon" period & there's so many new things going on that he's full up with all the new experiences. Once things start to settle & he gets used to your routine, then it's possible that any naughty habits can resurrect themselves!

Having said that my mother's friend took on a rescue from Shoreham DT a few months ago & her dog has been completely perfect. And this dog had had about 4 homes in as many months but has still settled brilliantly. Until the first time she took him out in the rain & this shaggy long-haired bundle decided to demonstrate what fun it is to roll in muddy puddles

I wish you, your family & Sooty many happy years together & look forward to hearing all about him.

Thank you!

We are a bit worried he's going to be naughtier once he's settled but we'll just have to see how he goes.

The one problem we've come up against is that originally he was going to stay in the utility room during the day where's there's nothing to chew on and he can go out through the dog flap if he needs a wee etc... The problem is there is no door on this room so we installed a stair gate. If we shut the stair gate he whines and paws at it, if we just leave him in the kitchen and shut the kitchen door he's much better and will only whine a little but not scratch the door or anything. Obviously there is a lot more for him to potentially destroy in the kitchen so we may have to try and get him more used to the stair gate so we can leave him and be confident he can't chew too much.

He's not happy about using the dog flap either. I managed to get him to come in through it once by tempting him with a treat but he really wasn't keen and won't do it again!

He also has a slightly unusual habit which isn't too bad but might start to get annoying after a while; when we get out the shower he licks our legs! Not sure why because he does it even when they've been towel dried so it's not the water that's making him want to do it. We'll see how we go with that, as I say it's not too annoying just a bit ticklish!

Not sure what that's all about! But if you make a big deal of it, it's more likely to become a habit. Are you using chicken flavoured shower gel by any chance?

Hi Tom,
Delighted that youve got him .!!!!!!
Photos are gorgeous.
Agree with previous post about a possible"honeymoon period", but, like her ,I know of an owner-Jane,our daughter who adopted a staffy ,Daisy a few years ago.She was a rescue dog,found as a stray-no history .She has had no trouble at all with her Daisys only problem is that she hates other dogs,but she LOVES humans -and she hates the rain,refusing to go out for a walk till it stops.
Jane grew up with dogs and has seen us use positive methods with the 4 rescue dogs weve had-2 of which were only 3 mths old when we got them together.
Wish you all many long and happy years together,
.
There are loads of friendly helpful people on here to offer advice if you need it
.Its so heartening to see someone who is taking dog ownership seriously -many people dont.
Big hugs to Sooty and good luck to you
from Maureen


Can relate to early mornings- our dog (I find that difficult to say as we had 2 ,up till a month ago when 1 of them ,Lulu, died)has dementia and was up this morning at 4 a.m. God love him !!!

Aww so pleased you have Sooty home, he looks gorgeous. He looks quite a lot like my riding instructors two dogs, but hers are Lab x Spaniel.

As Wilbar has said, there is usually a honeymoon period with a rescue dog and once he has his paws under the table so to speak, he may start pushing his boundaries a bit. I find the best approach is to start as you mean to go on. If you prefer to leave him in the utility room, then get him used to being in there behind the babygate for short periods at a time. Make it a pleasant experience for him, ie give him a stuffed kong to chew on or a raw bone. Praise him when he is quiet, and try not to go back to him when he is whining or barking. Build up the time gradually. Also, only leave him in there when he is tired after a walk or play session, and not when he is already full of energy.

Regarding a dog flap, is it necessary he uses it? If he is getting enough exercise and time outside to go to the loo then he probably won't need to use the flap at all anyway.

Good luck with him - he looks lovely

Sooty looks lovely and really suits that name.

I am so glad he is settling in and looks like he will be a lot of fun I am not a great lover of dog flaps because of dog napping and possible burglary (via small child). Sounds as if he is getting plenty of exercise so won't need to go out in the garden while you are at work. Shouldn't take long to lead train him.

Look forward to hearing all about your Sooty's adventures.