Becs

That's a great story Katie! It also gives me light a the end of the tunnel with my little girl! Vicki good for you working with Lotti, she clearly knows her stuff and with her help and lots of hard work you'll get through it to make Poppy a happy confident girl. It sounds as if you are in it for the long haul so Poppy is very lucky to have you. Just ignore the people who are clearly uneducated and who have nothing better to do than try to make you feel worse then you all ready do. If the world was full of people like that then no person or animal would get a second chance at life which is what you are giving Poppy. I don't regard those types of people very much higher than the abusers themselves, both live their lives in ignorance. Don't forget if I can help in any way just by sharing my experiences with Hunny or by being someone to rant to let me know! I'm sure though Lotti will be able to provide far more comprehensive advice! I have called on her knowledge myself before now!

Hunny is collie sized but stocky and very strong. I just asked cause I wondered if you found it difficult holding her when she lunges? We have a great harness which we got from our behaviourist. It is different to others in that the lead attaches to the strap across the chest so it doesn't encourage them to pull like steam trains which some can. The part the lead is attached to is an extra loop which pulls tighter across the chest when they pull so it works well when they lunge too as it restricts that kind of movement. Does Poppy enjoy her walks? Hunny loves hers so our behaviourist told us to stop the walk as soon as she barked / lunged at somebody. We had to take her home and ignore her for a while when we got in. We didn't tell her off or anything but would walk away if she approached for a cuddle etc. This really worked. It was frustrating and took a few weeks to really effect Hunny but it did work. We have never been able to distract Hunny with food, she is not food motivated so that made her training more difficult. Another thing we do is spend a lot of time at home training Hunny to listen to us. She now knows a lot of useless commands(!!) but that helped with encouraging her to know her place in our pack and also to learn to listen to myself or Hubby when we gave her instructions. This really helped with getting her to listen to us when we were out. I know this won't make you feel any better but it has only been a few weeks since we came out of the really bad stage and I spent most of my life in tears for about two months cause I loved Hunny to bits but didn't think she'd some through. Walking her was a nightmare, I hated it but a combination of her improved behaviour and our slowly gained confidence in our ability to handle situations has made walks a real pleasure now.

She sounds exactly like Hunny was by the way. Sorry when I said she didn't sound that bad it was cause I thought she was only doing it off lead.

How big is she Vicki? What are you walking her in? Collar and lead? Halti?

Hi Vicki, First of all good on you for taking this little girl on! You will reap the rewards of owning a rescue dog in time. We also have a rescue dog that has nervous aggression issues. We have had Hunny since February and have been through allsorts with her since then and even went through a stage where we really thought she would have to be put to sleep. Hunny would lunge, bark and snarl at everybody (people and dogs) we went passed in the street. This seemed to get worse rather than better for quite a while but with the help of a professional behaviourist and lots of hard work Hunny has improved dramatically and whilst she still wouldn’t be happy with a stranger stroking her, she will walk passed anybody without making a fuss, well anybody unless they had a dog, we are still working on that! By the sounds of it Poppy isn’t that bad but I know how upsetting and frustrating it can be when you have those bad experiences. We have learnt so much over the past few months and I would be very happy to share some of the advice and techniques with you. If you want to ask me anything or just want to sound off and get some reassurance please PM me and I’ll get back to you. I am by no means a professional but I can share experiences and tell you what worked for us. One thing I will say is I do not agree that a muzzle is the answer. Hunny became more aggressive with a muzzle and also with a halti when we tried that. Our behaviourist told us this was not uncommon as the two ways that the dog would deal with fear would be firstly to run away which it can’t do when leashed and secondly to stand and fight but it would feel too restricted when muzzled or on a halti / headcollar. I would say though you should keep Poppy on a lead, she can run on a long training line so will still get plenty of exercise. It will take a while for her to fully trust you and realise that you are in charge and until then any distraction could have her running from you rather than to you. We haven’t let Hunny off yet unless it has been in a secure area. I don’t think it will be too long til we do as her recall now is excellent even with distractions but I still feel she needs a bit more time. I know I have waffled on a bit, I could waffle on a lot more too but will draw a line under it now! Please do feel free to PM as I said above even just for some reassurance. I appreciate exactly the hard work you will have over the coming months but the rewards is a loyal, loving and eternally grateful dog to share your life with and have loads of fun together!

Well I had a great time but Hunny had mixed feelings! The poor thing spent the first hour physically trembling and had her tail firmly between her legs all afternoon! Even with Brude showing her how it was done it was just a bit much to see all of those dogs I think! Needless to say we didn't enter any classes but Hunny did do the hurdle alley and the mini agility which she loved! We went with Strix, Mr Strix, Brude and Holly (formerly Dolly) the overweight beagle from RainRescue! Saw Katie and Gadget, sorry Hunny wasn't very nice to you Katie - I felt really bad about that but there was a lot going on and she couldn't cope with it all. Also spoke to Gemima, again I would have loved to have talked a bit longer but I was preoccupied with Hunny making sure no over friendly children or dogs got too close to her! I hope I didn't come across as rude or miserable Gemima! The weather didn't seem to put people off and it was a really useful experience for Hunny so I'm pleased we went!

Love it! Made me chuckle!

Thank you Lotti! - Yes I think she is rather fantastic and very beautiful! We might actually get to see you in the flesh this weekend as, weather permitting, I am hoping to bring Hunny to the Sheffield Charity Show. She won't be going in any classes as she is still wary of strangers touching her particularly on her head and growls and barks at other dogs! I think the experience will be good for her though. Socialisation is what she needs now even if it has to be at a distance. As far as poppy hating 2-4 year old girls CV, I can't say I blame her - horrid things in my opinion! I sometimes wonder if Hunny would have been better with a friend to live with. It may have helped with her aggression towards other dogs. Then again it might not have cause she is best mates with Brude and our friend's dog but she hates any she's not met before. Hunny has never bitten another dog by the way even when she's had the chance (i.e. off-lead dogs bounding up to her on her lead), she just snarls barks and looks nasty. I don't want anyone who recognises her avoiding us at the show!

I wish I could say the same for Hunny! I don't really mean that - I think her bad points are more down to her background than her breeding cause of the significant (but very slow!) improvement in her behaviour since we got her.

CV - Poppy is gorgeous! Is she staffy x GSD ? I've probably asked before but she has the prettiest face! I thought I'd add a few recent ones of Hunny. These were taken before the weather turned nasty again! Hunny in her pool! http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s144/danbec98/P6100610.jpg Hunny relaxing in the Pub garden after a long walk! http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s144/danbec98/P6100588.jpg Hunny with her chewstick. http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s144/danbec98/P4290408.jpg Hunny foraging in the long grass on a walk. http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s144/danbec98/P6010421.jpg Hunny having a lie in on Sunday! http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s144/danbec98/P4020369.jpg

That would seem logical I know! I actually saw an allergy specialist as even more curiously I can just about tolerate male cats but if there is a female about it is unbearable! I was informed that it isn't the fur I am allergic to but the saliva. As cats are constantly cleaning themselves their fur is covered in their saliva so that sets it off. If I am scratched, clawed or bitten by a cat I get a really bad rash and come up in huge lumps and have to take high doses of antihistamine immediately! I am also allergic to horses but am less affected by them beacuse of being outdoors but if they salivate on me if I feed a treat or something I have the same rash / lumps problem! Interesting eh? !!!

My name's Rebecca and I'm 28. I don't contribute all that much as I tend to need the advice and help this forum offers and don't feel particularly qualified to give it! I do however check in almost everyday to read what is going on and feel I know people rather better than they know me so this is a great idea Lotti! I also steer clear of most debates and all things controversial, not beacuse I don't have opinions but because I have very strong opinions and past experiences have taught me I should only share them with people who know me well or trouble tends to follow! My claim to fame on this forum is that I adopted the very beautiful Hunny from Rain Rescue (Strix fostered her for a while). Hunny is a ridgeback x staffy and is our only pet - thank goodness cause she is quite enough to cope with! Hunny is turning out to be quite an amazing little girl! She has thankfully now turned a corner (only about 4 weeks ago!). We had gone through a tough time with her (her aggression got very bad) and at one stage it looked as if she might have to be put to sleep despite our best efforts with a trainer and behaviourist involved too! Her behaviourist is as thrilled with her progress as we are and refers to Hunny as her star pupil! About me and animals! I have had dogs all my life, would rather continue to have dogs then children any day. I can not go within a few feet of a cat as I have a very severe allergy to them and have on more than one occasion ended up on a nebuliser in hospital! Until fairly recently and throughout my teenage years I had horses and used to compete in cross country events.

Yes that is exactly what it looks like. When I told my husband about my concerns he said have you tried washing her cause he was convinced it was dirt! By the way off on a tangent a bit I know but is it weird that Hunny loves baths? I have to shut the door when I'm having a soak or she tries to climb in and when we take her up for a shower we have to put the rubber mats in first before we get her towel out or she sees her towel runs up the stairs, jumps in and waits for me to put the shower on! She will stand perfectly still whilst I lather her up, rinse her and dry her off then she hops out of the bath unassisted looking and smelling delightful! Weird dog!

Hunny is a Ridgeback x Staffie. She was about a year when we got her from rescue and we've had her almost 4 months so she'll be about 16 months old. Hopefully it is just her maturing, she has started to really fill out too so maybe she's going from adolescent to adult. I will mention it to the vet next time we go but won't make a special trip unless I notice anything else. Thanks all!

I don’t know if this is anything to worry about but I have noticed that the pigment of Hunny’s skin on her tummy has changed. She used to have a light pink tummy but it has darkened and is now more purple / brown in colour. Before anyone suggests it, it definitely isn’t dirt it is a definite pigment change! I don’t know if it could just be the change in her diet since she has been with us or whether there could be some more sinister underlying cause. Hunny is fine in herself, not poorly, not off her food, she is up to date with all worming, frontlining, vaccinations etc. I suppose I just want to know if I should investigate further or whether this common and nothing to worry about. I personally haven't come across it before with our dogs.