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Post by Bella on May 27, 2014 10:37:50 GMT
Hi everyone! I have been down to visit and walk Sadie a few times now- she really is a lovely girl, and she seems to be getting used to me and getting over her initial nervousness a bit more every time I see her. I really would love to know how she gets on with other dogs- I've spoken to a few of the staff, and I'm aware they don't have the time/facilities etc. to test this out... I don't have other dogs myself so nobody to bring down to meet her. I saw in an earlier post that she had a walk with Benji, and was wondering if you could tell me how that was, and if she'd been out on a parallel walk with any other dogs? When I walked her yesterday there were quite a few other dogs in the yard and out and about- I made sure we kept a safe distance, but she seemed hyper-alert and quite eager to go up to them....
Thanks!
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Post by Jen on May 27, 2014 21:51:39 GMT
Hi Bella,
I walked Sadie with Benji and they were fine walking together at a safe distance, but we didn't introduce them, as it was our first walk out together and we generally don't introduce the dogs without the supervision of the staff.
We will see if we can parallel walk her with one of our bomb proof dogs on the weekend and let you know how it goes.
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Post by Bella on May 29, 2014 9:59:49 GMT
Hi Jen,
Thanks for your response - appreciate your help and all the info that you guys give on the dogs in the forum. Looking forward to (hopefully!) hearing some weekend walkies tales....
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Post by Bella on Jun 4, 2014 21:43:57 GMT
Any news on taking Sadie out for a parallel walk with other dogs at all? I have had some problems with my car and haven't been able to get down the the dogs home to see her or talk to any staff/walkers this week, but am hoping to get a lift or bus down in the next few days...
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Post by Jen on Jun 6, 2014 7:53:35 GMT
Hi Bella,
We did some work with Sadie on the weekend and managed to parallel walk her with one of our volunteers dogs, but she is very anxious and will need introductions with dogs to go slowly until she builds up her confidence. We managed to get her to the point where she was comfortable walking alongside another dog ignoring him, but we didn't introduce them.
She did really well in the short amount of time we spent working with her, but she is going to need ongoing training.
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Post by debs91067 on Jun 24, 2014 18:39:51 GMT
I don't know how I havn't walked this beautiful girl before now but we had our first wakey wakey walk Saturday morning and she's such a jem, a very pretty girl with such a gentle manner. I think it's called a gentle lead that she had on which I hadn't used before but she walked brilliantly on it, she tends to twirl a bit on the lead to begin with but can be easily distracted and then walks lovely. She is still quite nervous of things around her, loud noises, other dogs barking seemed to make her a bit jumpy and she was very alert and aware of everything going on around her. She seemed alot more comfortable walking behind other dogs rather than other way round, so Im sure her confidence will grow with some time and patience.
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Post by RaMc on Jun 25, 2014 12:55:17 GMT
Well, having dropped Jake off and taken two of the resident boys out for their pre-op walks it was time for me to see this lovely girl! I have really missed walking this lady and was looking forward to having a nice stroll with her today - she didn't disappoint!
She was on the gentle leader again today (and a slip lead just in case she protested about it) and at first she was rubbing against my legs trying to get it off. As soon as we started walking though she was easy enough to distract and settled down nicely. The combination of the gentle leader and keeping her quite close meant that she didn't try twirling around until the very end of the walk when she caught sight of Susie but couldn't go and say hello immediately. The rest of the time she was fab and seemed far more settled than she was when I first took her out, she did have a little woof at one lady while we were out but it was one small woof and then she carried on which is a big improvement, we walked past a few other people where there was a bit more space and although aware of them she didn't make a sound. Clearly the work that the staff and walkers are putting in is paying off as she was so much calmer this morning. It was brilliant to see!
I also discovered that she can be distracted by some high value treats, this morning was slices of sausage, which was handy for persuading her to wait nicely by the road (bum on ground and focusing on me to tell her when it was safe) and for rewarding her for passing people nicely. Always good to know when it comes to training her more in the future!
She really needs a home of her own, kennel life is clearly tough for this little lady and I really think she will flourish in a loving, stable environment where her confidence can be built up. She is full of love to give but you have to put in a bit of time to show her you're worthy of it first. I had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of some of that affection while she was waiting to go back in this morning as she came to lean on my legs and have a bit of fuss and Susie is clearly a favourite of Sadie's too as she was ever so pleased to see her coming over as well.
Sadie really does need a home, she's been in kennels for quite a long time now and she deserves a place to call her own. With a bit of work building her confidence up I think she'll be a wonderful addition to someone's family. Please don't be put off if she seems a bit vocal in her kennel, she truly is a lovely girl it's just not the best environment for her. :-)
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Post by debs91067 on Jun 28, 2014 10:34:10 GMT
Sadie was my first wakey wakey walk this Saturday morning, didn't actually realise that she wasn't on her usual gentle lead halter, just a slip lead until half way down the lane, but she seemed to be walking fine so I carried on, wish now I'd gone back really for her sake to keep up the consistency. Anyway we had a lovely walk, she toileted well on the walk and only seemed to do her trade mark twirl when passing or seeing another dog, it seems to be her copeing mechanism for her anxiety she's feeling. Im sure if introduced under supervision and patience she would respond well as she wasn't vocal when seeing other dogs and showed no negative behaviour towards them just the anxious twirling which stops once she's at a safe distance. There was no one snappier than my Charlie when we brought him home from Cardiff dogs home last Saturday, he didn't respond well to other dogs at first but within 24 hrs and gentle introduction, with my 2 existing dogs they are best buddies so I know it can be done
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Post by debs91067 on Jul 7, 2014 15:37:06 GMT
Sorry me again, but having walked Sadie this morning and enjoyed such a lovely time with her both on the walk and in the garden, thought I would let you know how well this lovely girl is coming on. She's always so happy to be out and about and takes in everything around her, but as Susie pointed out this morning, she doesn't actually chill out relax and start to really enjoy the walk til half way through, especially if there's alot of other dogs around. The twirling was minimal today which is a huge improvement. So I took her in the garden for some off lead fun and boy did she wear herself out. She found a squeeky snowman and ran around the garden at speed, she can't half go, loving every minute of it. She's so playful and has such a lovely temperament. She was so happy to be able to take her squeaky toy back into kennels with her, there was no way she was going to leave it in the garden. Here are some pics of her enjoying her run around, also have a video but not sure if or how to upload.
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Post by RaMc on Jul 7, 2014 16:39:31 GMT
Love this girl! It's so lovely to see her enjoying herself (she really does love bombing around the garden) she's such a lovely girl once her confidence develops around you.
Gorgeous girl :-)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 14:56:18 GMT
Had the pleasure of Sadie's company for a walk this morning. She is a gorgeous girl and walks very well on the lead. Very occasionally she would jump a little if something concerned her but for the most part she was quite happy toodling along and having a sniff around. She did some of her trademark twirling, sometimes whilst walking at the same time! She should be on Britain's Got Talent, as I swear there have been dancers on there with less dexterity and poise. She is a beauty!
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Post by debs91067 on Jul 10, 2014 12:25:53 GMT
I did walk Sadie early this morning, but I don't think I can add any more to what I've already said about this beautiful, friendly, gentle girl. She's coming on so well in confidence, especially around other dogs, and although a bit pully this morning it was only on the way back to kennels not the other way round and I think it was because she spotted one of the workers walking quite a way ahead of us who she knew would make a huge fuss of her once we got back lol, not daft ay, clever girl!
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Post by RaMc on Jul 23, 2014 16:52:16 GMT
Bump for Sadie! I hate to see her sitting at the bottom of page 2
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Post by debs91067 on Jul 25, 2014 12:13:26 GMT
Walked this beautiful girl again this morning, and I have to say she's improved so much just on a simple slip lead, walks great once initial excitement of coming out of kennels has worn off. She still freaks out a bit once she's around other dogs but don't think it's an aggressive reaction just a simple 'wants to greet but not sure how to' kind of thing. I meant to ask Susie if Sadie has done much parallel walking and dog to dog interactions, as I think this would really help her alot
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Post by RaMc on Aug 5, 2014 21:35:33 GMT
I had a lovely long walk with this girl today. When I arrived I thought I had missed out as she was about to head off with one of the other walkers but when I went to say hello and mentioned I was planning a long walk we decided that she would probably benefit from that so we switched!
She greeted me really well (obviously she recognised me despite not seeing me recently and had forgiven me for the lack of walks together recently) and once she was kitted out in her gentle leader and the back up slip lead (which I am pleased to say was not put to use at all during our walk) we set off at a nice brisk pace.
She was a little skittish at first but that was a combination of nerves and excess energy and once we were off she settled fairly quickly. Walking along the Ely trail she was brilliant, she was still very aware of what was going on around her but much more at ease, her tail came up and by the time we were making our way back it was even wagging from time to time. We even had a little jog for some of the way which she seemed to enjoy.
We stopped for a couple of minutes for me to fish a stone out of my boot and she came over for a bit of attention, she is so soft and silky!
The walk back to CDH was lovely, she trotted along next to me quite often brushing against my leg and looking up to check in with me. She is eager to please.
She was quite nervous around the few cyclists that went past us today and keen to get closer to the other dogs we passed than I would allow but was fairly easily distracted and refocused on the walk.
She really seemed to enjoy the opportunity to get out for a nice long walk and i wasn't complaining about spending time in her company, she is a gorgeous girl who will need a bit of help with her nervousness but will be SO worth it as she has got so much to give.
I am (selfishly) looking forward to spending more time with this girl but what she really needs is someone who is able to give her a place that she can call home, a place that feels safe and secure for her where she can blossom.
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