Thanks for the site from a rescue

by Juan

Hello, Thanks for providing such a useful and easy-going site. My wife got a dog a few months ago, in effect to replace our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who died in February. He was 13 and we all miss him. We still have his companion, a 12 year old Alsatian/Border Collie cross, Maddie who was so crestfallen after his death and both dogs were my wife's ex-husband's who she took on, that my wife wanted a dog of her own and loved the Cavalier so much (he was great!) that she went looking the same breed. So my mad wife went somewhere to look at a pup and found the seller so horrible and the conditions of the pup so bad that she bought him and got him out of there and asked questions later. I reported the owner and when we took the (allegedly 4-month old) pup to the vet he said the dog was okay in principle but underweight and clearly very frightened/ He was, infact, about 8 months old and the urine stains on his fur and other physical things would improve. And he wasn't a pure Cavalier - he was a cross with a Springer. And he is lovely! Back then he was terrified of every noise, of the outside, he had loose skin where was underfed, he was bony and would poo and pee anywhere. THe first walk was to the end of the drive and was spread-eagles with fear. 3 months of patience and love and lots of mopping floors and kindness have meant the little monster is comfortable and relaxed in our noisy busy house (family of 5, the 2 dogs and also 3 cats - phew!) to the extent that he has become a character, naughty and affectionate and so full of energy. My wife and I both work full-time plus other stuff and what with the Springer part of him seeming to rule his energy levels I have found your site to say some helpful things. Training him is a challenge, he is such a damaged dog, but he is getting there and I will try a few things the way you suggested on the training pages. Keep up the good work, I may upload a pic when he stands still long enough to have one taken of him. He is a meccanno-dog with one bit of Springer another bit of Cavalier all bolted together in odd ways, handsome in an oddball way. Once again, thanks for the site. Cheers - Juan