I love Dogs me...

Sorry

Wishing all our pet lovers a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthyNew Year.

Andrea Kerry and Jen

Ta mate

From Cassie and myself, and to all pet owners past and present, good health 

Just a catch up for anybody interested in Alfies progress.

Alfie turned three on or about January 1st 2019, actual date unknown as he was part of an unwanted litter.

We picked him up from Many Tears Animal Rescue on March 16th 2016, approx 14 weeks old.

As he had not seen anything but concrete in his short life, the first thing I had to do was to train him NOT to poo on the pathways, this was soon accomplished with lots of patience and rewards, as was his house training, no shouting, no losing it with him, just a firm NO, then pick him up and show him what you want him to do and where, plus rewards when he did it.

The first time out on a lead, it took me nearly an hour to walk him two hundred yards, he was petrified, again, gentle, positive enforcement, with lots of patience soon gave him the confidence to trust me and walk with me.

Being such an intelligent puppy he soon mastered the Sit, Stay, Here, basic commands, mixed with plenty of play and treats  he soon progressed to Fetch, leave, Drop.

His first off lead experience was in a large expanse of fields that were fenced in and used by many dog walkers, we call this place Alfies field. After making him sit and taking off his slip lead then giving him quite a few of his favorite treats(hot dog sausages thinly sliced) I told him to "go Play", off he went like a shot, he loves running, I called him back, waving my arms and his bag of treats and he came to me to receive more treats and lots of praise. I put his lead back on and walked a bit further noticing two dogs ahead, dare I try it, yes, I took his lead off again and gave him lots of treats then told him to "go play" again, off he went to meet the dogs, after getting close, he stopped and turned to look at me, I said again "go play" and off he went with his bum in the air and his head down, just like a collie. he met the two dogs and had a play, I called him back, but he took no notice, I called again, still the same, so I turned around and walked away from him, after a while I heard him pounding behind me, I stopped and praised him again giving him more treats and putting on his slip lead...Result.

Throughout the next two and a half years we have continued with our bonding and Alfie has blossomed from an awkward over enthusiastic puppy, always slipping and sliding, turning somersaults and back flips in his endeavour to be the first past the post, to now an athletic, sure footed, extremely confident, adult dog. Along the way we have had a few hurdles to overcome, like jumping in front of a car, thankfully, no broken bones, and sliding along the M1 on our side in the motorhome, after being hit  by a car, fortunately, he was strapped in, as he always is where ever we go, in car or motorhome.

His biggest fear was fireworks, but I think he's getting better, I don't fuss him or say "good boy", simply ignore them and I think that helps him. He was also spooked by gunshots when out walking the fields, again, calmness and recognising his distress, I call him back and put his lead on keeping him close to me. It seems to help and he isn't half as skittish as he used to be.

He loves swimming and is a devil to keep out of the water, thankfully he does as he is told and walks on when I don't want him to go in.

The latest trial is clipping his nails, as he lets me do anything to him I thought that this would be easy..... wrong, after three nails he took off and wouldn't come near me as long as I had the clippers in my hand. what followed was a lot more patience and treats, daily giving him treats and showing him the clippers, gradually gaining his confidence so that now he lets me clip a nail a day, I don't try any more, just give him plenty of treats and praise so that he associates the clippers with good times. We will get there in the end and he won't be spooked by the process.

To sum up, the last two and three quarter years have been the most rewarding and demanding years, watching a frightened young puppy mature into a confident and obedient, good natured, well socialised dog, loved by all my family young and old. He has given two of my grandchildren the confidence and knowledge to be able to put their trust in Alfie and overcome their fear of dogs.                                      He's not perfect by any means, he does suffer selective hearing at times, but he always gets there in the end and we are proud of him. We love him to bits and wouldn't be without him.

Lovely breakfast read. Thank you. Give him a stroke for me.

Thanks for the tale, BT. That’s a heart warming story. 

Happy Birthday to Alfie and a round of applause for you for getting him to where he is today. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Thanks Brian, just shows the hard work involved with some of our pets but also the rewards and love. 

Thanks for the update, Happy Birthday to Alfie. We have similar antics with our collie when it comes to nail clipping, even after 6 years he still isn't keen and will only let my OH do iI under protest.

good to hear from you BT

it just goes to show that you and Alfie are a perfect match