summersun

Brackon is reserved !! *crosses fingers*

Hi, I got a desperate call about Gemma and immediately organised an emergency foster care placement based on her owners description of her. She sounded incredibly distressed and very obviously grieving and arrived at the placement very thin and dehydrated so I am confident I made the right choice at the time. However, two weeks on and we now have an 'asbo oldie' on our hands - we were told she was around 12yrs and it is possible she may may - we know for sure she's atleast 8-9yrs old. The emergency foster home I put her in take 'old oldies' and Gemma has now been dubbed an 'asbo oldie' as she's now very lively and happy to walk, run and generally be like a "not old" dog !! She's been offered a home with a gentleman in Cornwall near Lands End and his daughter is coming up to Honiton, Devon this weekend which cuts over an hour off the journey - in light of (a) emergency foster home not being best equipped to deal with Gemma and this opportunity to knock over an hour off the journey I have made this urgent. I am a private individual who organised Gemma to be placed with another private individual that I knew took in oldies and treasured them etc.. so the ownership would be with him but there wouldnt be any insurance etc.. to cover the run - we are just two people who saved a dog from an extremely distressed (she had stopped eating and howled 10 or so hours a day following her main owner moving out of the home and then just being left) situation where she was making herself physically ill. If we had not taken her she would have gone to the pound and well .. in the state she was in .... She seems a nice dog although typical girl - quite bossy, is still entire (prev season 6 weeks ago) and we know she has a urine infection - this is probably due to stress bless her. Please is there anyone out there who could help Gemma down towards her new home? If you can - please call Lester (Dave) on 0121 773 8408 as he is looking after her. Claire x p.s. I have just seen that I am supposed to register as a rescue to post here - I have to go out right now (will be back later) and I really need help please ?

Hi Owl, Yes, he is on agilitynet, quite a few clubs know about him and the KC agility facebook pages, he is also on the BFA and Flyballfever websites for flyball, plus here and dogsblog phew!! Thats about as much as 1 person (me) can handle !! He is very very lovely and a pleasure to foster. Claire x

Hi there, Brackon has been in foster care with us for a month now and has progressed amazingly - well beyond my initial expectations for such a short time-period. History ... Brackon came from a family where he was bought as a 12 week puppy for a young teenager who was expected to provide all of his care needs. Unfortunately, neither Brackon or the child had any help and he soon became much too strong and unruly to handle and was due to be put to sleep. Thank goodness for a wonderful lady called Laura who heard about him and collected him straight away and arranged for him to come to me for fostering. Foster Care ... He arrived as a hyper, spaced out, manic, very itchy boy who had skin that was red raw in places where he'd literally chewed himself until he yelped and bled he was so uncomfortable. His initial assessment with children was disasterous as all he wanted to do was fixate on the "moving thing" nipping or if the child was being carried, trying to rag its legs rather like a toy!! The first few days were incredibly tough for Brackon as we suspected food intolerance was behind the itching he was immediately started on a natural cooked diet with simple proteins and a little carbohydrates, he was also given antihistamine to relieve the itching and had topical aloe vera applied to most of his under-side, nose, mouth, inside back legs ... to try and calm the angry red mess that was left of his skin!! He was also started on liquid valerian to help him settle down a little. WOW!! that was one heck of a week or so, he was detoxing his system of all the chemicals he was intolerant of, stabilising his blood sugars and coming out of a rediculously hyper-manic state, he was literally like an addict going through cold turkey, up and down and barely knew where he was let alone manage to deal with coming to a new house and learning new rules!! Thankfully though, we were right and gradually the natural food without any additional chemical treatments or commercial food he came round and we started to see the real puppy within. Brackon is one of the most genuine, kindest natured dogs I have ever fostered here and also probably the one with least 'baggage' to unpack. His kind nature and lovely temprament have meant that as soon as he was back on an even keel he immediately picked up that little ones are most rewarding when they're fussing you, playing with you or you're snuggling up to them and took on board our rules (definately no nipping or ragging !!!) and we feel he now sees children as 'mini people' and does go careful most of the time (though like any big puppy he does get excited and occasionally barge them over!). He has a heart made of pure gold. Assessment ... Brackon has been assessed on several occasions by the professional behaviourist and trainer that I use for my own dogs, she has many years experience and her report is available to anyone who is interested in Brackon, she is also available to talk to on the phone and in most cases any new home would be expected to continue to work with her on improving any weak points. Part of this cost is included in his adoption fee though any remaining cost will depend on the individual experience of any home coming forward, however full quotes are available prior to any adoption taking place. At the moment Brackon is still very strong on the lead if he gets distracted by other dogs or people, he is not used to being left and his recall needs some work but this is really only basic training that any puppy or rescue dog is likely to need, other than that he's raring to go as your special new pal! Important bits ... Brackon is microchipped, vaccinated and free from worms and flea's, he is not neutered and this will be discussed with any new home. For more details, pictures etc ... you can look on my website http://northamptondogrescue.webs.com Cheers, Claire Warden.

snow - are you suggesting that the refuge are not prepared to allow such a debate ? sorry - i just cannot work out where you are coming from. helly - i am not sure why you think i have a "holier than tho" attitude but it is simply not the case. in general - i'm very offended by your response in particular helly. i am not ignorant, far from it and frankly how you have the cheek to judge me like this and get away with it is quite eye opening about members of this forum. RA - why ? because i am not always at my computer, i dont spend my life tied to it and if i dont save stuff - i sometimes lose it. it seems rather stupidly i assumed that as i'd stopped 1/2 way through a section it would be obvious !! obviously not lol !!! in general - as a "newbie" you lot come across quite rude.

Hi, sherlock bones - i've not finished the opening post yet it is not a "genetic fault" of the breed. helly - i opened a debate on genetics, i'm not forcing you to debate here jacobean - again, no not a genetic fault estweyn - you are definately along the right lines, hopefully it'll become clearer why after i've actually finished the opening statement (ETA: blimey i havent finished the opening statement yet - just responding to more replies) redrotties - yep, it can be perceived as "without warning" but as you'll see its not entirely true ;) snow - i am sorry, i dont understand your post at all? what are you getting at ?? as far as i am aware when you initiate a discussion you provide an opening statement (which i might finish if i dont keep having to stop) and boundaries. if someone wants to have a debate on personal experiences of RR's then surely they are free to open up that debate - can you explain what i seem to have done wrong ? RA - having not investigated "bull breeds" as a group i would not like to comment on whether this is or isnt true. Claire x

Hi, sherlock bones - i've not finished the opening post yet it is not a "genetic fault" of the breed. helly - i opened a debate on genetics, i'm not forcing you to debate here jacobean - again, no not a genetic fault estweyn - you are definately along the right lines, hopefully it'll become clearer why after i've actually finished the opening statement Claire x

these are 3 comments in particular which are commonly used to describe the breed which can lead to aggression via the route in the brackets () these type of issues also come up in other breeds and will vary due to parentage/lines breeder/owner experience and environment. keep a very watchful and protective eye on the family they love (resource aggression) developed to think for themselves, they will chase anything that runs (control issues) can play very rough, shoulder barging is a speciality (little awareness of own strength - aggression is not just bites) (RR club of GB) the reason i have noted them here is because when coupled with the genetics of communication it helps to better explain why attacks from RR's would be "more likely" than attacks by other breeds (that is assuming that neither RR or other breed was subject to abuse in some way - we are talking about basic innate stuff here in the main) Ridgies and communication . . . As a breed, they were originally developed for hunting and were selected towards having instinctive ability to hunt. They did not kill the lion themselves but used a set of calculated "false attacks" (think of when stunt people do fights in movies) this would hold the lion long enough for their master to shoot. They were bred for these instinctive skills specifically. Typically, dog breeds communicate in "sentances" with turn taking structure (much like in normal human speech) however, Ridgebacks do not. (off for dinner now - back later) helly, thank you for sharing but this debate is not on personal experience of ridgebacks or DNB, it is regarding genetic factors which may lead to aggression. peoples experiences with the breed and which breeds they've been bitten by are very interesting (and i too have worked in kennels and been bitten but its not relevant to a debate on genetics ) claire.

Hi, I posted this information on a recent thread and many people responded saying that they were unaware of the innate basis for much poorer than normal communication skills in comparison to "your average dog". So, I thought the best thing to do would be to open a debate on the subject! Just to be clear - what this debate is *not* about : The debate is NOT about "deed not breed" or anything to do with prejudice based on perceived level of aggression due to "social myths" which typically happens with GSD, Dobies, Rotties, Bull Breeds to name a few). I wholly support "deed not breed" in that i believe the situation should be judged rather than the dog in the event of some certain "deed" happening. I have been bitten while working as we're all human and sadly lacking in hindsight at times!! ;) I have to say that it was not by any of the breeds "typically" tarred with the "aggression" tag. I have also had 2 of my dogs attacked fairly badly again not by "typically" tagged breeds. Nor is it about dogs who are "altered" in some way (cropped ears, docked tails, accidental damage to ears, tails, or face, or about any colour of dog which may or may not make communication more or less difficult

mmm ... i will be really interested in what the rescue say - what i do know is that it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that this dog did not show any indication of this 2 weeks ago if she was given a proper assessment by the rescue involved. dogs do not become aggressive like this "overnight" - this type of aggression/response will have been there since a tiny puppy. now for RR's neotony - i shall start a new post but to be honest, you all seem so prejudice and unable to accept anybody new, i am actually thinking of leaving.

you are extremely rude and ill informed. i am well aware the dog is a CROSS and never said it was a full RR at any time. simply sweeping aside the more "unacceptable" parts of a breeds makeup makes you prejudiced. also, this is most likely to be an issue with the dog itself rather than something wholly based around your son.

hi, my personal opinion is that as the owner was injured that this *is* a serious situation. i think one thing which lets owners down is that advice on forums rarely communicates the urgency of the situation. either because those responding are not aware of the "possibles" or because they dont want to be "got at" like it appears i am being. with regard to reccommending a behaviourist, i have given my advice where i believe the problem could be looked at in an "over the internet" way and reccommended a behaviourist for the more involved cases. again, personally i feel this is the responsible way to act. i am very confused as to why you think this could be a "negative point" and you also seem to suggest my advice is virutally worthless because i'm "new here". ..... off to find next bit

hi, i just wanted to say i'm back and will read through threads but it will take me a while as your questions (which i'm more than happy to answer) are inbetween other bits. thanks, claire.