MY DOGS
I hope you will enjoy this introduction to my dogs. They are all lovely in their own way, although not without their challenges.
So, as well as introducing you to them, I will point out lessons I have learned in training them along the way.
WOODSTOCK- Woody
He was my first rescue dog, and he taught me a lot. I got woody in 1989 and sadly he was put to sleep in July 2004 aged 17 years. Woody was a little scruffy Heinz 57 that was in a bit of a state when we got him. He had hair missing and his skin was in really bad condition. Due to the fact that we were going to have a few vets’ bills to get him into good health again, we only paid 10p for him. He was scared of lots of things - bangs, rolled up newspapers, shouting etc. He could never be faulted with other dogs or people though. At that time I made the mistake of spoiling him, in the hope that it would help him overcome his problems... BIG MISTAKE. He used to sleep on my bed, was allowed on the sofa, and just generally got to do what he wanted. His cries always got a response. As a result I ended up with a dog that was sooo attached to me that he could never be apart from me, even if he was being held on the lead by someone else and I was there you would think he was being murdered!!
I learnt that a completely spoilt dog can be very hard work!!!
CHARLIE BROWN OF FLORE – Charlie
Charlie is a collie x lurcher. I got him in 1999 when he was approximately 9 months old. There was no history on him, and I was after a family pet.
I was warned that he dived at passing cars, but that was the only known problem (dogs in kennels can give a false impression of their true character.) Once home, however, the real Charlie started to appear.
He chased cars, hated cats, was aggressive towards other dogs, distrusted people, did not like children, attacked the broom, lawn mower and vacuum cleaner. Basically he did not like much at all. On top of all this, he destroyed my house, including ripping the back out of a sofa. He had a ring of hair missing from the base of his tail as if something had been tied to it. It took him over a year to trust me enough to let me touch this area.
So this was my first doggy challenge!!
Charlie is now 6 years old, and although he’s still no angel he is under control. He is regularly off the lead with many other dogs, he lives with 4 cats, and once he gets to know people he is fine, but it takes time.
Charlie competes at flyball with Daventry Bumbles (Dave Try’s 1st team) He has competed at agility for a couple of years, and recently took part in the Kennel Club good citizen gold test. Although he passed all the control aspects of the test, i.e. the out-of-sight stay, drop on recall, send away and more, sadly he failed on the vets’ inspection part of the test, due to his mistrust of strangers. He also takes part in novelty class at dog shows, and has won many rosettes for best x-breed and most handsome dog. Charlie has been really hard work, but I have never given up on him, when most people probably would have.
HE’S MY BOY!!!!!
PEPPERMINT PATTY- Pepper
She is a yellow Labrador, and was found by a friend of mine in 2000. She was approximately 7 months old. Pepper had been left down a country lane near us. She had got a huge choke chain round her neck, and was tied to a fence post with a horse lead rope. I said I would take her home and find her a new home through friends that I trained with. She made herself right at home with my two other dogs. That same day I found a lovely family that were interested in her; they already had a very well-trained border collie. So off she went to a perfect house with a dog, cats and children, what more could she ask for??
24 hours later I got a call, “Can you take her back please?” Pepper was digging the garden, chasing the cats, scaring the children, their other dog did not like her, and to top it all off she was going to the loo in the house and the car!! So back she came. She walked through the door and lay on the dogs’ bed like it was where she belonged. Being the softy that I am, I could not bear her being passed about any more so she stayed.
Pepper had no manners, and boy have we had our problems!! She would bite at hands and jump up when on the lead. She was petrified of the car, and would pull you over to get away from it. I have lost count of the amount of things she has destroyed, from clothing to wooden spoons. She has cost me a fortune! (I have since discovered cage training!) She is obsessed by food,. I have never met another dog that can eat a tin of cat food – through the un-opened tin - without cutting her mouth. I came home one day to find that Charlie had opened a cupboard door in search for toys. Pepper had helped herself to a bag of flour and managed to glue her mouth shut. I had to sit her at the sink and scrub her teeth with hot water. And we won’t mention the time she got to her sack of food, and ate most of it – not advisable!! She looked like a barrel on legs for days. Pepper today is sooooo much better (neutering made a big difference). She has passed her good citizen silver test, competed at agility, even dabbled at flyball. She does a few tricks which is her second favourite pastime, eating being her first!
CASPER SPIRIT OF MAXICARE – Casper
I made the mistake of doing a fundraising dog show for Maxicare, and on one of my visits in 2003 I saw the most gorgeous white collie and had to bring him home. My daughter named him Casper after ‘Casper the friendly ghost’. The dog warden had picked him up wandering. He was aged between 1-3 years, and he is the most loving dog you could ever wish for. I describe Casper as a worrier, and he tends to get a bit carried away when he panics. For example, he has chewed through the seatbelts in the car on two occasions because I left him in the boot (behind a dog guard) whilst I worked another dog. He went though a phase of peeing if I left him, even if I shut the door and stood the other side of it. Nowadays I cannot fault him - he is loving, obedient and a joy to own. He has only done his bronze good citizen test so far, and is starting flyball and agility. After Charlie and Pepper, he was easy.
TODDY (still thinking of a name to register him as)
We got Todd in 2004, after another fundraiser for Maxicare (I just will not learn!!) He was a lovely little puppy, about 5 months old. The dog warden had picked him up and, whilst he was in the van, he vomited up a pair of ladies knickers! Todd looked like a lurcher puppy, so I thought I’d take him for my daughter to work. It did not take us long to realise that he had a fetish for underwear - he was always stealing it. So we were all very careful. We had only had him for a couple of weeks when he took a turn for the worse. He was lethargic and not eating, so I guessed that he must have eaten something. Off to the vets we went. He spent a night in there on a drip and had x-rays, then in the morning he produced a sock and a pair of pants on an unsuspecting vet nurse!! Todd no longer steals clothing, but he has grown…. lots!! We think he must be crossed with a bull terrier. He is a loveable thug who has tested my escape-proof garden to the limit. Todd has passed the puppy foundation course, which is run by the kennel club. My daughter is responsible for his training, and this year she is hoping to introduce him to flyball and agility.
PARKER (still un-registered)
Another rescue. I bought him for my mum in 2003. She wanted a dog, and my daughter wanted a small dog to train, so it has worked well. He was found wandering round Rugby. He is a Cairn terrier type. My daughter has done all his training, and done a very good job with him. She has even got him sneezing and barking on command. Parker started agility training in the summer of 2004. He is a fun little chap!
GYPSY DANCER (our new dog)
Arrived on 15th February, having been removed from a travellers’ site. She is underweight (on four feeds a day) and has really bad skin which is being treated by bathing every other day. She is between 6 - 8 months old, and terrified of anything new (which at the moment is most things). More details of her soon. Too busy with her rehabilitation to find time to write!!
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