We have taken Magic out a few times now and he is one of our firm favourites to walk! He is so silly and he never fails to put a smile on our face! He is always so happy and excited to go out and wants to greet anyone and everyone on his way out.
The weekend before last we made a tri-paw train by taking him out with Logan (who has since been adopted - yay!) and they both hopped along enjoying their walk. One thing they both have in common is their love for diving onto their backs in long grass so we had lots of short breaks whilst they did this! They took it in turns being leader, because another thing they have in common was that they would pull more if they were the one following !
Last weekend we planned to go out with Laika on Saturday but shortly after leaving the kennels we noticed that both Laika and Magic were desperate to lead the way. This meant that whoever ended up at the back would pull as hard as possible! Magic trying to catch up with Laika meant poor Magic tiring out his little legs, and Laika trying to catch up with Magic required a lot of counterbalancing because she is a pretty strong girl so we decided to part ways and walk separately!
We learnt our lesson and on Sunday we walked Lisa who we find to be a super chilled walker, and this worked as much easier duo. Before setting off we headed to the paddock and Magic enjoyed running around, chasing balls and wiggling around on his back in the grass. On our walk Magic went in front and set a good pace. He took a few breaks to roll on his back and have a tummy tickle when he got tired. He made us laugh when he cocked his back leg up to go for a wee - because he just has the one back leg it means he does a weeing handstand!
We really hope that Magic finds a home that deserves him soon!!
Magic came to stay with us for the weekend. We had a lovely time with him and we were very proud of the progress that he made over such a short stay. He is such a nice-natured dog and with a little time and understanding we know he will make for a perfect companion.
Firstly, we wanted to share what Magic got up to on his holiday from the kennels.
We picked him up on Friday and we went to the Epsom Downs on our way back for a walk and an ice cream.
There were a lot of dogs and people about and he was very well behaved. We had an out of control off-leash dog run up to us ( ) and Magic just wagged his tail and jumped around in excitement. Back at the flat he took a while to calm himself down but when he did he enjoyed lying on the sofa watching TV.
On Saturday morning we went back to Epsom Downs to meet a friend and her sprocker spaniel, Rupert, for a walk. Rupert is young (9 months) and energetic and to begin with both dogs found it very exciting to meet and struggled to concentrate on much more than each other. This didn’t last for long and quite quickly Magic was walking very well. He would tell us when he needed a little rest by flopping onto his back in the shade. After saying goodbye to his new friend, Magic enjoyed snoozing on the sofa with the Formula 1 qualifying in the background.
Late afternoon, when his energy picked back up, we took him for a walk around Epsom golf course. He was especially good on this walk; he set a good pace and hardly pulled, and paid no attention to a number of obstacles/distractions (golf buggies, cyclists, road crossings, prams).
He made us laugh on Saturday evening when we gave him a bone and he went outside to bury it in the artificial grass on the wooden balcony!
On Sunday, after a long lie in (we had to wake Magic up and think he could have easily slept for longer!) we went for a short walk around some local woodlands. Again, Magic walked really well and pulled a lot less than how we found him to at the kennels. After his walk he had a couple hours sleep on the sofa before we headed off to a private dog park/field. We think this was Magic's favourite part of the weekend. He was able to be off-leash (given the privacy and the secure nature of the enclosure) but still chose to walk with us.
He led the way but would stop and wait for us to catch up if he felt he had gone too far ahead. He did lots of diving onto his back and wriggling around, lots of sniffing, and lots of wagging. And even had a play on the obstacles!
We also wanted to share some further information about Magic for those who want to learn more about how he is in a home:
Car journeys
The car trip from the kennels to our flat was 40 minutes. Magic was confident getting into the car and quiet and relaxed for about 30 minutes - he then he got a little restless (understandable given he had got straight into the car from the kennels) and barked a couple of times. He settled again very quickly. We went out in the car a number of times over the weekend and he seemed to enjoy being chauffeured around. He would look out the windows or lie down and rest. We think he would be totally fine and comfortable working his way up to long journeys and makes a great backseat passenger.
Walking
When Magic sees his lead he gets very excited and can jump up and bark. As soon as he’s clipped on and out the door he is totally fine. We think that he could be quickly trained out of the jumping and barking, and that this behaviour is a lot to do with how excited he must feel when he has spent all day by himself before he has a visitor arrive at his kennel to take him out. We did find putting his harness on to be a struggle because he barks and tries to grab it when he sees it. We found the best way to put it on was to have one of us distract him with a treat whilst the other goes up behind him and quickly scoops it over his head before he has time to see it properly.
Before Magic came to stay we had walked him a few times at the kennels where we found him to pull quite a bit. He was much better over the weekend and there were often times where we were walking with a bit of a slack on the lead. We think he has potential to be a really good and calm walker. Some of this may even come naturally through having less pent up energy when he is outside of a kennel environment.
He is very good with “obstacles” and pays little attention to bikes, cars etc. A couple of times he seemed interested in and pulled towards people (because he was keen for fuss and attention) and dogs (because he wanted to greet them and play). We found this to be more than manageable.
Settling in / general behaviour
When we first arrived back to our flat Magic was very over-excited. We had bought him a bed to sleep on for the weekend but he tore it up straight away and he did take a long while to settle down.
To try and help him adjust we tried introducing him to one room at a time. There were times when he was over stimulated and this meant he would bark / grab objects (eg cushions). We can tell he means no harm when he is grabbing - there is no viciousness to it at all - and with time and patience he will definitely learn how to better express how he is feeling. We can only imagine how overwhelming it would be in a a new environment, with people always around you, with a new routine and lots of changing stimulation when you have spent day in and day out alone in your kennel waiting for your forever home. We tried to keep very calm and quiet around him to help him control his emotions. We had got him a rope toy but he wasn’t that interested in it, so instead we tried to redirect any over excitement to the bed we had got him. We let him shake this around a lot and it seemed to help him. He would also use this to self soothe and would suck and knead it.
We think he does this to relieve stress and when he starts doing it he seems to calm down a lot
Bed time
On his first night with us we tried him in a quiet and dark room. He didn’t like this, and he barked/whined. Out of respect for the rest of our flat building (including the baby that lives upstairs!) we didn’t wait to see if he would calm down and sleep, and instead we went to sleep with him in the living room. With this setup he slept very well all through the night and was happy to lie in in the morning. On both nights with us the uncertainty about what was happening at bedtime did cause him to act out a little. We had to try and remain calm and quiet and redirect grabbing to his bed. After his craziness he would suck on his bed then be able to fall asleep.
Toilet
We were so impressed with how Magic would tell us if he needed the toilet! We live on a first floor flat with a balcony and so we were expecting him to find it challenging to know how or where he should go. We were expecting to have to do lots of frequent trips downstairs to the communal gardens to keep his bladder empty but we needn’t have worried at all. We put a small square of artificial grass on the balcony and right from the start he knew that was what he should use and would ask to be let out as and when required. He did have 2 accidents on the first day but we could not blame him for either. The first accident was on a natural wool rug and we think that he could smell other animals on it, and the second occurred at night time when we trialled him sleeping in a quiet and dark room by himself (he didn’t like being by himself and we think this accident was because he felt anxious). I would definitely consider him toilet trained!
Food and meal times
Magic enjoys food and can be easily distracted by treats. This should be very helpful for training him! He liked sitting quietly to watch us cook / do bits around the kitchen however when we would sit to eat at the kitchen table he would bark at us to ask for food. After realising that he does this we would give him a chew before we sit down to eat and this worked well - he would focus only on his chew and we would be able to eat in peace!
We loved having Magic to stay and we wish we could have had longer with him to help him learn more about life outside of the kennel. He really is the sweetest guy and is so deserving of a forever home. He has all the qualities of a perfect best friend - he just needs a bit of time and support as he adjusts.
Wow, that is quite possibly one of the the best and most informative updates I have read on one of our dogs in a long time
Magic looks like he had the most amazing time with you guys and honestly those photos and videos certainly show what he is all about, just a young pup, finding his feet and oh my goodness how well he is doing
Thank you for highlighting this amazing boy’s beautiful qualities
While I was at kennels yesterday I took Magic out for a "pee-break", (he'd already been walked). We ended up going into the trees for more than just a pee and a releaved Magic was ready for a roll and a tummy rub. He must have felt relaxed because he showed no inclination to rag his chain leads. Actually, he didn't do anything but behave like a gentleman. Now, if I didn't have more than enough dogs ....
While I had met Magic before, I hadn't walked him so took the chance to do so earlier this week.
Getting his harness on took a minute or two as he just wanted to play with it, but I think he soon realised he was going to have to give in if he wanted to go out!
We had a lovely walk and he enjoyed a dip in the stream part way round.
Magic needs a home centred around his needs. We envisage as an only pet and a quiet household with easy garden access. We don't know his background but we think he had the opposite to this.
Magic is learning to respect his lead, and control his excitement. He really doesn't want to hurt i.e. grab so if he gets excited I calm him, avoiding control commands, just engaging his attention and the odd achh! and hold my hand forwards, and he smells it, often licks it and often shakes himself as his energy levels recede. Any form of tugging or standing over him raising your voice excites him further and he then struggles to gain control over his emotions.
Lovely boy who is actually a great listener and wants to please. His eyes light up when I hold his head and kiss his forehead. Magic thrives on "good boy"s.
Magic just gets lovelier and lovelier or maybe we fall deeper and deeper for his charms. I walk with him every morning and I can't remember the last time he ragged the lead or lead handle. he choses the pace and direction but knows unlocking the gate is part of our destination. He uses his walk appropriately and enjoys a taste of fresh grass as part of his ponder.
He is patient and I also never get the sense he is demonstrative in his needs he works in with ,me agenda when we get into his room as I tidy it up " What is this Magic did you have a party last night?" (Magic will often bring his blankets down on the floor out of the plastic bed)
Magic is in fact hesitant and a little sad as he senses my departure and we always end our sojourn with me grasping his beautiful head in my hands and kissing his forehead many times and telling him what a good boy he is.
Magic is Magic...you can see him maturing mentally with every week that passes despite his difficult journey in life. Magic adores sharing affection and loves his jaunts outside his room. He sits in his bed during the day watching all the walkers match by waiting for his special walkers. This lovely boy asks for very little in life and is grateful for everything. Hoping Magic will be in his own home by Christmas
! 
so we decided to part ways and walk separately! 
) and Magic just wagged his tail and jumped around in excitement. Back at the flat he took a while to calm himself down but when he did he enjoyed lying on the sofa watching TV. 
