Ellie

ELLIE’S HISTORY

Ellie’s Mum, Bella, was surrendered in Ireland due to a change in family circumstances. She is a Retriever mix and looks as though she has been crossed with a cocker spaniel, and she is quite small, about 14 inches.

It seems Bella was in heat while she was in the dog pound and nature ran its course. IRR had no idea when Bella came to the UK she was already pregnant and it wasn’t until her adoptive family took her to the vet for a check up a few weeks after her adoption, it was discovered she was due to give birth within 2 weeks. On 5th August 2012 Bella gave birth to 7 beautiful puppies.

The puppies are now ready to go to their Forever Homes.

November 2014: Update from Ellie’s Forever Home

Ellie is a very beautiful (we would say that) and clever dog, who definitely knows her own mind. She is happiest out walking in the woods near our house, chasing squirrels, and even tries to climb the trees barking after them. She loves the children, loves to please and our youngest has taught her to jump through her hula hoop – we’re sure she’s part cat. She’s very fast and loves playing fetch, even with other dogs balls…

She has joined us on our holidays and so far has visited Yorkshire and Ireland, where she has discovered the delights of the sea, its a joy to see her splashing with our two kids. She now goes to have a ‘paddle’ on command wherever there is water.

She is very well behaved in the house, thank you to her previous foster carers for her training! Her only vice really is that she still isn’t great on the lead and just pulls as she’s eager to be off, although she has improved with our training.

Ellie has certainly become one of the family and seems very happy especially when she sneaks up on the couch for cuddles, and she is an absolute pleasure to have around.

Thanks again Nicky, her fosterer,
from Andy, Tracey, Christina, Louise and Ellie.

Fosterer’s 1st report – UK 2 October 2012

This puppy is very head strong; she is always 2nd to greet you but then she will command all the attention.

She will have all the toys; she is loving and happy.

She gets along with Zoey, our dog, and the cats.

November 2012

Ellie has moved to a new foster home

New Fosterer’s 1st report: 21st November 2012

Ellie is a very sweet little dog with lots of personality. She is 15 weeks old and so is not house trained yet, but she will learn with time. I think having a forever home and a routine that she is used to will help a lot.

She knows how to sit and will (after a couple of tries) wait for her food to be put down and be told to eat. She is not possessive about food or toys, but will usually try to play with whatever another dog has.

She is now used to sleeping downstairs with my dog.

Ellie loves the car; she is quiet and well behaved on journeys.

Ellie is ok on the lead, but is easily distracted and sometimes wraps herself around you.

Ellie loves people and is always pleased to meet someone new. She still jumps up but we are trying to discourage that before she gets big.

Ellie loves to play with other dogs and has loads of energy, so a home with another playful dog would be ideal. She would be fine as an only dog, as she is still young enough to be adaptable, but would need an adopter who was very active.

Ellie has quite a determined character. She bosses my dog around and won’t take no for an answer. She is a very happy puppy and will play for hours. She loves chase and wrestling with other dogs and likes tug and fetch with people.

When confronted with new people or situations Ellie can be a little reserved for the first few minutes while she assesses everything, but quickly adapts and returns to her normal playful self.

December 2012: Fosterer’s 3rd report

Ellie has a friendly character and loves to greet you.

She is very beautiful and her photos don’t do her justice – just at the puppy legs too long for the body stage.

She is a natural watch dog and woofs to alert you of different noises. As she is getting with familiar with sounds she is settling down. I am introducing her to a crate.

Ellie loves going for walks and is confident. She pulls on her lead and would benefit from puppy classes although she improves as the walk goes on.

This little girl is just desperate to please. She has a mad hour in the morning but settles down to snooze in the afternoon. I wouldn’t describe her as high energy, just a playful pup. My dogs haven’t been so playful but she’s happy to play with the girls aged 6 and 11 and enjoys the attention.

She shows no fear of the hoover or other domestic noises.

All in all I’m delighted with her progress so far, I’m sure she would suit a variety of homes, as an only dog if someone is around most of the time or with other dogs if they don’t mind puppy play. She’s woofed with excitement at the cat who has decided to give her a wide berth for the moment. But I will introduce them more as opportunity permits.

Fosterer’s 4th report: 31st December 2012

Ellie has a fun, playful and affectionate character, she likes human and dog company. She is completely clean at night in her crate with only a very occasional wet accident in the day (usually in
excitement).

Obviously still being at the chewing stage Ellie needs a plenty of chew toys. In general I’ve found her to be quite good about chewing around the house but we have a rule in the house that if you leave something out and it gets chewed it’s your fault for leaving it out!

Ellie still jumps up when someone enters the room (this is when she’s most excited), she is much better with adults who she’ll sit for, but tends to ignore the “off” command with our girls (6 &11) because she is so delighted to see them. We are working on this but at the moment I wouldn’t recommend Ellie for dog shy or very small children.

Ellie also nibbles your shoes, socks and cuffs etc. as you walk but we distract from this by sending her to find her toys. She likes to play fetch. She doesn’t share toys well, but my dog is a big softie and lets her have everything but there may be issues with dogs who are possessive over their toys.

I’ve not done much training on the lead yet I wanted to concentrate on house training and her not jumping up first. When out Ellie has a strong chase instinct and will try to run after cars as they pass, oblivious to any dangers. Ellie is being walked on her harness and she does pull especially at the start of the walk. She is mostly confident but will play bow and woof at oncoming people and dogs.

Overall Ellie is a typical pup, who would benefit from puppy classes to bring on her training and keep up her socialization with other dogs. She could be an only dog if she had plenty of human company. She could also be homed with other pup tolerant dogs. Our cat has decided he doesn’t want to socialize with her as she play woofs at him although he did decide to sit on the kitchen chair once and made it very clear she was not to come near, which after a couple of tries Ellie laid down; somewhat disappointed not to have made friends.

Fosterer’s 5th report 27th February 2013

Ellie is now 6 months old and developing into a beautiful young dog. She is currently living in Crewe with 2 other dogs and a family of 3 adults and 2 children 11 and 6.

Ellie is now developing her adult coat and is growing feathers to her tail and legs. Ellie has a big personality; she likes to be in charge of toys and will want what the other dog has. She enjoys playing tug with our dog, and being a bossy boots usually wins. Ellie is still at the chewing stage and needs plenty of chew toys. She likes the nylon chew bones.

Ellie is quite convinced she’s one of the kids and frequently will jump up on the chair next to the children to watch the games on the laptop. Although this is not encouraged, she will have a go to push the limits to see how far she can get and often gives a cheeky woof in protest when corrected. Her energy levels are settling and we are seeing longer periods of calm.