25th January

A brief blog tonight as we are gearing up for our meeting at Battersea tomorrow and I have still not done my facts and figures which I promised to share with you and I will but it will be after the meeting now.

I am facing my own fears as I am "London phobic" and travelling alone (without even a dog) is quite terrifying whether I drive or go by train! I have opted to drive and have just found out I can use their parking, thanks Battersea, but this lady is going to be well out of her comfort zones tomorrow morning!

Sandy has improved tremendously on walks. Despite running really fast she now turns and comes back to me for a pat before she is off again. I am sure this is due to the agility

.Not that she is completely perfect as she proved yesterday. I let her run round a huge field of Kale, we were near the end of the walk heading up the field towards the bridleway, I saw a group of people walking on the bridleway, but hoped she had not spotted them. I called her back but instead of responding she took this moment to scan the horizon and spotting them, was off. My heart sank, not everyone was going to appreciate 20kg of Stafford appearing from nowhere and leaping around their feet! They may not appreciate my "Sorry she's a recue dog and has spent all her life in a flat......." explanation either! However, in no time at all she was tearing back across the field to the point where she had left me, although I had panicked and moved. Soon she was back by my side safely clipped on her lead and we were heading home.......for now at least all was well.

24th January

Thanks to Mark and Catherine for sharing Poppy's story, I am sure you cannot fail to be moved by it. I am so grateful to them for taking Poppy on and helping her reach her full potential, it could so easily have been a different ending.

One thing stands out to me, responsible ownership.

People often say it is the owner not the dog (true) but they also say Staffords are ok if they are brought up the right way and socialised. I am not so sure this is true,people also  talk about attending training classes, again good and right they should but I do not think you can train aggression out of them.

Like it or not Staffords were bred to fight each other, this is their heritage. Just as Labradors and Spaniels were bred to retrieve, border collies round up sheep the Staffords tendency towards dog aggression is innate.

Often those most loving to their family and brilliant with children are the most aggressive with other dogs.

Of course not all are and if you are the fortunate owner of one of these that is great,but please don't fool yourself that it is anything you have done or disown the rest of the breed.

Responsible ownership. This is what Mark and Cat demonstrated and Poppy's former home did not.

This is why it is so hard to home Staffords and why you cannot be too careful in vetting new homes.

Thankfully most of our dogs are not as challenging as Poppy, but having invested the effort, Mark and Catherine do not just have a well behaved dog, they have an outstanding dog!

23rd January

(continued from yesterday)

Once we got Poppy home we introduced her to our kitchen and the new bed and cushion which we had bought that morning. She laid down in it immediately without even being asked! In fact, Catherine and I couldn’t believe how calm and well behaved she was. We had to coax her out of her bed to join us in the living room, and whenever we ate she instinctively made herself scarce – it was like having a polite house guest on their best behaviour!

However all that changed whenever we went on a walk. She would pull on the lead so hard that she would choke herself, and any attempts to restrain her were met with even more force and determination (and even louder choking noises!) Whenever she saw another dog – regardless of how far away it was – she would snarl and growl like a rabid wolf. If we passed another dog she would lunge for it. We reasoned that she had been in kennels for so long that she was over excited by the walks and would settle down as she became more accustomed to them. But progress was painfully slow and taking Poppy for a walk became a chore as opposed to the pleasant walk in the woods that we had envisaged. The prospect of meeting another dog was unbearable, especially one off lead with an owner unprepared to recall it because (..and these are quite possibly the most frustrating and irritating words a rescued dog owner can hear…), "don't worry, he/she only wants to play!" Sometimes, my dry response "unfortunately mine doesn't and will probably bite" had the desired effect with the owner chasing after it to grab its collar or put it back on the lead. More often it would result in an argument. Sadly, as a young male with a snarling out of control staffy at the end of a lead I wasn’t really doing my bit for breaking down stereotypes or improving the image of the breed. There just never seemed to be the opportunity to say “She’s a rescue dog with a troubled past and we’re doing our best to rehabilitate her and would be very grateful if you could just hold onto your dog for a few seconds as walk past…?” I used to take Poppy out first thing in the morning (6am) and last thing at night (10pm) in the hope that we wouldn’t meet anybody. I dreaded walking her.

2 weeks after owning her, following a particularly nasty incident involving a small black Labrador, we realised that if we were going to keep Poppy we needed professional help. We now realise how fortunate we were in contacting Marina Timms and Chris Baker who run K9 Matters dog training. From the initial phone call between Catherine and Marina (which lasted well over an hour discussing our specific needs) we knew that we’d found the right people to help. We regularly attended obedience classes twice a week and practiced what we had been taught on her daily walks. At this point Poppy wore a muzzle. We didn’t like it, but we didn't want to take any chances and hoped that anybody coming towards us with a dog off lead would realise that our dog didn't want to play and bring theirs under control.

A few months later, Poppy had made significant progress and was now walking on the lead nicely and followed basic commands. She proved herself quick to learn and soon became a star pupil, although her attitude towards other dogs remained confrontational. But as we became more confident as we learnt how to deal with situations, Poppy learnt that she could trust us and we wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. This was the key to eliminating her aggression towards other dogs (which was diagnosed as ‘Fear-aggression’). She needed to understand that as the ‘pack leaders’ it was our job to deal with any dog that came towards her, not hers.

It didn’t take long for the muzzle to come off. We’ve not needed it since. 3 and a half years later, Poppy has achieved her bronze and silver kennel club awards. She regularly attends ‘Working Trials’ and Agility classes which she clearly enjoys. It’s slightly surreal being told what a well behaved dog we have by other dog owners meeting us for the first time! But despite her progress, meeting dogs out on a walk can still be difficult. These days however it’s a momentary inconvenience as opposed to the traumatic event which used to spoil the whole walk! We have come to accept that this is just something we have to deal with; some baggage can never be left behind.

We’ve worked hard with Poppy but she has responded amazingly well to us and her training. We will always be grateful to Alison for being so patient with her and giving her so many chances. We also recognise that without the help and support of Marina and Chris we would not have the wonderful dog which we have today.

Below is some footage of Poppy on the agility course.

Mark, Catherine & Poppy

22nd January

Disclaimer: Please note that the views in today’s blog are my own and are not necessarily shared by Guildford and District Rescue.

I’d grown up with family dogs. Our first, ‘George’, an Alsatian cross, was a 2 month old puppy when my dad first brought him home. A lady he was installing a telephone line for in a block of flats couldn’t cope, and pleaded for my dad to take him. George led a long and happy life so we didn’t get our next dog until I was into my early twenties. ‘Marble’, a ten week old staff and the biggest of his litter, had been advertised in the local paper when we bought him. Having such an abundance of character and intelligence, it was Marble who began our fondness for the breed - my mum even gets a staffy calendar every year for Christmas. Marble, now almost 14, is still with my parents in our West London family home, although he is far less sprightly than he used to be.

Now into my early 30’s, a homeowner with a stable job, a reasonably sized garden and surrounded by woodland and country walks, it was time to get a dog of my own. There was only going to be one breed that I’d consider. My wife, Catherine, had never owned a dog before and was less keen! However I managed to talk her around. Because we both worked it wouldn’t have been right to take on a puppy, so we decided on a rescue dog. We contacted Battersea who sent a nice old man who took one look at us and our house and decided that we were perfect candidates to rehome a 3-4 year old rescue. He gave us lots of useful advice about how to settle a dog in and what to expect. I took a day off of work; we drove down to Battersea; fell in love with a red Peckham staff called ‘Roy’; and waited excitedly and anxiously for our interview. And we waited… After 2 hours (which felt much longer) our ticket number finally appeared on the screen and somebody saw us. We were assessed against the dog we had chosen and told that our 8 out of 10 'score' wasn’t high enough to rehome him. We lost points on the grounds that we both worked and would leave the dog unattended for too long, and also because we hadn’t ever technically owned a dog in our own right before so had no experience with the breed. The computer said ‘no’. We were told that occasionally they get older staffies which might be more suitable for us, but the lady who deals with them is on holiday and would call us when one became available. We never received that call. Curiously, we were offered a 4 year old Bullmastiff…

We left disappointed and confused about why we had been given false hope by the home-check. We also felt frustrated. As everybody knows Battersea is full of Staffordshire Bull Terriers and staffy crosses. However if you want to give one a home you would need to be permanently at home , not have kids (or at least no youngsters in the majority of cases), not have other pets, have a home with a garden (preferably outside London) and have previous experience with the breed. We wondered how many people walking through Battersea’s doors could match those expectations, and we felt that we understood why their kennels are wall to wall with staffies.

After a couple of weeks and nearly giving up on owning a dog, yet believing we could provide a good home, I thought I’d try again. I discovered Staffordshire Bull Terrier Welfare’s webpage and got in touch with John Laker who sent us some forms. We completed and returned them, and shortly afterwards were contacted by Alison at Guildford & District SBT Rescue. She did a home-check but also had concerns about how long a dog would be left alone. I assured Alison that I worked locally and would go home every lunch time (a promise which I maintain today). We made appointments to see two dogs which were available. We felt that the first, a brindle bitch called Nettle, was a bit too old and wouldn’t benefit from the long walks which we had planned. Catherine went to see the second dog, Poppy, who had been in Kennels for several months and reported back that she was ‘mad’ and ‘out of control’…but if I was to see her I would probably fall in love with her!

After a weekend of hard work putting up 6 foot fences to secure our garden, we met Alison at the kennels, paid a donation and put Poppy in the car. She was as good as gold in the car during the journey home… 

(Continues tomorrow)

21st January

Today and tomorrow we are featuring Poppy.

Poppy was one of the first dogs I took in after I started Guildford Stafford Rescue in Oct 06.

Poppy came on the 1st Nov

She was brought in by a couple though she belonged to their son and daughter in law. Their son was in the Navy and away from home a lot. The daughter in law could not cope with Poppy as she had a young daughter and was expecting another baby. The family were experienced with Staffies but the lady explained she had never come across one like this! Poppy was a nightmare on the lead and the lady had a plaster on her wrist where she had fallen over whilst trying to train her! The son and his wife had bought her from an advert at approx 18months old and the lady was exasperated by Poppy's behaviour, concerned for her daughter in law and thought she would just be able to take Poppy to the RSPCA and leave her there!

She was 2 years old and already on at least her second home.

At this time I used kennels to board the dogs, so Poppy started her stay in kennels only being walked when I could take her.

She was a nightmare on the lead, running to the end of it and dashing around, so I could only walk her for short distances.She was very hyper and liked to tear a log apart in the paddock. I began to introduce some lead training and basic commands and she was very bright and quick to learn.

Then I homed her to a young couple who had just bought their first house.

She had recently had a season so we could not spay her but I discussed this with them and gave them the date when it should be done.

This was early days and I do things very differently now.

It was when I tried to contact them for the spay that alarm bells began to ring and I could not get hold of them.The man was supposed to work from home but I had always suspected she was being left for longer than they told me.Eventually I asked the local dog warden to call and she found all well but the girl was still ignoring my calls.

Then we received a call from a girl who said she was a friend of the owner and had been looking after Poppy but couldn't keep her any longer as she did not get on with her dogs so she was returning her to the kennels (I think she had rung the kennels, not even me) What a mess! Thank goodness we got her back.

It turned out the couple had split up and poor Poppy was the victim!

So she was back in kennels again. During this time we had her spayed and she had a stomach upset and became very thin. Incredibly she remembered everything from our training sessions picking up where we had left off.

Then I had a call from a lady giving a reference for her friend who wanted to adopt a dog. I home visited the lady in question and her flat was immaculate as her friend had said, though it was obvious she had some problems and had had her previous Staffie stolen! As I have said these were early days and I am a lot wiser now. I drove her to the kennels (as she had no transport) and she chose Poppy, I then drove them back to her flat some ten miles away. She could only give the donation in monthly installments. I told her she must not let Poppy off the lead to start with. She rang me later to say Poppy was wonderful,very quiet in the home and that she had already had her off the lead.

Then apparently she was in trouble with the dog warden because she had taken Poppy into town and tied her up whilst she went into a shop and someone had come out of a building opposite with a dog and Poppy had bitten it.

Then the dog warden had said she must keep Poppy on a lead but she said she needed to run and she was not prepared to.

Then I drove over with a muzzle for Poppy but a few days later she said that she couldn't have a dog with a muzzle where she lived as people assumed it was vicious. I drove over again this time to bring Poppy back.

She even asked for the donation money she had paid,  not the full amount, back, and several months later contacted me to adopt another dog! Needless to say she didn't get one.

So Poppy was back again, by now I was using another kennels where the dogs were walked twice a day by the staff. I would try and get over two or three times a week.She was starting to become really wound up by the other dogs and I used to take her out of her kennel by a back way so we didn't have to pass them. She found another log to tear apart but remarkably she remembered our training and despite everything was improving.

It was now nearly ten months since she had first come into rescue, she was on her third stay in kennels,she had had four homes and was beginning to get a reputation.Was there a future for her? Could she be rehomed?.................Not too far away a couple were looking for a Staffie to adopt........

20th January

Next Wednesday 26th January Stafford Welfare members are attending a meeting at Battersea Dog and Cat Home to show SBT breed club members how bad the situation with Staffies is and how many end up in rescue.
In preparation I am going to go through all my forms of dogs taken in, logging the circumstances and how many were KC registered. I am looking forward to seeing an overview, I will share my findings with you.

Yesterday we received five requests to take dogs in! Two were through emails and three by phone with messages being left despite my answer phone message which still states we have no spaces.

The first by email was for a mature dog, neutered, chipped, vaccinated. The owner had lost their business and were now having to work such long hours the dog was being left on its own all day and they wanted him to go to a home where he could have his needs met, something we would all like to see but there are no homes out there. We were unable to help.

The next email the dog was not getting on with the owners other dog. They had tried everything!
You cannot pass on a problem dog to another home. If we cannot home straightforward dogs we are not going to have a chance of homing one with dog aggression problems. This sort of owner is not likely to listen to advise and just wants a quick fix, throwaway solution, poor dog, but we cannot help.

The first phone message was from a veterinary nurse who had met us when we were collecting outside Pets At Home last year. This was a one year old brindle bitch who had been brought in to the emergency vets having been punched and kicked and dragged across a railway line by her drunk owner!
Having received initial treatment she was now fully recovered but still at the vets with no-one taking responsibility for her.
I felt we couldn;t ignore this one and another rescue agreed to take her and she went last night!

Another call, this time from Helen from Leicester SBT rescue regarding a six month old white female.Owner had health problems, Helen felt it was genuine.It was slightly closer to us than Leicester. Despite many attempts did not manage to contact them until this evening only to learn the owner had found a home for the dog!!

Then one I picked up when they started to leave a message. As it was a private number I knew I would never be able to take down the number correctly from the message, I was trying to eat my lunch despite the fact it was nearly four o' clock , then, whilst I was pre-occupied with the call, Khan came in and snatched my toast off the work surface!
This was a lady ringing on behalf of a friends daughter who had inherited a nine year old dog when her father died. Now, having just had a baby, she could not cope.
The lady ringing was very nice with experience of rescue but convinced she was the only one and that a rescue space or home would be forthcoming soon.
I passed her on to John but offered to put the dog on our website if he was unable to help. As yet I have heard no more, from her or John......

So ends another long day at SBT rescue.

19th January

Sandy attended another Agility session yesterday and did brilliantly, it is so good for her as she has to focus on something and most of the time she just does not know what she should be doing and how she should be behaving. She is now fine with the tunnel and the shute, jumping on her own, getting the hang of the weave and even managed the see-saw. She is one clever dog!

However, our real stars tonight are Val and Honey, "On the sofa," with Marc the vet at Discover Dogs see the link below:
http://www.marcthevet.com/2011/01/advice-on-adopting-a-rescue-staffie/

Didn't they do well?

Also the RSPCA have produced a video promoting Staffies:
http://www.staffordwelfare.com/news.aspx