Savvy ^
|
Status: AvailableID: 40836 Name: Savvy ^ Breed: Poodle Cross Age: 2 Years Gender: Female Adoption Fee: See below | |
Location: At Many Tears in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire |
28-03-2024 Savvy is a very worried little girl who has come to us from a breeder to find her forever home. She is overwhelmed to find herself here at the moment and is feeling quite unsure around us. Savvy is a girl that breaks our hearts and really deserves the world and more. When we approach her in the kennel she runs away and does not want to be touched, trying to get as far away from us as possible. Currently we are using a blanket when holding Savvy to ensure she doesn't react out of fear.
Savvy has been through a lot of change in coming to the rescue so it is important we give her some time to decompress and will update on her shortly as she learns our intentions are only positive. At the moment she spends most of her day snuggled into the bed with her kennel friends and takes great comfort in their company - she would never have known life without other dogs. Savvy will follow them around the play yard but she is unsure of her surroundings as this is all a big change for her.
She is looking for a kind calm adult only home with adopters that have experience in bringing on scared ex-breeding dogs that can help her come out of her shell in a loving environment. Savvy will need at least one confident resident dog in her new home that is happy to have her snuggle up next to them and that she can gain comfort and confidence from in her new home. She has never lived in a home before so will need kind understanding adopters that can help her learn new skills such as housetraining and walking on a lead/harness when she is ready, this may take some time and she will need adopters that understand this.
Savvy is such a dear little girl who has been through a lot and just needs that experienced someone to welcome her home and show her how much love is waiting for her when she is ready.
01-05-24 UPDATE
Savvy has been with me for just about a month now and she’s still very frightened of us humans and our scary hands, but she has come out of her shell massively. She’s now a very happy girl who loves to go out into the big play yard and run around with her friends, she’s also discovered the fun of toys too. She especially loves the really hard ones that she can chew away on. She is happy to approach me to give me lots of sniffs on my fingers, and she will take treats from my hands and lick squeezy cheese off of me too. This may not sound like a lot, but for a dog with a huge fear of humans like Savvy, it’s really good. She does love her food a lot, so this is the main thing I’ve been using to gain her trust … and it is working, to an extent. When I’m sat on the floor she’s more than happy to hang around near me, and even come and sit by me. BUT, her biggest fear is still being picked up, and it is difficult to do. I still have to use a blanket because she’s so uncomfortable with it, she will bite. Once she’s in your arms and you have hold of her comfortably, she does settle, but she really doesn’t like it. This is something I have been working on with her, but I think it’s going to take a very long time and a lot of patience and consistency.
Savvy will still need a resident dog in her new home, and very experienced adopters. They’ll need to have all the time in the world for her, and take every precaution to keep her safe. Things that are normal to most dogs such as walking on a lead are not going to be in the near future for Savvy, so her adopters will need to be okay with this and work with her to get her there. It will be a long road, but I promise you it will be so worth it. She is a sweet girl and she’s really trying to be brave, but she’s so emotionally scarred from her previous life, it’s currently impossible for her to trust anyone. I do think this will come in time, but only in a very special home.
01-06-24 UPDATE
Savvy’s confidence is continuing to grow daily and she’s now very comfortable being in my presence. Whenever I’m spending time with her kennel, she chooses to come and sit or stand really close to me every time. She’s sooooo curious of me and she watches the other dogs having fusses and cuddles from me so closely. I can tell she is desperate for some love, but she’s still too scared to accept it. That’s okay though because she’s 100% going in the right direction, and it does really need to be in her own time. With dogs like Savvy, you can’t force anything because it will just make her even more afraid.
Over the past couple of weeks she’s started having a bit of a fascination with my face. Every time I’m sat on the floor she’ll come right up to me and sniff it all over, and even give me kisses on my nose!!! It is honestly the sweetest thing in the entire world. She seems a lot less scared of my face than she is of my hands .. I guess because my face can’t hurt her .. but I’m hoping soon enough she’ll realise my hands won’t either. She truly is one of the most special dogs I’ve ever worked with and I’m really taken with her. I just wish other people could see past her fears, and see what I do.
29-06-24 UPDATE
My special girl Savvy is stealing my heart more and more every day. I’m SO proud of her and everything she’s accomplishing here at the rescue and I genuinely love spending time with her every day. As mentioned in my previous update, she has been getting more comfortable around me and is coming closer and closer to me as time goes on. We’re now at the point where she will put her paws on my leg which is absolutely amazing. She started doing it to get food, but then she started copying her friend Berry who would do it every time I walked into the kennel because he was happy to see me. She was very close to Berry and she learned a LOT from him, so this is why it’s so important she’s homed with a resident dog. Berry has now been adopted but she still has multiple kennel friends to lean on and learn from. Another thing she has started doing is wagging her tail at me every morning. She gets genuinely excited to see me and it fills me with so much joy. We just need to work on her fear of being touched!!! This is something I’m going to start doing a lot more now that I think we’ve got a little bond starting. I’m hoping she does now know that I’m not going to hurt her and that she’s safe with me … so I’ll keep you all updated on how we get on. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
26-07-24 UPDATE
For the past 2 weeks I have been setting up a crate in the back of Savvy’s kennel. The idea is if I can get her to a point where she’s comfortable and relaxed being in a crate, I can start working on touching her as she’ll have nowhere to run or jump. I know that sounds a bit mean, but I’m going to have to start pushing her out of her comfort zone just a little, to help her with her fears. With dogs who are as scared of touch as Savvy is, I usually leave them come to me for a good while just to see if they will eventually let me touch them. It’s been a couple of months with Savvy now, and even though she’s comfortable coming extremely close to me and even kissing my face, she still will not let me touch her. So, the crate is out!!
Every day I’ve been using chicken and other high value treats to give to her whilst she’s in the crate. She is now fine to go into it by herself, and I do always leave the door open so she knows she’s not completely trapped, but she is quite content sitting in there whilst I’m feeding her. I’m going to keep doing this for a couple of days, and then next week I am going to start using a blanket to try to gently stroke her. I will take it very slow and I’m going to try not to overwhelm her too much, so I hope she’ll be okay. As always, I’ll keep everyone updated!
23-08-24 UPDATE
I thought you’d all like to see a little update on how we’ve been getting on with everything! Shortly after my last update I started giving Savvy small little strokes using a blanket. The first couple of times she did bite the blanket as her way of saying “please don’t” but I persevered because I knew I had to. Fast forward a few days, I would start with the blanket and then sort of cover my hand with it, so my fingers were stroking her but I was still protected. I did this for another few days and then I started taking the blanket away altogether. The video is where we’re currently at, and I know she is shaking with fear, but she’s not trying to bite me and she’s not trying to dart away, so even if it doesn’t look like a lot … please believe me when I say it is!! She is definitely a long term project dog and she still needs an extremely knowledgeable and understanding home, but at least I can now say that we are getting somewhere.
You may also notice she’s had a bit of a haircut! As we’re now in summer, I thought it would be the perfect time to shave her coat off and start fresh. I took her into the vets and did it while she was under anaesthetic, and I think she feels a lot better now. Now that she’s getting used to the crate, I am hopeful she’ll start letting me do things like trim her fringe when the hair does grow back .. but I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it!!
26-09-24 UPDATE
Please read our information on ADOPTING EX-BREEDING DOGS before you apply.
PLEASE NOTE: We nearly always home dogs who have come from breeders where there is ALREADY A RESIDENT DOG living in the house. They have usually never lived in a house before and are only used to canine company. They usually get their confidence and learn faster with another dog to copy from. This also helps with house training and learning how to walk on a lead. They will make lovely pets but do need a lot of love, time and patience. If the ex breeding dog you are interested in can be an only dog it will say so in its write up. Please read our information on ADOPTING EX-BREEDING DOGS before you apply.
ADOPTION DETAILS
If your application is successful you will be home checked and you, all members of your family and any dog(s) who will be living with the dog MUST come to meet the dog you want to adopt. All our dogs are micro-chipped, have had at least their first inoculation and are spayed/neutered unless there is a medical reason for not doing so. You must have a safe means of transporting the dog home in a crate or if this is not possible please discuss with Many Tears or the Fosterer when your application is being processed.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU CAN TRAVEL TO WHERE THE DOG YOU WANT TO ADOPT IS LOCATED BEFORE YOU COMPLETE THE ADOPTION FORM
Please read our adoption procedures before applying and then complete the adoption form.
ADOPTION PROCEDURES ADOPTION FORM