cycas Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Several people in the rescue dogs thread mentioned it being more difficult to find 'easy' dogs in rescue, so I thought it might be nice to have a thread to see who's got one and just how easy they are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted August 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Here are my dogs: I reckon both of them count as 'Easy'. Mollydog: Mollydog wasn't 100% easy dog on arrival, and that was, I think, because I'd not had a greyhound before. I'd read everything I could get my hands on, but it's not like having a real one. She gave us 2 weeks of hell before we realised that she would sleep through the night if she had a big deep soft bed, we learned to put food away in cupboards, and she learned that NOT getting up at 6am was something we could all enjoy! Since then she has been pretty much the perfect dog: she loves towns, she loves countryside, she loves meeting people, she loves other dogs of all types and sizes, she comes when called, even if she's chasing - and she has no instinct to grab or bite at all. She has even learned to be good around sheep. She gets on well with our 6 cats, although she will warn them if they get too close to her dinner... She does have her quirks: I can't trust her around bin-bags, and she's still a bit of a thief. But these are not hard things to manage. She is a dog that really could be safely walked by a 3 year old or a 93 year old - for a greyhound-sized dog I think that's a pretty easy dog indeed! Az: I wasn't actually expecting Az to be an easy dog. He was supposed to have fairly severe separation anxiety, be nervous, and not to be able to to be left without crating, and then only for a couple of hours. But he turned out to be one of those dogs that's an absolute dream in the right situation, but that really struggles in the wrong place. He really has just slotted in with no trouble. He gets on well with our cats, he's great with other dogs, (as long as they don't have testicles), he's quiet and loving, and has no problems being left with Mollydog at all. We still have the crate, but never have to close the door on it. He too has learned to be a good boy with sheep, and although he does chase, he doesn't go far and always comes back quickly. He walks nicely to heel, and has an excellent 'leave it!'. He too has his quirks - the main one is that he still gets very stressed if you take him anywhere that is busy and built-up. But for us that's easy to avoid, particularly as we can happily go shopping for the day and leave him at home to snooze. He barks back and gets excited (but not aggressive) when other dogs bark at him, and he sometimes warns off (very competently and painlessly) male dogs with testicles. He also likes to chase unfamiliar cats. Perl, our own top cat, thinks this is excellent, but we try to discourage it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKYSIAN Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Mollydog is just stunning!!! Oh....I'm not sure, I really don't like to brag!! SuperDuper Cooper Okay what can I say, maybe to some the fact he wasn't housetrained isn't 'easy' but to me it wasn't an issue. It took him a matter of days to get it, and since then he's been perfect. He's dog friendly, cat friendly, kid friendly and the best hot water bottle in the world! In the house he sleeps, eats,cuddles and potters. Out on walks he plays with Sidney and swims like a fish. He can sometimes be a tiny bit yappy with new dogs, but as soon as he knows them he's a friend for life. After many foster dogs that were in their own ways 'perfect' he was the one that got me!! His only flaw that drives me nuts is he won't give up the ball once he's got it!!! Staffy jaws of steel when he's got a tennis ball!!! And Sidney! Nothing I haven't said before...not only is he to me 100% the perfect dog .. he's also non shedding!! I honestly couldn't of asked for better, he is just everything I always wanted in a dog and to be honest he'll be a very hard act to follow. I adore my other 2 dogs, obviously, but having Cooper and Sidney after them has reconfirmed that there are fantastic, easy dogs to be found in rescue. Tiz and Cromwell were/are not easy dogs at all, but they are still amazing and considering what they've been through its a miracle that they aren't 100 times worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzeanna Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 My Dylan is a moderately easy dog. He doesn't pinch food (well, not often anyway), he's not destructive when left, doesn't dig up the garden, and you wouldn't know he was there in the car. His only fault is he can be reactive to some other dogs, but if they rarah back at him he hides behind you. He's fine at night apart from pinching most of the duvet, and when I had my little poms he never deliberately hurt them. Trod on them when he didn't notice them, yes, but not on purpose. He does chase cats though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Sid is my easy dog When he arrived he took all of a couple of days to slot in as if he's always been here. He's great with all dogs, fine with cats who stand there ground but not if they run we didn't have small kids when he came but he's the gentlest soul with all he meets. He cuddles with me when I feel down and is always up for a game. Unlke most sighthounds he doesn't mind rain and hates his soppy girly raincoat His only fault is that he likes to *sing* in the car , ok on short journeys but 6hr drives to go on holiday are ear achingly dreadful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laura g Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Twigg is my easy dog. Perfect company if you have a hangover. Manners of an angel. I often feel guilty watching the othet two at the window if we head out for girly time. but you know how it is. Sometimes you dont want to deal with the appalling recall, pulling, yelling out of windows, whinging, looning at other dogs and just generalistic juvebile lurcher terrorism. All Twigg wants is your undivided attention with a tennis ball and ballchucker. She retrieves to hand so you actually dont even have to get your bum off the grass! She's not always the most graceful of saluki types though.....my fault thgouht for bunging the bush in the way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zico's mum Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Great thread My darling Daisy is definitely an easy dog - and many people commented on it as well - couldn't believe such a friendly little dog was in rescue (she was a stray) She's brilliant with people of all ages,just loves a bit of attention from anyone and everyone.She's good with most other dogs,can have a wee grumble occasionally - unfortunately her bark is more like a scream so it can sound off-putting but she's just letting the neighbourhood know she's around.She's never gone for another dog,will mostly ignore them apart from the odd one she objects to for some unknown reason.Her biggest fault is she's a cat hater extraordinaire.I would never ever trust her with a cat,I'm sure she'd kill it She is a hunter and I did have a couple of problems in woods when she vanished on the scent of something - my fault for trusting her.She knew exactly where I was the minx but worked on recall and avoided areas where I thought she'd be tempted to vanish and she's fine now,I can take her pretty much anywhere off lead. No problems with toilet training - had a couple of mishaps first week then perfection since. Oh and she scavenges - boy does she scavenge and has the belly now to show it as well but I love her to bits. Duncan's even easier but he's not a rescue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 All five of mine are relatively easy. Having had experience of a difficult/aggressive dog I specifically chose easy dogs They all have their little faults, but on the whole they are very loving, happy, friendly dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supafrisk Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Both my last and my present dog have both been fairly easy Tess was the most obedient bitch ever. She had been a traveller's dog and had so many homes in a year that she was being put down by her owner (who was moving to France) because he thought it wasn't fair for her to keep going from pillar to post. I was lucky enough to be pointed in his direction before that happened and promised to keep her forever. Her only fault was that as he was a cannabis user and used to send her out every day for rabbit so he could spend his money on dope and doGknows what else, she would chase and kill wild rabbits and had tunnel vision where chasing them was concerned. She just wouldn't come back unless it had either gone to ground or she'd caught it. Over a couple of years she learnt the difference between domestic and wild bunnies because I had my own as pets and was so eager to please me that on the very rare occasion that two got out, she alerted me first and then held the rabbit down without causing injury until I could pick it up and pop it back in it's pen. (We had awful kids nearby who used to open the pens until I took it further with their parents). She walked to heel off lead, would follow me into hell and back and was the most intuitive and eager to please dog I ever had (and my first experience of bitches). Even before she was spayed (in the bad old days when I was ignorant and didn't know any better), she would 'sit on her bits' and snarl at any male who approached and she never showed any interest in a male dog (a fox once, yes - but not a dog!!!). And then there's Willow of course... Will is extremely easy and seems to be very intuitive towards Ellie. He will roughouse with me and fight and leave bruises (accidentally) sometimes but would never dream of playing this way with her. He wakes her every morning with a big sloppy kiss and nudges until she gets up and adores her. The feeling is quite mutual. He can have selective hearing on recall in new places (though he's quite good where we usually go walking, unless he spots a pointy... he KNOWS pointys are automatically included in his family although goes off them fast if they can outrun him). For a dog thought to be food orientated for life, he's remarkably laid back to it and will leave food and go back to it later. To date he has NEVER counter surfed or bin raided, even though we have a flip top bin which would be easy - spoilt and leftover food would be an insult to him. On occasion he has been known to nick Ellie's leftovers because it's at eyelevel and therefore not an effort but only if it's her pizza crusts I have left boxes of cakes in the hall for days and he's not so much as sniffed them He doesn't fart very often (when he does he's been known to point the blame at you even if it is him) but does hog a lot of the bed and insists on sleeping with his head on the pillow next to you. When I tell him it's bedtime, he races up the stairs before me, spins around and high fives me with a paw and a grin (I kid you not) and waits patiently for you to get comfy in bed before bagging his favourite spot. He only pulls on the lead when leaving the house and is a doddle to walk on the lead (even Ellie could if I let her), travels beautifully and doesn't moult that much, doesn't bark really unless playfighting - what else can I say? Just the perfect dog really and I love him to bits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one.eyed.dog Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 She was'nt easy to begin with but, we got there. Did'nt matter how many dogs you chucked in the car she let em in. This is JACKYSIANS plus 2 dark coloured labs right at the back that are hardly visible. doG I miss her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mop Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Thinking about my easy dogs I thought of Merlin, but then went to look for a picture of him, which is below, and I remembered just how easy he was. He wasn't housetrained but it didn't take long, he had SA, thank goodness for Asda's cheap duvets, he had a new one every week. He still gets stressed when I go out but just pees and poos now. This picture was taken a few weeks ago of Merlin taking apart a box of tissues For a pup or teenager Tilly is very good, she does want to please but sometimes gets into trouble, she will take food if she can. Those ears are real My easiest dog is Ellie, my little Staffy from RDR. She is so good I don't know she is here and hasn't done anything wrong since she came in April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natpants Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 *slinks out of thread quietly, realising her and Purdie-Monster don't quite belong here...* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexis Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 We got Charlie almost 3 yrs ago. She was living with some pikeys who were breeding staffie types for money. She was 6 months old and hadn't sold ; was in bad condition and had an awful flea allergy. We took her off their hands. In the first week she pood once in the house but that was it. She's friendly with other dogs ( she'll retaliate if someone bites her but not badly). She doesn't tolerate yappy dogs sometimes and has been known to growl at entire males but is usually fine. She is soppy as anything and picks up training quickly. considering where we got her from I am amazed she's so easy! She loves her ball and will fetch it to u all day & has never needed training to do it. On occasions she will have selective deafness usually when rolling in something lovely! She chewed a bit at 6 to 9 months when left but since then can be left fine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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