Why rescue dogs are just great

First outing after adopting him

Recent events (health stuff and turning 30!) have turned me into even more of a sentimental sap than I was before so I thought I would put ink to screen and make a note of just how fabulous my best mate Jack really is. It can be really tough living with a 'reactive dog' and I wanted this blog to act as a pat on the back to everyone out there who is working through some behaviour issues with their canine family member. If you are just embarking on a journey with a new rescue dog, I hope that the pictures that follow show that with some forward thinking, environmental management and lots of fun, reward-based training, you can get out there and have a fabulous time with your pooch!

Jack + toy = happy

In 2008, me and my husband went to our local Blue Cross branch to 'have a look'. Haha we all know that isn't possible. We met a very handsome and very attentive collie cross called Jack who had been rehomed as a puppy, but returned after 8 months. He was now 16 months old and not doing too well in the kennel environment. We played with him, took him for a walk and after a tense week of home visits/training sessions, picked him up to bring him home. Little did we know the adventure we would be going on with him :)

Nice dog, shame about the handler!

I have hundreds of photos of the fun that we've had together over the years. Some of the highlights include:

• Learning all about agility and winning a few rosettes and trophies despite Jack being light years ahead of my poor handling skills! 

Camping trips

Guest of honour at our wedding

• Going on our first camping trip in a tent resulting in a very disturbed night of sleep and a soggy sleeping bag (thanks Jack!). We then bought a camper van to make life a lot easier! Since then, we've traveled all around the UK with the doglet - Somerset, Essex, Scotland, Wales, Newcastle, Wiltshire. He loves it in the van and we've seen some of the most beautiful places together. 

•  Being able to join in the celebrations when we got married and Jack coming along on our honeymoon in Wales. 

• Forcing/helping me to up my game when it came to my training and timing, particularly my clicker skills.  He's a smart cookie so trying to keep one step ahead has helped me to preempt what might happen in training sessions and work hard to minimise frustration etc. 

• The time that he almost killed us all but then saved our lives by turning the gas hob on in the middle of the night (probably trying to reach a bit of food) and then barking at us to wake up and turn it off.

• The milestone moments such as the first time we were able to have 2 pints in the pub garden

  

  Cheers!

  without Jack getting bored (that took months of really hard 'training'  in the pub!), when he was able to glance back at me for a reward instead of worrying about an approaching dog, the first time our recall training paid off and he came back to me instead of chasing a football, the fact that he now loves the sight of a brush despite his previous handling issues, throwing himself into any new experiences such as swimming in a hydrotherapy pool or following a track in scentwork training.  The list of milestones is endless.

Fun on the beach



Duck socialising

• Despite being a nutcase collie that loves nothing better than tearing around after a toy, he's so gentle with the other animals in the family. We have worked really hard to train positive, calm associations with the ducks, rabbits & guinea pigs and after a bit of work, I feel confident in him being able to be off lead around them.

• All the lovely new friends that I have made through dog training and studying. Just because your dog isn't a social butterfly, it doesn't mean you can't meet some fabulous people.

Don't get me wrong, he's not perfect (who is!) and there are some days when his need to provide a soundtrack to everyday life drives me potty but he has taught me so much and I am the trainer/behaviourist I am today largely because of him. I'm so lucky to have a fabulous support network around me who have helped with Jack's training, picked me up on the bad days and reminded me that life is too short to worry about things so to just get on and enjoy myself.

So to my lovely boy Mr Jack, we've had 6 very happy years together and I hope that we have many more to come. I love you very much you scruffy mutt, thanks for finding us xxx