Ambrose assessment
Bit of a long video this, but is shows a little of how we assess dogs that come into NCAR. This also highlights a big issue the rehome team face with some dogs signed into us.
When a dog is given up to us we go through a signover form with the owners where they tell us all about the dog and it's behaviour. We then do our own behaviour assessment giving us a really good idea of what sort of owner and homes would suit the dog best.
Problems occur when the signover form describes a very different dog to the one we assess. There may be several reasons for this, but sometimes the disparities are huge. The rehome team now has to really focus on the dog and spend much more time trying to work out how the two descriptions of the dog in question are so different.
As a canine behavioural psychologist I'm also very aware the owner (whether they know it or not) has a huge influence over the dog's decisions making and behavioural responses. But this is of course hard to replicate without the owner present. The dog's behaviour can also be misunderstood completely by the owner leading to incorrect diagnosis and unfair labeling.
This video shows Ambrose who we were informed was dog aggressive, lunged at some men and was reactive around other general everyday occurrences. The kennel staff weren't seeing these reactions at all, so I spent some time with Ambrose to get a clearer picture (and ultimately find him the perfect family!).
How do you think Ambrose coped with the situations he was presented with?
Meet little Leia, a cute young Spanial mix, loves people, loves running, loves cuddling, loves learning but would also love to be adopted!
check out her profile ๐
https://ncar.org.uk/animals/leia/
Rupert was abandoned to the streets and arrived at NCAR as a stray. He's a sweet little lad who is short on confidence due to his poor start in life.
He's not comfortable around all dogs so I set about seeing how easily he can improve in this area.
I just tried the most simply approach of asking for his attention when he was becoming unsure. Rupert did well and was happy to trust my judgement, this meant I could ask him to ignore the dog and look to me instead ๐.
He has great potential!
check out the his profile; https://ncar.org.uk/animals/rupert/
sneaky behind the scene footage of Dr Scott Miller filming for his 'Rescue Vet' YouTube and Insta channels (check it out @rescue_vet).
Dr Scott is a patron for North Clwyd Animal Rescue and his support is hugely appreciated by all of us!
One of the things we looked at this time was getting Socks and Buddy comfortable walking on lead, considering their very difficult start, we were pleased with how Socks and Buddy progressed ๐
Bobby's Big News!
Awesome news... Bobby has been adopted!!!!
A lovely couple with a great rescue Bulldog applied and after a few chats and meetings everything shaped up perfectly, everybody was happy so they went ahead and adopted Brave Bobby Bones!
He's got a great life ahead of him, he is going to be adored, live is a beautiful quiet area and have a new big Bulldog brother to get up to mischief with!
I'm so pleased for the big lad he's finally got the life he always deserved!
check out his page;
https://www.facebook.com/bobby.bulldozer.2024
thanks again to the team at 'Pups Pets and Ponies' for another pile of donations to local rescues!
Good luck with your new shop opening in Sandycroft!
Times are hard for rescue centers at the moment so all donations are really appreciated.
Bobby had a fun time checking it all out ๐
North Wales woods and hills
A lot of you have been asking why I don't just adopt foster boy Bobby and keep him myself ๐ค.....
I've still got Bobby
Bobby is still with me on foster. He has only had a handful of applications to adopt him, and so far none have proven to be a good option for him. It's never been because of him, the main stumbling block has been the resident dogs not wanting to share lives, homes or owners with him! We've also hit the usual obstacles which comes with trying to re-home a dog, which has cost us time.
So if you have a Bobby shaped hole next to you on the couch, consider applying to adopt him!
But, for now, he's happy enough here until we can get him the home he really deserves.
check out his journey so far;
https://ncar.org.uk/the-rescue-and-recovery-of-brave-bobby-bones/
and here is his rescue profile;
https://ncar.org.uk/animals/brave-bobby-bones/
Bobby gets neutered.
I felt he had progressed and developed enough physically that neutering was now possible.
The operation went perfectly, he recovered fast and it hasn't affected him in the slightest!๐
Given many rescues regularly take phone calls about taking in 'accidental litters', spaying and neutering is the socially responsible action to take.
There is nothing accidental about nature taking its course!
Also, considering rescue centers have waiting lists of 100s of dogs to come in, (currently NCAR have 400 on our waiting list) the rescue system can't cope with any more irresponsible breeding ๐. #adoptdontshop #spayandneuter #northclwydanimalrescue #rescuedog
Big thanks to the team at TopK9Nosh for their donations of quality foods and chews to NCAR. Bobby was more than happy to collect them and check out everything in store (he did well not to pinch anything ๐).
We have some resident dogs who can only have high quality foods, so this donation is much appreciated!
Oreo's rehab at NCAR
Oreo's confidence & rehab journey.
This little French Bulldog arrived at North Clwyd Animal Rescue severely distressed and extremely mentally fragile. It was heartbreaking to see, even the slightest hint of trying to touch her would cause a major panic response (none of this is shown in the video). This gave the kennel team a huge problem because we struggled to get into her kennel, and once in, couldn't get a lead on her to take her out on a walk, let alone take it off again. Trying to clip a lead on or off caused a huge spike in her panic!
It was also very clear she was terrified of men.
I set about earning her trust, principally by just sitting in her kennel ignoring her. I just allowed her to realise I wasn't there to threaten or put her under pressure. After a couple of such sessions she showed signs of getting curious, so built on this and looked to make minimal contact. Once I was able to gently make contact with her I could attempt clipping her lead on. Previously this caused a super high level of panic, but I was able to clip her on, and although she still had a shot of panic, it seemed more of a learned response at this point. She even immediately ran to my side, so although very scared she was looking for support from me!
Now I could take her walking I just guided her towards fun, positive and just normal doggy behaviours. After a few sessions her trust and confidence in me bloomed, all of a sudden her defenses were dropped and I'd earned her trust.
I was proper proud of her bravery!
Whoever takes Oreo into their home and family will also need to prove they are calm, patient, dependable and aren't going to put pressure on her! The rewards, as you can see, are well worth it!
Her rescue profile; https://ncar.org.uk/animals/oreo/
I took Bobby along to Pets at Home, Rhyl, to man the NCAR stall raising awareness and donations for the rescue.
Bobby was awesome, he met everybody who came up, showed his manners and gave them the big eyes until they gave him some treats! He met several dogs and did well with all of them.
Thanks to everyone who came up to say hello, especially if you donated!
Bobby is now crashed out on the couch ๐ด
https://ncar.org.uk/animals/brave-bobby-bones/
form an orderly queue....
(Bobby's adoption video)
Dr Scott Miller with a message from Bobby's hydrotherapy session with Caroline at Mochdre Vets
Just a little lead work with Bobby, he responds well to basic training...
