Yesterday it was a real pleasure to be able to do what I love doing the most, a little one on one with a couple of our dogs, that are at the opposite ends of the scale of our work.
I made a conscious decision during lockdown, that once we were beginning to come out of this, I was going to have one designated day per week, that I called my "Practical Day." These days would focus around enriching the life of the dogs, whether it be working on introducing them to new members of staff or volunteers, or like yesterday just giving them a break and doing some close up assessments at the same time.
I think it is fair to say that the majority of our dogs can be split into one of two categories. The ones that need just a little input to try and get their lives back on track and into homes, and ones that have been so damaged by people that such an opportunity will probably never arrive.
For my first "Practical Day" I deliberately chose one from each category and set off in the van to give Casper and Dande a great day out, but also to be able to learn so much more from them.
I have a real special place in my heart for Casper. We took him from another rescue when it looked as if he was going to be destroyed. He was finding it difficult to adjust to a new beginning after a previous life of allegedly being used in dog fights.
He has a constant need to have something in his mouth, in the past it was a lead, meaning that he was unable to be taken for walks. Anyone who has had a Staffordshire Bull Terrier tugging on a lead will tell you just how strong their jaws are, and of course such an obsession had escalated into getting himself into trouble.
As soon as we got him, I gave him a training dummy to carry around with him, and he loved it. Giving him a job and a purpose seemed to take his mind off the other issues, and kept both him and the handler safe. There has obviously been a lot of psychological damage done to him too, as sometimes he just doesn't want to walk. Instead he slams the anchors on and refuses to move. I think it upsets volunteers, as they all want to take him further, it seems such a shame that he misses out on the long walks the other dogs get.
During lockdown, I have spent a lot of time with him and we have gotten to the level where he will walk as far as I want him to. It has taken patience and resilience, but we seem to have made a connection. That's why I chose him for a day out away from the kennels. I wanted to see how he would react to not knowing where he was, all the new smells and sights. He was absolutely brilliant.
When we parked up, I got him out of the crate and he launched himself out of the van, so excited that he nearly pulled me off my feet. He had travelled exceptionally well, not crying or chewing the blankets, it was great to watch him steaming forward nose to the ground. He was so fixated on the smells that he hadn't even thought about his dummy, he just walked and sniffed until a toilet break for him broke his concentration and he looked at me for his dummy.
He walked a couple of miles to the beach, carrying his dummy and sniffing, then once he could smell the sea air and salt water, he dropped it again. It was great seeing him so relaxed, and trying to investigate the seaweed in the sea as he paddled.
We then ventured around the harbour where there was the distractions of people, fishermen, other dogs (more on that later) all the time he was close to me. I made sure that he knew he was safe. I would say that approximately 65% of the walk was 'dummy free.'
The whole time I was conscious of safety. I kept him away from others, both human and canine, nothing seemed to bother him. Even when he passed a huge fishing boat that was in a dry dock and being jet washed, he just kept walking.
Then we got to a little area where a couple were walking a pair of Collies. We both allowed each other plenty of room, but they retreated a little more. At first, I thought it was because they were wary of Casper, but then I saw why. One of their dogs was reactive and had a bark at us as we went past. That was just a little bit too much for Casper and he jumped up and grabbed his lead, even the offer of his dummy wasn't enough to distract him. Luckily, there was seat that was shaded by a wall, close by. I went and sat with him there, within seconds once he realised that he couldn't see anything and there was nothing to be afraid of, he settled right down and lay by my feet.
He got a drink from a bowl at a van selling ice creams, then we started our return journey. Once again he was calm, he walked up the high street, along a busy road, not once did he flacker at anything. The only thing we had to watch was the fact he kept dropping his dummy, he was that tired.
In total he was out walking for an hour and ten minutes, and apart from that one reaction when he was the victim rather than the instigator, he was impeccable. It was such a great thing to see and be part of, I think that he possibly had just had the best time of his life. Lying exhausted in the van as we got Dande out, he had the proudest and widest Staffy smile.
Rachel met me in the car park with her fantastic stooge dog Nima, because I really wanted to put the next dog through his paces. Dande came to us just a little while before lockdown came into force, after he was booked in to be destroyed at the vets. He was described as horrendous with other dogs and most people. At only two years old, he appeared to me as just a mixed up boy who was frightened of the world he was living in.
Having never met Nima before, I wondered how he would react, I shouldn't have worried. He was the perfect gentleman from the minute they were introduced outside the van. So good in fact, that instantly me and Rachel took turns in walking the two of them together.
We did the exact same walk, only this time it was us that stopped for a drink rather than the dogs. The two of them just sat outside the shop waiting for Rachel, it was amazing to see how quickly Dande had adapted.
We continued onto the beach, passing children and dogs along the way, not a reaction. In fact the only time I saw anything from him was when a huge lorry passed and he got a fright.
Dande seemed to like the beach and was quite relaxed, sharing the attention, there was no jealousy even when Nima found her favourite thing, a stick!
Walking back up the high street, again his behaviour was impeccable. A young couple made a comment as we walked by, they obviously thought the dogs looked cute, but also as if we were just normal people walking our own two dogs. Quite a compliment for little Dande, but he really had settled so well.
There was a couple of more times that a noise spooked him, the most bizarre one being when I opened my bottle of Pepsi Max, but once again it was just a little slouch that he quickly recovered from.
Yesterday was a brilliant day, obviously for the dogs, but also for me to be able to see how they both adapted to the various environments and surroundings. I am so proud of them both (and Nima) for taking it all in their stride, so much so I am still glowing now even as I write this 24 hours later.
(SHAK is a small independent sanctuary for abused, mistreated and neglected dogs. We get no government funding and rely heavily on our supporters and donations. If you would like to help towards our work you can make a donation via PayPal: paypal.me/shaksanctuary )
I made a conscious decision during lockdown, that once we were beginning to come out of this, I was going to have one designated day per week, that I called my "Practical Day." These days would focus around enriching the life of the dogs, whether it be working on introducing them to new members of staff or volunteers, or like yesterday just giving them a break and doing some close up assessments at the same time.
I think it is fair to say that the majority of our dogs can be split into one of two categories. The ones that need just a little input to try and get their lives back on track and into homes, and ones that have been so damaged by people that such an opportunity will probably never arrive.
For my first "Practical Day" I deliberately chose one from each category and set off in the van to give Casper and Dande a great day out, but also to be able to learn so much more from them.
I have a real special place in my heart for Casper. We took him from another rescue when it looked as if he was going to be destroyed. He was finding it difficult to adjust to a new beginning after a previous life of allegedly being used in dog fights.
He has a constant need to have something in his mouth, in the past it was a lead, meaning that he was unable to be taken for walks. Anyone who has had a Staffordshire Bull Terrier tugging on a lead will tell you just how strong their jaws are, and of course such an obsession had escalated into getting himself into trouble.
As soon as we got him, I gave him a training dummy to carry around with him, and he loved it. Giving him a job and a purpose seemed to take his mind off the other issues, and kept both him and the handler safe. There has obviously been a lot of psychological damage done to him too, as sometimes he just doesn't want to walk. Instead he slams the anchors on and refuses to move. I think it upsets volunteers, as they all want to take him further, it seems such a shame that he misses out on the long walks the other dogs get.
During lockdown, I have spent a lot of time with him and we have gotten to the level where he will walk as far as I want him to. It has taken patience and resilience, but we seem to have made a connection. That's why I chose him for a day out away from the kennels. I wanted to see how he would react to not knowing where he was, all the new smells and sights. He was absolutely brilliant.
When we parked up, I got him out of the crate and he launched himself out of the van, so excited that he nearly pulled me off my feet. He had travelled exceptionally well, not crying or chewing the blankets, it was great to watch him steaming forward nose to the ground. He was so fixated on the smells that he hadn't even thought about his dummy, he just walked and sniffed until a toilet break for him broke his concentration and he looked at me for his dummy.
He walked a couple of miles to the beach, carrying his dummy and sniffing, then once he could smell the sea air and salt water, he dropped it again. It was great seeing him so relaxed, and trying to investigate the seaweed in the sea as he paddled.
We then ventured around the harbour where there was the distractions of people, fishermen, other dogs (more on that later) all the time he was close to me. I made sure that he knew he was safe. I would say that approximately 65% of the walk was 'dummy free.'
The whole time I was conscious of safety. I kept him away from others, both human and canine, nothing seemed to bother him. Even when he passed a huge fishing boat that was in a dry dock and being jet washed, he just kept walking.
Then we got to a little area where a couple were walking a pair of Collies. We both allowed each other plenty of room, but they retreated a little more. At first, I thought it was because they were wary of Casper, but then I saw why. One of their dogs was reactive and had a bark at us as we went past. That was just a little bit too much for Casper and he jumped up and grabbed his lead, even the offer of his dummy wasn't enough to distract him. Luckily, there was seat that was shaded by a wall, close by. I went and sat with him there, within seconds once he realised that he couldn't see anything and there was nothing to be afraid of, he settled right down and lay by my feet.
He got a drink from a bowl at a van selling ice creams, then we started our return journey. Once again he was calm, he walked up the high street, along a busy road, not once did he flacker at anything. The only thing we had to watch was the fact he kept dropping his dummy, he was that tired.
In total he was out walking for an hour and ten minutes, and apart from that one reaction when he was the victim rather than the instigator, he was impeccable. It was such a great thing to see and be part of, I think that he possibly had just had the best time of his life. Lying exhausted in the van as we got Dande out, he had the proudest and widest Staffy smile.
Rachel met me in the car park with her fantastic stooge dog Nima, because I really wanted to put the next dog through his paces. Dande came to us just a little while before lockdown came into force, after he was booked in to be destroyed at the vets. He was described as horrendous with other dogs and most people. At only two years old, he appeared to me as just a mixed up boy who was frightened of the world he was living in.
Having never met Nima before, I wondered how he would react, I shouldn't have worried. He was the perfect gentleman from the minute they were introduced outside the van. So good in fact, that instantly me and Rachel took turns in walking the two of them together.
We did the exact same walk, only this time it was us that stopped for a drink rather than the dogs. The two of them just sat outside the shop waiting for Rachel, it was amazing to see how quickly Dande had adapted.
 |
| Dande on the left, Nima on the right. |
Dande seemed to like the beach and was quite relaxed, sharing the attention, there was no jealousy even when Nima found her favourite thing, a stick!
 |
| Dande on the right this time. |
Walking back up the high street, again his behaviour was impeccable. A young couple made a comment as we walked by, they obviously thought the dogs looked cute, but also as if we were just normal people walking our own two dogs. Quite a compliment for little Dande, but he really had settled so well.
There was a couple of more times that a noise spooked him, the most bizarre one being when I opened my bottle of Pepsi Max, but once again it was just a little slouch that he quickly recovered from.
Yesterday was a brilliant day, obviously for the dogs, but also for me to be able to see how they both adapted to the various environments and surroundings. I am so proud of them both (and Nima) for taking it all in their stride, so much so I am still glowing now even as I write this 24 hours later.
(SHAK is a small independent sanctuary for abused, mistreated and neglected dogs. We get no government funding and rely heavily on our supporters and donations. If you would like to help towards our work you can make a donation via PayPal: paypal.me/shaksanctuary )