Toby will be 1 year old in October. He is microchipped and vaccinated but currently entire. Toby has been with his family since a pup and has been a challenge, however with dad now having broken his ankle, they are struggling with him more than usual and feel he needs a home that is better experienced to help him. He is fine with his own children in his home but not outside. This is what our volunteer has to say:

“Toby has been reactive since a puppy and over the last year the owners have approached various ‘professionals’ for help but have not had the outcome they wanted.

I played with Toby in the garden and played stalking and chasing games and he became like a playful puppy.  He is totally unmotivated by food but absolutely driven by toy play.  The only interest in food was chasing and catching sausages but not actually eating them!  He is definitely a toy boy!  He is in excellent condition and has (and is) well loved and cared for but the family just cannot cope – especially since the owner has broken his foot and can now no longer walk him.  His wife is not confident walking him and is really only able to cope when she is in an enclosed hire space.  She also does not drive so without her husband to drive she is limited to the local area which is not suitable for a reactive dog.

I then took him for a walk with a muzzle and lead attached to flat collar.  He was very anxious, puffing and panting and hyper vigilant.  I walked him to a quiet green where my colleague had a few of out stooge dogs in our van.  We tested his threshold distance – about 30 metres. He becomes aware at that distance and any closer he goes immediately over threshold. We then parallel walked on opposite sides of the green gradually decreasing the distance until we were parallel walking with two metres between each dog.  We then let him walk behind to sniff the other dog whilst we continued walking and once he had done this he completely disengaged and began focussing on the environment again.

We then stood on a quiet corner where we could observe small children on bikes and scooters in the distance and people with dogs on leads walking towards a path to a park.  He remained below threshold but only with help from me and he really struggled to disengage and remain calm.  He was only able to do this when I continually sidestepped to block his view.

We were only out with him for 20 minutes but he was clear he was exhausted from stress. Had I been working with a dog like this professionally I would not have subjected him to this level of pressure based on his obvious stress but felt it necessary to see what we were dealing with.

There is definitely a gap with regards to basic training.  With no reliable recall at home, jumping up, not responding appropriately to simple cues when out in a quiet environment even taking into account his anxiety he is capable of much much more.

He is suspicious and scared of pretty much everything and everyone in his environment unless at home.  Even at home he is not completely relaxed and is noise sensitive. He does however respond well to kind, confident and assertive handling and tone of voice.

He would benefit from being an only dog in the home with someone who is very confident and experienced with the breed and who understands reactivity. They are also looking at a long road ahead to get him to a place where he can be calm in the outside world.  Alternatively someone with extensive outdoor space who leads a quiet life where he could live as a dog who has enough mental stimulation and physical exercise without having to leave the home.  Not even sure either of these kind of homes exist. ☹ “

Are you one of those special homes?

Toby’s owners have decided they cannot part with him and are working to address the issues.

 

 

Location:

Hampshire - IN HOME

Sex:

Male

Age:

DOB 2.10.20

Neutered:

No

Good with children:

No

Good with other dogs:

No

Good with cats:

No