Cheyd

Well we went to a pound yesterday to check out a 3 month staffy cross that had been found wandering. He is quite a handful but already has made himself at home. The cats seem a little bemused with his antics and the boys seem to like him Here is a couple of pictures, taken with the phone so prob not the best Meet Bart

Did this guy find his forever home? We have just picked up a 3 month old who looks a lot like this guy

Thank you to everyone for your support it means a lot to us.

Great link Snook, thanks I too have been following this group, thank goodness and touch wood they haven't started dealing with dogs over here in WA

My vet even spent last night trying to find an alternative for Sage but he couldn't, everyone tried so hard for her. I'm so sorry Sage

Thank you for your support Sage went across the bridge today We took her down the river this morning where she enjoyed a bacon & egg muffin, with a long walk along the river, she saw horses and then wanted to chase horses. Followed by a long drive where she could stick her head out the window and sniff, she also enjoyed a double quarter pounder and a drink once we got to the vets. We are both devastated and never wish to have to do that again Here is a picture of her in the car today

dawwww just want to smooch him in that picture

Congratulations PS on a new foster for you Wow he is a wrinkly boy huh, look forward to hearing about his antics as he gets used to your home :)

We've had it up for less than a week, and don't worry, I'll let all future cats and dogs die at the hands of the pounds!! Happy?? I would have a better chance finding my pet in the pound than in some random rescue You can rescue from the pound when the animals have done their time - just putting them into the pound does not automatically mean a death sentence for the animal but they do have a much better chance of being reunited with their rightful owners!

Fingers crossed for Timmy, good luck little man

We are near Midland

A huge part of the decision for me offering to take on Sage in the first place was the fact that she was comfortable in a pack and had had puppies so thought she might carry on being maternal. Therefore thought she would get on well with my boys and we could then work on introducing her to the cats. But boy does she pull like a freight train, she has almost pulled my husband off his feet and he is 6'3" and over 100k, she was like that from the beginning. Would it be possible that the hormone changes that come with puppies, mellowed her enough to become a member of the pack and now the hormones have gone, she has reverted to old behaviour? Caz has sent me a PM and is very understanding about the situation and fully supports our decision and this definitely not something I want to do but I honestly cannot think of another solution. T - I will give Kathy a call this week and see if she can give any advice over the phone, I will disclose everything and see if there is a quick way of sorting this. Hopefully she will know the people who have assessed her and that may help.

T, thank you for your balanced replies. I have barely slept last night thinking about this. You are so right T that Sage has successfully been in a pack before. But she has now jumped the fence and attacked a small dog - after seeing the owner we found out Sage did grab one of the dogs by the neck and she had to whack Sage with a big stick and call out for help to get Sage of him. They did not find any marks on the dog but he is apparently terrified to walks past our house. What if she gets out again? We have fixed the gate but still we didn't rwalise she had jumped before I wish we had the same dynamics here and that Sage could have been part of our pack, I really do The test yesterday was, although on a long lead, this was so Sage had no interference from humans while being tested, but they needed a way to control her if she did get uncontrollable so although she was on a lead she did not feel it unless she went to the end of it. Both trainers who have seen Sage have many many years in training dogs and working in dog rescues. I know my trainer has studied canine behaviour but i don't know what the qualifications are (ie: what letters behind her name indicate her sistudy) so that is the only reason I refer to them as trainers. I am quite confident in their abilities to judge. I will talk to my husband about seeing Kathy, however that means a lot more money and time. Don't want to sound hard or nit picky but what happens if she is rehomable but we are not the right trainers for her? Who is going to take her on???

No it wasn't, this opportunity came up this week, quicker than Kathy could see us. I am confident in this persons qualifications and ability. I have thought about still seeing Kathy but there has been advice now from two trainers along the same vein

To be honest that is our thoughts also and if nothing changes we will take care of it Wed I have been wracking my brains trying to think of the perfect home for her and how we could find it but I can't come up with anything

Well we had an appointment today for a controlled introduction for Sage. The test involved having Sage on a long lead in an enclosed yard, fences were only waist height wire fences with a gate at one corner and a concrete tunnel up the back of the run. Once Sage had a look around and the trainer had me clip her on the long lead they slowly introduced a dog coming towards the yard to see her reactions. Sages arousal was immediate and complete, there was no warning. She would run the fence, hackles aroused, growling, stiff posture, there was no self regulation or reduction of her arousal. There was a couple of moments that the trainer was concerned for sage jumping or rushing the fence and afterwards during our chat she mentioned that she would have been extremely concerned for her own safety had she had Sage on a short leash. They removed the test dog and again Sage did not lower her arousal. The test dogs handler mentioned that this dog did not want to go near the fence at all and this dog is used to fence runners aand usually shows no reaction. The test dog was brought back out and as soon as Sage saw it her arousal was up again and she kept making runs at the fence and if allowed would have jumped it. The test was videoed and there was also another trainer there observing. Once we sat down and discussed what had gone on, we were told that Sage had no social skills at all, she showed full arousal and lack of her own ability to regulate or slow down/cool off that they expected to see, this was described as deeply entrenched behaviour. If we were/are to re home her there would have to be "100% Compliance at all times" in her life and training. They did say some of her behaviour shown was similar to dogs that had been tethered or tied up for a long time, as we don't know her full history this may have been how she was raised prior to being in the pound and may have contributed to her not being socialised as a pup. This trainer only reports on their observations and does not make recommendations for action. We did ask the question that if she was assessing Sage to be accepted into a rescue for rehoming what would she suggest to the rescue, and that was - she would not be a suitable dog. So it is a very specific home we need to find if we can - does anyone have any ideas please?

What a wonderful thing to do for you Caz, you deserve it too I am sure you will treasure this painting for years to come

great photos, pretty girl She looks so much better now

for Clancy

We have an assessment for Sage on Saturday, so hopefully we will have some answers then We have started one of the exercises that Cosmolo so kindly sent, early days yet only been doing it for two nights I will update again after the assessment

gosh she is gorgeous Kirty, lovely photos Looks like lots of fun was had

oh no...... perhaps now you should only put food in the trap even if its not set for a while to get her used to eating in there, then set it and hopefully you will catch her again

That's great news that you have caught the elusive Irish, have fingers and toes crossed that everything goes smoothly for her

congratulations

Sorry have sent another email now