DOG DAY CARE
Millie’s Story
Well there she was, in the very first kennel by the gate at Animals in Distress. Having decided it was time for a new doggy friend and passionately believing that every dog deserves a second (or third or even fourth) chance – (well it’s usually the owner, isn’t it??!!) I had been scouring different animal re-homing websites for the past few months just waiting for that special one.
Well there she was, in the very first kennel by the gate at Animals in Distress. Having decided it was time for a new doggy friend and passionately believing that every dog deserves a second (or third or even fourth) chance – (well it’s usually the owner, isn’t it??!!) I had been scouring different animal re-homing websites for the past few months just waiting for that special one.
Could this be her??
Unknown to my husband, she had been spotted on the website a week or so previously, but we were ‘just visiting’ on the pre-tense of just seeing ‘what they’ve got’! Her photo on the website had made her look about the size of a Great Dane, albeit a small one, all lanky with great long legs, so it was a pleasant surprise that in person she came to just above my knee, in fact she was ‘just the perfect size’ (you can see where this is going, can’t you?).
On the outside of her kennel the written details said:
‘Can jump 4 to 5 foot high fences’ – well that’s not a problem is it? Our fence is 6 foot high!
‘Will boss you around and tell you which toy to play with’ – well, at least she likes play; she’ll just have to have lots of toys!
‘No re-call – especially when chasing birds’ – well … hmm, perhaps I pretended not to see that bit!!!
So we took this beautiful girl for walk, and yes she was far more interested in anything feathered than us and spent most of the walk with her nose pressed skyward, and as for the comment about ‘not bothered by cats’ – well, who were they kidding!!
But we persevered and after a further two visits and meeting with the animal psychologist to ensure that we would be able to ‘cope’ – she eventually came home……..
And then: ‘She’ became ‘Millie’.
Being three and a half years old and already having three previous homes behind her, who really knew what we had let ourselves in for?
Millie already knew the basic sit command but that was about it (apart from giving her paw and looking really cute anytime she wanted anything – she did that the first time we saw her in the kennel!) So we set about teaching her how to behave and quickly discovered how intelligent she could be – when, of course, she chose to.
Millie is a quick learner and quickly understood all the usual basic commands, and soon learned hand signals too for ‘sit’ and ‘down’. She loves nothing more than to be told that she is a ‘good girl’ and a ‘clever girl’ and this really helped with her training.
But this brilliance only seemed to shine within the house. As soon as we progressed to the garden things went a little downhill – well, very downhill actually. If a wayward pigeon flew across our airspace, all thought of obedience went out the window…… and when we were out for an ‘off lead’ walk, we were lucky if we saw an occasional black flash through the trees or across the other side of the field. Anything feathered or furry was fair game and a red mist descended –
Well, what do you expect? Millie is a Whippet / Pointer cross after all -that is what she is supposed to do – hunt (the Pointer bit) and chase (the Whippet bit).
Amazingly she always seemed to be with us at the end of the walk!
However, the longer Millie lives with us, the stronger that bond becomes and now she is (usually!) very very well behaved and stays close by. I can’t lie – it has been an upward struggle a lot of the time but has been so very rewarding and worthwhile and we wouldn’t change her for the World.
She has even overcome her crazed obsession with birds – in order to distract her from her feathered friends and keep her attention on us, she rarely goes out without her beloved ball to chase instead.
Our beautiful girl has so much energy and is so intelligent. Having her in our lives has completed our circle.
And what do you mean ‘no –recall’? – Millie comes back every time!
Rescue /Re-homing – Maybe you can consider re-homing as an option when you are looking for your next dog. Yes, it is usually far more complicated than bringing up your own puppy as some of the dogs available for re-homing have had a complicated or unknown past. Usually with the correct training, exercising and stimulation most issues can be overcome and you can become the proud owner of a well-balanced, well behaved and obedient dog. There are numerous re-homing kennels in Teignbridge, Torbay and the South Hams and most offer on-going behavioral advice.
Don’t forget these organisations are charities so even if it is not the right time for you to re-home a dog (or one of the other animals available for re-homing), maybe you could offer support another way – donations, food, blankets and toys are always gratefully received.
