Meeting Leon

Meet Leon!

This is Leon, he is a lovely older dog who has spent a very long time in rescue. He has been re-homed before but has returned for reasons beyond his control, such as relationship breakdowns between his owners.  He's had more than his fair share of bad luck over the years!

He's a simple pooch who wants for very little from life, just a couple of walks during the day and then relax with the family in the evening. Of course, he could also be so much more too! He has a calm disposition which makes him very easy to train, plus he really loves positive reward based games and training, meaning he has great potential in many areas.

Here is an account from Sue, a valued volunteer at North Clwyd Animal Rescue....

"I have taken Leon home on several occasions and although he's not so keen on the car (it could be my driving) once he's in the house he's fantastic, clean through the night without any noise. He know's he's not allowed upstairs and after his first attempt he hasn't even tried again. He's really good on and off the lead and his recall is very good.

I think his size may put people off but he is very affectionate and would make a really loyal and loving dog once you get to know the real Leon!"

Leon has a few things going against him as a rescue dog, firstly he has a bit of Staffie in him which appears to put off some would be adopters (typically folks influenced by media myths and sensationalism), also brindle dogs with dark faces generally have little interest shown in them whilst at rescue centres. But Leon's biggest hurdle to getting adopted is his initial distrust of strangers. At some point during his life he's learnt that strangers approaching him and trying to touch him is a bad thing, and of course being a rescue dog potential adopters are viewed at first as strangers.  The sad fact is Leon only needs a very short time to build up trust in people, I managed it in a 10 minute walk! From this point on he's been very comfortable with me. It is not uncommon for would be adopters to be looking for an 'instant connection' with a dog which rules out introducing Leon to them.

So Leon has a few more hurdles to jump than most before he gets some serious interest in him, but sometimes the best and most rewarding relationships need a bit of work to get them started!

As a canine behaviourist I'll always advise spending as much time as possible, over a few visits if necessary, to really get to know your family's potential companion.


Getting to know Leon....


In order to get to know Leon, all it takes to earn his trust is to show him you can show him respect by simply in-turn respecting his personal space (just as you would meeting new people!).  Take a walk with Leon, (ignore him) and just let him come with you, don't try to force yourself on him by trying to stroke him, don't try to force him to engage with you by trying to get him to respond to your voice, just simply walk.  After maybe 20 minutes of calm walking, respecting Leon's personal space, take a seat and see if Leon wants to come and meet you. If he comes up to sniff you, let him, once he's finished sniffing, get up and walk some more. Next time you stop Leon will probably try to engage you and rub against you and it is then you can start to stroke him a little, then, get up and walk some more. Once Leon is comfortable accepting a fuss you will see the sweet, obedient, lovable dog Leon really is. (Of course, this whole process can be helped along by offering him a few good treats for showing interest in you or relaxing around you).

He also struggles with some pushy dogs (like so many other dogs do), he usually gives them a bark or two telling them to calm down or back off, but this would be an easy problem to work through once he is in a home. He is so quick to learn and responsive this issue could be tackled in several ways (one simple way can be seen in his video).  He just wants to know he's safe, that you can keep him safe when scary dogs are around, so he can then relax and just be a dog.

Check out Leon's video...

here is his photo profile - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncar/sets/72157630746739352/with/7677541820/

here is his NCAR portfolio - http://www.ncar.org.uk/portfolio/leon/

So come up to NCAR and take him for a walk! Even if you have no intention of adopting him you could take him for a walk and help show him that strangers aren't all bad and really they are pretty good! This would not only get the lad out into the countryside but spending quality time exploring with strangers will vastly help his progress!
For any help regarding Leon contact me on K999@email.com

This lad just needs a chance, there must be a home and family out there for him!

Adam - canine behaviourist.

www.K999.biz

Paddington Pup's education

Paddington the Staffie pup is the latest pup to come into the North Clwyd Animal Rescue center. He came into the rescue at quite a crucial stage in his behavioural development. The first several months of a puppy's life creates the behavioural blue print for the dog the pup will grow up into.  This is why growing up in a rescue center environment presents big challenges and requires special considerations.
My advice to people taking on a puppy is to let it meet 100 people and 100 dogs calmly and politely  before the pup is 8 months old, with the bulk of this before they are 6 months old. In the rescue center environment this can be difficult as it requires a lot of time and arranged meetings with other well mannered polite dogs who can help teach them correct doggie behaviour.

Paddington got to meet many dogs and people during his stay at NCAR so his education was positive and will hopefully set him up for his progression into a family and continued education.
Fern the American Bulldog was a big help to Paddy, she was calm and considered providing Paddington with a good example to follow in all the situations they were in together.

Using older calmer dogs to help teach pups is something we try to do as often as possible at NCAR and we have had great success in this area. Very few of the well socialised and educated pups go on to develop behavioural problems, as opposed to under-educated dogs and/or socially unskilled pups who often develop behavioural issues.

some examples of such sessions...

Here Rhianna the lurcher taught these two collie pups both how to play chase games and also how to calmly explore their surroundings.

In this session the Welsh Corgi kept these 3 pups in order by not letting their play get too boisterous.

Big Jake got the excitable pup Dizzy to calm down and begin to consider things instead of just charging about.

Big Heidi also helped Dizzy by letting him know (in no uncertain terms) that jumping up at other dogs is not what you do!

Brittany the Staffie taught this staffie pup how to play without getting itself into trouble by being too rough.

This Beagle got this nervous pup playing by enticing it into some easy going chase games.

Chester the big easy going Akita gave Jasmine the chance to be around a big dog in a nice calm atmosphere without any worry of trouble.

Percy the tubby pup spent a lot of time with Kya the Staffie and Rhianna the Lurcher as these two grown ups played well and relaxed well together, Percy slotted right in with them.

Percy also went for walk with the less sociable Strider who taught him that not every dog wants to meet, greet and play! Sometimes just calmly walking together is enough.

Dumping puppys before they have had a chance of developing into well balanced, social and relaxed dog can cause huge behavioural problems in the not to distant future. At NCAR we'll continue to try and keep these abandoned pups on the right path so they don't end up with issues later and dumped back on our doorstep! Of course people often take on puppies with the best intentions but don't provide the youngster the education and social skills required to become a socially acceptable dog, issues unacceptable to humans develop and the dog ends up at rescues like NCAR.

Taking on a puppy means you are taking on all the responsibility for guiding that pup into a well balanced, well mannered dog. This means you have to show your pup how to behave in every situation it will ever be involved in. Also, how to behave in all possible scenarios they might be involved in. 

How should they behave in all of these situations and scenarios? With a calm adaptability that gives them the confidence not to react negatively when something unexpected happens.

If all puppies received the training, education and quality life style they deserve from an active positive family, they would grow up into fantastic companions making rescue centers such as NCAR almost empty!

Remember; a dog isn't a domestic pet until you (the owner) domesticate it!

Bonding through walking

The simplest way for dogs to bond with each other and with people is an easy relaxed group walk. At North Clwyd Animal Rescue we try hard to walk the dogs together as often as possible so they can practice their social skills and enjoy the company of other dogs.
If dogs aren't keen on other dogs this is often the best way to show them how to be calm around other dogs, and from there they can become curious and start to interact with the dogs which once scared them!

Del out with Snowy (who's now adopted)

Long term resident Strider going for a stroll with the lovely Rhianna

Staffies Sasha and Rebecca

Quiet Del and the fantastic Fern meet whilst on a walk

Fern also gets to go exploring with Rebecca

Kya (now adopted), Rhianna, Penny (adopted) and Juliet (adopted) loved their group walks

Socalising dogs in group walks does take a bit of organising and it doesn't happen as often as we'd like at NCAR, so any volunteers who would like to help out with this type of activity, just let us know!

Adam - www.K999.biz

Meeting Strider

Strider is an older Lab and has been a resident at North Clwyd Animal Rescue for a few long years now. He is a calm, sweet and affectionate lad whose big loves in life are walking, chasing balls, and curling up with you for some relaxed attention.

Unfortunately for Strider, during his time before the rescue he learned to distrust strangers and he actively discourages unknown people from trying to stroke him.  This is a tricky issue to resolve in a rescue centre environment, and is a sure fire way of ensuring Striders chances of finding a forever home are very slim.  It is very rare for a potential adopter to want to spend a few hours with a rescue dog in order to gain it’s trust before they can start to build a close and trusting relationship, and this is exactly what Strider needs.

In order to get a good idea of how long Strider takes before he is ready to accept affection and relax with a stranger I took him out for a walk.  Before this, Strider not only saw me as a stranger but has been actively avoiding me or acting defensively near me over the years I’ve volunteered at the rescue, so I was a good test candidate!

Here is the video of how I got on.....

Regular volunteers at NCAR who spend time with Strider have a wonderful relationship with him, he walks well, loves playing fetch the ball and is only too happy to sit on the grass with them and chill out in the sun.

Strider hasn't had much chance to socialise with other dogs, so he pretty much just ignores them. I will continue to socialise him and hopefully he will see that he can have fun with other dogs and expand his horizons (and re-homing chances!).

Here he is offlead with the fantastic Rhianna....

Anybody interested in giving this old boy a few good years in the comfort every dog deserves, be willing to spend quality time with Strider to earn his trust. This means, relaxing walks, a few treats along the way and maybe a few ball games to finish. The key is to not force Strider into interacting with you, or force your affection upon him, just enjoy his company and wait until you have proved yourself trustworthy. The long term rewards will be well worth the small amount of initial effort.

Also, anybody interested in helping Strider, or improving his quality of life, in the meantime would make a big difference to him. Offering to take him on walks or play sessions to show him strangers aren't all scary or will hurt you would be fantastic. Contact me and we can work on introducing you both up at the rescue and start a new mutually rewarding friendship. Adam at www.K999.biz

Striders photo profile - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncar/sets/72157631575856024/

Striders NCAR profile - http://www.ncar.org.uk/portfolio/strider/