Stormy has officially been at the rescue for a whole year now which makes me incredibly sad, but also a little bit proud when I look back on how far he’s come. He’s been with me for the whole time he’s been at Many Tears and he’s definitely a mummy’s boy, but we still have a lot of work to do! Harness training has been ongoing for about 4 months now and bless him he just does not want to walk. Once he has taken a couple of steps for some chicken, but that’s all I’ve managed to get from him. He’s absolutely fine with wearing a harness all day, but the minute I attach a lead, he shuts down completely. I’m not giving up on him though! I’m still taking him to various different (quiet) places around the rescue to see if anything will click with him. I’m sure we’ll get there eventually.

One thing I have noticed with Stormy is that he absolutely thrives and becomes the happiest version of himself when he’s in a large group of dogs. I quite often let a couple of kennels out together in the play yard so they can socialise and play with each other, and he LOVES it so much. He will try to get literally every dog to play with him, but he is respectful if they don’t want to. A home with multiple playful resident dogs would be a dream come true for him I think!

I’m still trying my very hardest with Stormy in regards to getting him used to human hands and even though he is SO much better than he used to be, he still won’t actively approach me for a fuss even after all this time. He loves my face and giving me lots of kisses and sniffs, but hands are still scary for him. I think this is something that will improve in a home where he has a lot more 1 on 1 time with his humans, so I REALLY hope someone falls in love with him soon. He deserves it so, so much.. bless him.

Stormy has had quite a busy few weeks and I have to say, I have never been more proud. First of all, we’ve finally had a breakthrough in terms of me picking him up!!! This has always been his biggest fear and up until about a month and a half ago, he would literally try to jump over my head every single time, just to avoid it. I would have to basically catch him in mid air which was never ideal, but it was the only way I could get hold of him. This stopped suddenly a few weeks ago, so I think he finally started to realise that I wasn’t going to hurt him. Now, he runs into the back of his kennel, jumps into one of the beds and then stays sitting there. I still go towards him very slowly and gently not to spook him, but there is definitely a huge improvement.

Secondly, I’ve started doing some harness training with him again as I thought this would be his next step. I did start it off with him a few months ago, but he wasn’t ready, so I listened and didn’t push him. This time around things are already a lot better and I do think he now has the tools to handle it (as long as I take things slowly). At the moment he wears his harness through the day every day, and then I clip a lead onto it when he goes out into the yard. Having the lead onto him is scary for him so I’ve been using a lot of positive reinforcement by bringing in fresh chicken to motivate him. Using this he has taken a couple of steps with me holding the lead in my hand (which is huge), so I’ll continue to do this every day. Some dogs take to walking on a harness really quickly, but then there are also dogs like Stormy who find it extremely difficult and so you have to take things very slowly with them.

It’s soon approaching Stormy’s 1 year anniversary with us and that makes me so sad. Seeing how much progress he’s made and continues to make, really gives me hope for his future. I know it’s going to take a lot of work, but I promise you it will be SO worth it. Please can someone consider this precious boy? He really needs a chance now.

Hi everyone, Stormy here! I asked my kennel mum if I could write my own update today and she said of course .. so hello!!!
I’ve been at Many Tears for over 6 months now and in that time I have learnt so much. All the humans here are very lovely and they’re doing quite a good job of looking after me and feeding me. They’re also teaching me that I don’t need to be afraid of them, which I am slowly understanding, but I do still have some trust issues because of my past. I do think I will eventually learn, but it might take me a little while longer.
I would love to find my forever home soon. I think that would help me so much more than being at the rescue. My kennel mum says I’m such a good boy and I’ve made a lot of progress since my arrival, but nothing compares to being in a calm and quiet home environment with adopters who have all the time in the world for me. I promise I’ll try my best to be brave, but please be patient with me!
I’m signing off now but I’m keeping my paws crossed that my special people find me very soon. Wish me luck everybody!

Stormy is a very worried young dog who has come from his breeder to find a loving home. He is a young but frightened boy and is feeling very overwhelmed at the moment and has no idea what is going on or how he should react. He is flighty and scared so will need an experienced adopter who can give him all the time and TLC that he needs to help him begin to settle and discover his own personality. He will need a calm and quiet, adult only home. Stormy is reliant on other dogs and shuts down completely by himself so he will need at least one kind resident dog in his new home to lend him confidence and be his friend. He will need to learn all about home life as he has never lived in a home before so everything will feel daunting and strange at first. He will need time and patience to help guide him forwards and with lots of love he will settle and begin to enjoy his new way of life.