New member of the family ....

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Naylor's Ark · #21 Post by **Naylor's Ark** » Sun Apr 02, 2023 4:05 pm

What a great photo, Blaze. I love that fluffy tail.
Good luck with settling him in with his new life. They always come with their own foibles. Some which may need ironing out.

Blaze · #22 Post by **Blaze** » Sun Apr 02, 2023 7:09 pm

Mangetout wrote: ↑Sun Apr 02, 2023 12:29 pm Would you mind if I sent a copy of the picture to my sister? She just loves dogs. And how would I do that? Bit of a tech virgin I'm afraid.

Of course I wouldn't mind ! To transfer it to your desktop, you should be able to right click and somewhere in the list is "download".

Mangetout · #23 Post by **Mangetout** » Sun Apr 02, 2023 7:29 pm

As I'm on a tablet it was easy. Just a palm swipe. My sister loves him. She's going to join the forum soon after finding out there are so many dog lovers. X

Liz · #24 Post by **Liz** » Mon Apr 03, 2023 7:46 am

Gorgeous dog and so lucky to have found you

Blaze · #25 Post by **Blaze** » Mon Apr 03, 2023 8:09 am

Here's another one of him ! These photos were taken by the owners - we haven't felt it was right for us to do it ... yet ...
It's such a heartbreaking situation : The owners were very badly advised by a vet/behaviourist who said Rafal was dangerous and that the owners should send him to a refuge or have him put down. They were so anxious to do the right thing that they even went through the rabies precautions and put him in quarantine. Neither nip had broken the skin ... They decided to get a second opinion and fortunately found a behaviourist who said there was nothing whatever wrong with the dog. But by then the owners were worried that it could happen again. If they'd seen the second behaviourist first, they wouldn't be in the position they are now. It's really sad, and they're such a lovely couple who clearly adore the dog. However, their youngest child who was nipped has now become wary of the dog.

Once he's with us, we'll get him checked over by our vet and also by our friend who is a kiné/masseuse for dogs and horses - I think he'll enjoy the session !

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DominicBest · #26 Post by **DominicBest** » Mon Apr 03, 2023 9:35 am

What a beautiful dog. I’m sure he will settle into his new home quickly and give you boundless pleasure.

Polly · #27 Post by **Polly** » Mon Apr 03, 2023 10:13 am

Mangetout wrote: ↑Sun Apr 02, 2023 7:29 pm As I'm on a tablet it was easy. Just a palm swipe. My sister loves him. She's going to join the forum soon after finding out there are so many dog lovers. X

Another for Les Filles group?!

Loup-garou · #28 Post by **Loup-garou** » Mon Apr 03, 2023 10:45 am

We rehomed a border collie from the Dogs Trust at Snetterton - he was two years old and had been in the centre for 15 months. We are members of the Trust and used to visit centres when in their area and look at the dogs and make a donation; at most centres it was possible to take a dog for a walk or play with them somewhere. We already sponsored a dog at Snetterton and two other centers. We had not intended to take a dog and were returning home the next morning.

Anyway, poor Tees (our name for him) was stuck there because the Shelter had to advise potential takers that he was dangerous as he had bitten a child. The manager was very sorry for Tees and faced by (at that time) a couple with three rescued, male border collies and members of the Trust to boot, she showed us his papers. It transpired, he had nipped a little girl once who ran past his face whilst he was feeding. We took Tees with an agreement that he would never be off-lead in public. But, we had struck up a friendship with the manager who had pulled out all the stops for us to adopt Tees quickly staying late to test him with our existing three dogs, taking him to the vets in the evening, etc. With regular nagging from me she agreed to send a behaviourist to our house to assess him. After 45 minutes he concluded that there was nothing he could do to get Tees to bite him and reported that back so Tees' restricting order was lifted. Apparently this was a first and had to be agreed with the Charitie's Head Office.

He was a super, extremely happy boy - RIP and thank you Tees.

Blaze · #29 Post by **Blaze** » Mon Apr 03, 2023 11:06 am

@Loup-garou What a lovely story and so fortunate for Tees to have found you. It's very sad that if a dog bites or nips a child, it's automatically assumed it's the dog's fault. Many dogs don't like a human head close to their own, in their personal bubble. Some years ago I was given a warning growl by a dog which I heeded and it was a good lesson learnt. The problem is that a child's head is on the same level as a dog's and it can be difficult getting a child to understand the respect of a dog's personal space.

Apparently people expressed interest in Rafal because he was free, not because of who or what he is. However, the condition of having 5 séances with a behaviourist may put off the freeloaders. A young working couple who live in a flat in Rennes also expressed interest .... they were turned down flat.

We're quite happy to give him all the time he needs to settle in and get to know us. His owners are young and work and whilst they make every effort not to leave him on his own for too long, it's not always easy and he only got out for a walk at weekends. Aussies are clingy dogs, they enjoy company, are active like any other dog - he'll get all that with us, but we'll let him make the running. He was happy to let us tickle behind his ears ! A walk without a dog isn't quite the same .....

Mangetout · #30 Post by **Mangetout** » Mon Apr 03, 2023 11:13 am

Polly wrote: ↑Mon Apr 03, 2023 10:13 am
Mangetout wrote: ↑Sun Apr 02, 2023 7:29 pm As I'm on a tablet it was easy. Just a palm swipe. My sister loves him. She's going to join the forum soon after finding out there are so many dog lovers. X
Another for Les Filles group?!

Absolutely. I don't know if she's made contact yet with the site. I'll ask her later.

France in Focus

France in Focus