Bob

Bob arrived from Romania in December 2023. He was very nervous and hadn’t travelled well on the happy bus.

He would constantly bark at seemingly nothing and would run back and forth. Taking him for a walk was a nightmare as he would lunge at people and dogs, snarling and barking. He was very reactive and getting worse. Walks could only be done in early morning or late evening. The whole event was nerve wrecking and something to be dreaded and not enjoyed. We knew we had to bring in Mary, who had helped my daughter with her rescue dog so we knew she could help. Prior to contacting Mary, we noticed that Bob did not react when we called him. So we took him to a vet who confirmed that Bob was deaf and possibly had limited sight.

His rescuer would never have known Bob was deaf as he would follow other dogs and copies them.

At Mary’s first visit. Bob was  aggressive towards her and would try to nip her, and had to be kept on a slip lead throughout her visits.

Mary devised a training plan which included using sign language.

Bobs training is ongoing but we now have a dog that looks forward to Mary’s visit and happily greets her and tries to snuggle up to her. A far cry from the early days!

He is becoming so much calmer and loves to snuggle on my knee, he’s so affectionate. He’s still nervous going out but when people know he’s deaf they’re very understanding. Bob is improving all the time.

Most importantly, Mary helped me become calmer and showed me how to cope when walking Bob and how to handle his reactiveness.

A rescue dog is so worth the effort, and with the right trainer, Mary, the results make a difference to your life and your dogs. It takes time and patience but its very satisfying and fulfilling.

In March 2024 we adopted Millie from Romania and that’s another  story to be told later......