Vincey Husky x Staffie DofB July 23 Hastings Foster

[Shadowbrindle]

Vincey in a secure field having fun.

[Shadowbrindle]

Vincey is so calm and lovely at home!!
Here are a few pictures of him this morning on my bed and a video of him later on after his walk approaching my bed and a video of him greeting me after I returned from the gym. He really is a lovely companion

[Shadowbrindle]

So I've had some days off work and had a lovely time with Vincey. I've also been able to leave him for an hour and a half with no issues at all. He just goes to sleep. This is great!

His walks are also quite good. I would say he walks to heel about 60 % of the time. This is HIM choosing to walk to proper heel ( not me asking him to) with his head just in front of my knee, looking up at me like a proper show dog and he keeps walking like that until he gets a treat! The rest of the time he is quite alert, looking at everything and I need to use treats when dogs pass by to stop him staring at them. Needless to say we go through a lot of treats since there are 4 walks a day!!
At home he is cuddly and calm. I've posted some more photos of him below from this weekend. When he wants you to keep petting him he puts his paw on you to ask you to keep going. . You can see this on the video.
He's a great dog. Very smart. Learns fast. Very handsome and a lovely companion.

[Shadowbrindle]

I have discovered that Vincey doesn't like being covered with a throw cos he gets too hot. At times at night when he's on my bed I have touched him and thought his fur felt a little cool so I have put a cover on him. But if I do this, within 15 minutes he will jump off the bed and lie on the floor to cool down. And then jump back up again. He also doesn't need a coat on outside even in this snowy weather as he seems very comfortable on an hours walk. Must be the husky in him!
Vincey has been with me for over a week now and I can truly say he doesn't pull on walks at all. He really walks very well. Impeccably in fact. Just as he behaves Impeccably at home with very good manners. . The only thing is his reactivity to dogs and I have to redirect his attention whenever there is a dog on the horizon. This is much easier to do with the halti head collar as I can turn his head to change direction and lure with a treat, before he fixates.

Vincey asleep this morning

After a walk he is a little playful and I spend about 10 minutes throwing his squeaky turkey for him to fetch. That's it. Then he relaxes. He also doesn't jump up at you, which is good cos he's quite a good sized dog. Vincey also has a soft mouth. He is no good at tug games! I have tried to play tug but he's rubbish at it! Doesn't hold the item very well and I can just pull it away from him. .

[Shadowbrindle]

Vincey chilling after his morning walk

Vincey, mummy has to go out now but she's coming back

Hmm what's going on out there?

[Shadowbrindle]

Videos of Vincey on a walk and after a walk. Commentary on the videos.

[Shadowbrindle]

Vincey has been with me for 2.5 weeks now doing 4 walks a day and we are starting to have a breakthrough on his walks! I've started asking him to sit when a dog approaches and it's working super well!!! He just sits and looks at the dog as it passes and he is far less aroused than if we had continued walking towards it. He will even take treats as it is approaching and he doesn't fixate as much as when he is walking. I hold the lead very loose and relaxed and Vincey doesn't try to stand up. I am so pleased with his progress!! In fact I am going to take him to a nearby park on Saturday where there will be some dogs, all on leads, to practice this with him some more.

I've also been walking slower with Vincey letting him choose the pace and stopping if he wants to stop and check everything is safe before moving on. This seems to be building his confidence a lot. Vincey is not an aggressive dog he's just a scaredycat! He never barks or growls at other dogs. I just think he hasn't had much experience or exposure to things. He will bark back if another dog barks at him but he quickly stops again. He still backs away from the harness but not as much as before. I have now also started throwing treats near it and rewarding him for looking at it to make him associate it with good things.

At home he is wonderful. I have left my treat pouch by mistake on a low table in the hallway a few times now and left Vincey at home alone and he's never touched it. He is really well behaved at home. I have left him up to 2 hours at a time now and he's absolutely fine. He's also not a door dasher, never tries to run out door when you open it, but stands well back. He doesn't jump up on you either when you come home. The other day he started eating something he picked up on the grass and I instinctively put my fingers in his mouth to take it out and he just let me. It was a chicken bone so I am glad he did. You can also dry his paws easily after a walk with a towel. Unless he's in a playful mood and starts running around doing zoomies.

Vincey is a great dog. He learns fast and is intelligent. He needs a bit of work to get him to the point where he will not be reactive but it's all going really well so far and I have no doubt he will end up being as perfectly behaved outdoors as he is indoors. He's a great companion and I'm loving having him.

Vincey chilling after a walk

Vincey has just been told I'm going out

Vincey joining in when I am doing yoga. Here attempting a supine spinal twist

[PaulB]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! These are such lovely updates (and photos) - exactly what we hope for from our fanstastic fosterers!

I have only met Vincey once to date, when I did his original homing, but he immediately struck me as a lovely boy and who couldn't be mesmerised by those amazing eyes!

Here's to finding your forever home soon Vincey.

[Shadowbrindle]

Thank you Paul! I hope Vincey gets his forever home soon.

Yesterday evening and today I took Vincey to the park where he would meet more dogs and much more would be going on. He was a little wary and cautious as we walked along, taking it all in. I got him to sit each time a dog was approaching and it worked really well each time. He sat with loose lead and me feeding him treats while we watched the dog pass. We also did this when he spotted two geese which he was very interested in. The funny thing is people commented on how well trained he was when they saw him just sitting there not moving with loose lead! One man said "he's better trained than my dog" and another man with a poodle just said "how well trained he is". So there you go! Vincey is well on his way to becoming a perfect dog outdoors as he is indoors!. He is very good at sitting and it keeps him much less aroused than if he stands or is walking. It also must be said that Vincey never instigates barking or growling or lunging at other dogs on walks. But if they bark or lunge at him he does respond in the same manner. But now that he sits when he sees dogs his behaviour is much less provocative to the dogs so they tend to ignore him.
Yesterday a plumber came over. I shut Vincey in the living room while he was here. He did bark and growl a bit but not more than my late staffie would have done and did settle down after a bit and became silent for the rest of their visit.

I have yet to introduce Vincey to my friends or to people visiting my home. When I have met people in the street he responds best if they don't look at him and just ignore him. I really think Vincey is just a frightened dog deep down who hasn't had much exposure to things. I'm sure he's going to just get calmer and calmer as his progress is promising so far!
Here are a few pictures of Vincey in the park and from this morning.

Look at that lovely face

Good morning

Hello you

[xxlynne]

Wonderful to see and know he is with you Caroline. What great times!