An update from Bengy’s fosterer’s who have agreed to give him a break from kennels for a few days:
“We are lucky that delightful Benjy has come to stay with us and our dog, just for a few days. We are getting to know him and although it is early days we thought that we would let you know how his character is unfolding.
LOOKS - Benjy's condition has deteriorated recently just because he isn't coping well with the stress of being in kennels. The improvement we have seen after just a couple of days of relaxing is amazing.
Benjy's coat and eyes are a beautiful colour....and he has cute ears.
IQ - Benjy is bright and picks things up quickly. He likes to watch whatever is going on.
EATING - Benjy has not shown any issues about food. He is happy for someone to stand over him while he eats, isn't bothered if you touch his food bowl while he is eating and wasn't worried by our dog eating in the same room. Benjy will sit and wait nicely for his food bowl. Benjy's recent weight loss is just from being too stressed to eat his food in kennels and burning off too many calories. In a home environment he is loving his food and has rediscovered his appetite to the point that he may even need watching for scavenging.
Benjy knows which kitchen cupboard the dog food is kept in.
SLEEPING - Benjy loves a comfy dog bed. He is happy in a crate. Benjy sleeps through the night without any fuss.
Benjy likes a cosy bed.
Benjy is happy to be in a crate with the door open or closed.
BARKING - So far Benjy hasn't barked.
HOUSE TRAINING - No accidents, no scent marking, no problems.
Our dog showing Benjy around the garden.
WALKING -We thought that our dog walked nicely on a lead, but Benjy is much better. Benjy doesn't pull and responds to the lightest finger pressure on the lead to guide him. As yet Benjy has not gone as far as the length of his extender and wants to stay close. Benjy is happy with a collar or harness and doesn't mind wearing a coat at all. Benjy seems more confident walking on pavements or open grass. He seems a little nervous about walking in the woods. This may be related to a working terrier background, but I am only guessing.
Benjy in his spaceman outfit.
DOGS - Benjy is very very relaxed with our Jack Russell and has been since they met. Benjy has not reacted at all to our neighbour's dogs when they occasionally bark. Gentle introductions to sensible dogs and sensible owners are fine. Today three off lead labradors charged at Benjy at full speed and Benjy reacted defensively, which I can understand. We had to ask the owner to call his dogs back and then Benjy was reassured.
Benjy socialising with friendly dogs.
TRAINING - Benjy knows his name, "sit" and "bed". He responds to "leave it" and "off". Benjy is here to relax so we haven't pressed him into training but he is happy to work for treats so will be easy to motivate and reward.
DOORBELL - No reaction as yet.
FIREWORKS - Benjy did not react to the New Year fireworks at all. Our road is very quiet and so any noise is very obvious. At midnight there were revellers running up and down shouting "Happy New Year", fireworks going off and this caused other dogs in the area to bark. Benjy and our dog snoozed on undisturbed.
There was also the noise of gunshots today from the pheasant and rabbit hunting that goes on in the village, but Benjy wasn't bother by this either.
TOYS - Loves them! Needs strong rubber toys as Benjy can scalp a tennis ball in minutes. He likes to carry a toy in his mouth but will drop it for a treat.
CUDDLES - Yes please! Benjy is affectionate but not clingy. He loves a cuddle and then after a while is happy to take himself off to a comfy bed, but he is very tired at the moment. If you scratch Benjy in the right place on his neck he makes funny grumbly snoring noises and closes his eyes.
Multi-tasking.....two simultaneous neck scratches, what a talent.
LIKES - Benjy likes cuddles, sleeping, food, our dog, chew toys, calm friendly dogs, people, cosy beds, dog crates, lying by the radiator, sitting in the conservatory watching the birds in the garden.
DISLIKES - Mud! Pushy dogs.
OBSERVATIONS - We have really enjoyed having Benjy to stay. We are not very experienced with dogs but we have not had any difficulties. We would certainly not consider our opinion to be the voice of authority.
It is very sad that Benjy lost his owner through bereavement. We suspect that Benjy was a close companion to his owner and that his owner put a lot into Benjy.
A few days relaxing has already created physical improvements and Benjy has settled in to our home very quickly.
Benjy is a little apprehensive of things sometimes but it is early days and some reassurance could possibly go a long way with him. We suspect that if he was pushed out of his comfort zone too quickly then he may feel defensive. We have taken things slowly and Benjy seems to be fine with this. It may be that as he becomes more settled and confident that he may try to assert himself more, but we have found Benjy to be a lovely houseguest.
Our dog has enjoyed having Benjy as a walking buddy.
Well, I have finally managed to get all of this onto Benjy's thread, even if it was in instalments. Me and computers are not a good combination sometimes.
We hope that Benjy is settled soon, we think he is lovely.