Bayley has been with us for 4 weeks now and we think he is ready to move on to someone who can either offer him a permanent home or a long term foster where his training can be continued. He is a 2 year old Working Cocker (undocked) and has been neutered and vaccinated. He has had a bad start to his life through no fault of his own and really deserves someone who will give him the chance he deserves (you can read some of his past history
HERE). He has already made a lot of progress in the weeks he’s been with us and will make a wonderful companion for someone with the time, energy and commitment to devote to him. He is housetrained and crate trained, he does not chew things he shouldn’t and is happy to be left alone for reasonable periods. We think he would be better living in a home with another dog or dog(s) as he has learned a lot from living with our 6 Cockers. He is not at the moment entirely comfortable with older males but is quite happy for our girls to boss him about and also seems to enjoy the company of young, neutered dogs. He can be rather “amorous” with bitches (whether neutered or not) but this will almost certainly lessen as the neutering takes effect (he was only “done” just before Christmas). He is known to be ok with cats and lived happily with a cat in his previous home. He is a very bouncy dog with endless energy so would not suit a home with small children as he could easily knock them over. He is slowly learning not to jump up but this will take time as when he’s excited, he just can’t stop himself from bouncing like Tigger! He loves to run and chase a ball endlessly – you will get tired of this game long before he does
He is very toy and treat orientated which helps with his training. Surprisingly for such a bouncy dog, he takes treats very gently (after being told to sit of course). He has a healthy appetite and is doing well on Nutro Lamb & Rice which has no artificial additives. A highly processed supermarket food with lots of additives would not suit such a lively dog and could make him overly “hyper”.
Bayley’s new owner should be confident and ideally be experienced with active dogs such as Working Cockers or Springers or understand what these dogs need in terms of mental stimulation & training. He is a very strong, fit dog and will need an owner with similar attributes
NILIF training is working well with him so this will need to be continued. He would also probably do well at agility or flyball so an owner with an interest in such activities would be ideal. He still has some “issues” that need continuing work – he has not been lead trained so pulls very hard, his recall is not good when there are distractions (such as birds or squirrels!) and he is not comfortable meeting dogs he does not know when on the lead. He seems to have got over his fear-barking at people he doesn’t know and is now greeting visitors to our home with enthusiasm (rather too much sometimes!). For a dog who has been undersocialised and abused, he is doing remarkably well and has so much to offer to someone who can give him the kind of home he needs.
If anyone thinks they can offer him a home or long term fostering, please contact HWAR (Alison on 01495 273473 or Carol on 01885 482967) or me via PM or email (jane@cockersonline.co.uk)
Please feel free to crosspost this to other forums, particularly if any of you are members of agility forums or similar
