Dancer Longstaff

Dancer is a Collie x Retriever who was 2 years old when surrendered through no fault of her own. She was fostered by Amy.

FIRST REPORT FROM HER FOSTER HOME

Dancer has settled in fine. She is a jumper…as in on people…. but we are working on that and she is very gentle with it. She will scavenge for food, I do not know if she went without at all but she does not like to miss out lol and has had a dogs bowl off the side in the kitchen but she left the bread alone. She has taken no notice of the cats at all.

Dancer has settled with the other dogs without any problem at all, she is instigating play with some of them which is nice to see altho she does tend to be very much more people orientated…I am doing lots of ignoring so she understands that she has to share me. Her separation problem will only get worse if she forms too strong an attachment to one person.

Last night she managed to get out of the front door as we were coming in…came straight back though rather than going down the field……….what a good girl!

My dogs are loving it as they are all getting extra treats when we have been out anywhere lol.

So far when I have been out, my son has been upstairs the whole time, she has been pretty quiet but she will bark at things she is unsure of.

All in all a great dog who just needs to learn confidence without getting too cocky as this could cause problems.

SECOND REPORT

This little girl is an absolute love, she is very quick at learning and because of this she is becoming very obedient. She doesn’t jump up at the sides, go on the furniture or go upstairs. Dancer is completely clean in the house. She is great around my 3 cats…going so far as to puppy kiss one of them (he loves it really).

Dancer is finally learning how to play…both with my dogs and with toys, altho she does not play tuggy games. Dancer is not great on the lead when she initially goes out, pulling quite a bit, however this does settle with time. Off lead she is great always coming back when I call.

I was told Dancer had separation issues but I have not had any problems at all. This could be because she has learned from my other dogs that I am coming home. She would definitely be better with other animals in the family.

This little love is very affectionate but her prospective adopters need to be aware that she can “over bond” so need to set firm boundaries: giving affection and stopping affection when they want to not when she does. Same goes for any type of attention.

Although she is affectionate Dancer is also very fearful…to the point of being actually terrified of some people. This fear is especially high around men and older teen boys.

I would suggest that any males in Dancer’s new home take a very active role in her life…feeding, walking, training etc.

Dancer would be great for agility as she is very food motivated, fast as a rocket and puts complete trust in her handler.

UPDATE ON DANCER IN HER FOREVER HOME (8 DAYS ON)

Dancer has settled into her forever home extremely quickly and you would think she had been with her lovely family in Dorset all her life. Her owners are very experienced dog owners so they are willing and able to give her the confident handling she needs.

Pippin, their 14yr old Golden Retriever, is a very gentle and affectionate dog and welcomed Dancer into her home immediately. Her calmness has, undoubtedly, helped Dancer to feel at home, so much so that Dancer dries off in Pippin’s bed after her walks and then moves on into her own dry bed afterwards with absolutely no complaints from Pippin.

Dancer has just discovered the joy of toys so that will help her with her agility training which she will be starting in the new year. In the meantime, she has many wonderful walks, right on her doorstep, to thoroughly enjoy.

She can still be a bit wary of her new dad when he appears in a doorway or comes down the stairs but, at all other times, she is affectionate and friendly towards him which is a very positive step for a dog who was so terrified of men originally and it is still very early days.

Dancer makes no attempts to go upstairs or on furniture even though Pippin has a lovely doggy settee which she would be welcome to share. Dancer’s basic obedience is good, thanks to Amy, and her recall (in safe places) is 100% so, all in all, things couldn’t be going better for this lovely girl.

UPDATE 9 MONTHS ON

Having been very nervous and hyperactive, Dancer has calmed down well and partaking in Agility has certainly helped her confidence so that she is now a loving and loyal little dog.

Here is a photo of her in action.