Freddie Jefferey

6.6.2007-18.2.21

Freddie has gone peacefully to Rainbow Bridge.

Pauline said:

“Freddie had done well, having suffered a couple of vestibular episodes which had left him a much less vibrant version of himself for the last year of his life. Gradually, things started to decline and the rigours of old age didn’t sit well with this larger than life character.

His life was no longer the joy it had once been and we knew he was telling us he had pretty much given up on life and was ready to pass. This was most clearly expressed when he refused all food for two days and even his favourite dish of stewed steak couldn’t tempt him. He was a proud Labrador at heart so what went in his tummy was always of paramount importance to him.

Putting our needs and that of his patient first, Roger, our lovely vet of 35yrs, came to our house at 2pm and the deed was gently done with Freddie cradled in Steve’s arms which was where he preferred to be as he had always been Daddy’s Boy.

After Rhani and George said their brief “goodbyes”, I stayed with them and, through tears, went through the motions of tidying up whilst Steve drove over to Companion’s Haven Pet Crematorium in Bristol where we knew our special boy would be treated with kindness, gentleness and the utmost dignity. He will be back home with us again next week and, then, his ashes will join those of some of his very best friends under the memorial bench at the top of our field.

We know his spirit will be at Rainbow Bridge where many old friends will be waiting to greet him”.

Fly with the angels, lovely boy xxxx

Freddie is home

Early HISTORY

FREDDIE is one of three puppies who were the accidental litter of a beautifully natured black Labrador bitch. Father is unknown but is, most likely, one of the farm Collies. The pups at 8 weeks old (24.07.07) were all absolutely gorgeous babies. Freddie has two sisters Maya and Melody.

His fosterer, Lucy, says “He has settled in brilliantly, he’s a very confident little pup and has had no issues with anything. He’s been good with the children but hasn’t met the cats yet – one of them came and sniffed him whilst he was asleep earlier but he didn’t notice a thing! Only one accident so far and he’s just been shadowing me around the house – I even made scrambled eggs earlier with him asleep on my slippers!”

UPDATE ON FREDDIE

Lucy says: Freddie is doing brilliantly and seems to now be toilet trained, we’ve not had any accidents. He is definitely a cat-friendly dog as he’s not shown any interest in our two at all and has just completely ignored them. He’s been great with the children as well and is still my shadow who sleeps on my slippers at every opportunity! He just wants some attention and cuddles. I’ve now left him for 2 hours and he was great, settled down after the first five minutes of barking and whining. We only went next door so I could keep an ear out and see how he was! But he was fine, settled down in his crate with no problems.

FURTHER UPDATE ON FREDDIE

Freddie has now gone off happily to his forever home with Gary and Sharon in Surrey. Apparently, they think he is great and ‘full of character’!! He had a very good first night –  he started barking and whining when they went up to bed so they just covered his crate with a blanket, as suggested by his fosterer, and he settled down and was quiet until 6.30am. Although they had never used a crate before, they can see it is a good idea while he is still young, both to give him a sanctuary and also to save the furniture from being chewed to pieces! They are fully prepared for his puppy antics and realise he will need lots of training.

SETTLING IN

His forever mum says……….Freddie is settling in lovely. The nipping is getting less and he only tends to get a bit too mouthy when he’s overtired and a short spell in the cage for a sleep then helps him calm down and he comes out all cuddly and rested. We left him for a short time (less than 1hr) on Sunday afternoon and he did a Harry Houdini and escaped from his cage. Managed to bend a bar and squeeze thru so we came home to see him coming flying down the stairs! thankfully there was no damage but the cage was a bit battered. A bit of DIY on it to ensure that Freddie couldn’t get out again was needed. With that in mind we’ve ordered a new one which should arrive later this week.  The old one has now got a few extras on it (bent coat hangers and a bit of an old rusty wire bin tied to the bottom ,which has now become the top to stop him from escaping). 
 
We took Freddie to see some relatives in Worthing yesterday and he was fab. Went in the cage in the car and was especially good cos we got stuck in loads of traffic on the way home due to an accident on the M25 which meant our 1hr journey took 2 1/4 hrs! Needless to say I was a bit frazzled when I got home with having a toddler and a pup in the car but both were amazing and were extremely well behaved. 
 
Have got him booked in for his jabs on 25th August and he can then start his puppy training classes on either 3rd or 10th September so am looking forward to them. Sooo pleased I spotted him on the website cos he is a joy to be around even when he is getting in to places he shouldn’t!   

AT THE PARK

Freddie had his first walk. He was fab over the park and very well behaved and just loved saying hello to other dogs. 

AFTER HIS RELOCATING, FREDDIE TOOK THE BRONZE GOOD CITIZEN AWARD AFTER JUST FOUR WEEKS.

Unfortunately, as Freddie got bigger and bigger, he looked more and more intimidating to Sharon although Gary could manage him easily. So it was, with tears in his eyes, that Gary handed Freddie back to IRR for re-homing.

As Freddie needed taking “in hand”, he went to Pauline for fostering. With just a few pointers in the right direction, Freddie gained his Bronze Good Citizen award within 4 weeks of him moving to Somerset and it came as no surprise when Pauline and Steve couldn’t let him go so, once again, they “failed” as fosterers.

Ferdie

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY – 6th June 2013

It was 6 years ago today that a litter of three delightful Crossbreed puppies were found with their gorgeous Black Labrador Mum under the car where mum had chosen for them to be born. They were given the names Melody, Maya and Freddie but are now known as Ruby, Maya and Ferdie.

Sadly, although he was a very much loved member of his first family, he grew too big and strong and it was decided the best solution all round was for IRR to find him a new home, possibly a “working” one more suited to his boisterous nature where his energies could be channelled in the right direction.

This proved to be exactly the right move for him and, within just a few weeks of the move, the newly named Ferdie passed his Kennel Club Good Citizen Bronze Award with flying colours.

Today, he has been celebrating his 6th birthday, frolicking in the sunshine with Rhani, Gizmo and his Retriever brothers (Georgie, Eddie and Ricky). Here he is hanging out in the cool of the kitchen with the oldest two of his great pals. His sister Rhani prefers chilling in his Daddy’s comfy chair.

FREDDIE (DOB 05.06.07) is a 13 months old crossbreed (mum was a labrador) who was neutered at 6 months. He is a fit and enthusiastic dog who requires a lot of exercise and he would benefit from an experienced owner who has the ability to control his stubborn streak and to give him the time and attention he needs to complete his training. An agility / active home with other dogs would be ideal for him and he would probably be better with older children as he is quite large and could knock little ones over.

Sharon, his owner had told us, “He is house trained, crate trained, has attended puppy training and basic training classes. Knows sit, down, stay, off, no and can respond to whoever is saying it to him. He will respond instantly to any command if you are holding a treat but will not always do as commanded when there is no treat involved. If you tell him ‘off’ he will not eat his meal until you then say ‘take it’.

He adores chasing after a ball and will bring a ball back to you but won’t always drop it without being distracted with something else. He will chase cats and squirrels. He loves running around with dogs of a similar size and age and will run to and sniff other dogs but doesn’t show any signs of aggression to any. He is not really interested in smaller dogs unless they like chasing him. If someone pays him attention in the park, he will run up to them but won’t jump up on them. His recall is hit and miss, he knows the command but, like more adolescent dogs who are trying it on, will return only when he wants to. He adores water and will jump in the stream/river but hasn’t jumped in the pond or chased any ducks.

He is very placid around the house and will happily lie at your feet while you are watching t.v. He loves sitting in the garden and staring into the sky in the evenings. He is fine to be left for a few hours, is not destructive and only on a few occasions has had a ‘wet’ accident and this is usually if he has drank a lot before being left. He sleeps in his bed in his crate at night. He has freedom around the whole house when we are in including going upstairs into the bedrooms but he has not been allowed to get onto the furniture. He will happily let you pat him or play with his ears or tickle his tummy.

He is not allowed rawhide chews.

He does not bark at the postman but will bark if he hears anything outside in the back garden. He will bark when excited and when he wants you to play ball with him but he will stop barking if he is told ‘no’ firmly.

Has been fine around our 3yr old daughter and usually wags his tail when she goes to pat him. He can be in the room where she is playing or out in the garden with her toys and will not chew or destroy any of them. He has also been around other young children and has been fine. He tends to sniff them and then leave them alone. He has on a couple of occasions knocked our daughter over in the park but that has been when he has just got there and has been excited and hasn’t been able to brake properly when coming back to us.

He is a very powerful dog and he will pull on the lead on the way to the park. He will respond to a ‘settle’ in a training school environment but is not always responsive when in the park environment.

He has only been in the car on short journeys but has been fine.

He is a scavenger over the park and will eat anything and everything if there is any signs of remnants of food having been in it. He has eaten plastic and tinfoil and made himslf sick. He adores fruit and will eat any fruit on a tree or shrub if it is within his reach.

He is being rehomed as we have a young child and, with me having been diagnosed with a debilitating nerve disorder in my left arm, I do not have the power to restrain him due to his size.”

UPDATE ON FREDDIE

Freddie is now being fostered in Somerset with Pauline and her five dogs.

She says, “He has settled in extremely quickly and he is already firm friends with Rhani who looks like his little sister. He is generally very obedient and wants to please you. His only major fault is pulling like a steam train on his lead but a harness or halti should sort that out. In our 100% secure field he has run free with all the dogs and gets on extremely well with all of them. His recall is good and he happily sits for treats with all the other dogs, patiently waiting his turn. He takes food very gently from your hand.

He is eating well and seems very content. He sleeps in Rhani’s giant sized crate at night with the comfort of his vet bed from home and Rhani and Gizmo on either side of him. He made friends with our post lady and has already acquired a few fans when he has been out and about with me in my van. He actually travels extremely well and seems to like being in the van. Here he is with Rhani and friends.”

UPDATE TWO WEEKS ON

Pauline says, “Freddie has now been with us for 2 weeks and is definitely a part of the gang. He still plays ad nauseum with Rhani but they both have to have “time out” now and again as they can get a bit over excited and their play will get rougher and rougher and louder and louder.”

“His training is coming along well and, if he is still with me at Reunion time, he will be taking his KCGC Bronze Award. He can still get a bit too keen on the lead but, mostly, he walks quite well now and his recall is pretty good. He is beginning to sort out the difference between sit and down (originally he offered me either or both behaviours for one word) and his stay time is building up. He is almost there so, with a little bit more work, he should be ready.”

“He eats well and loves gnawing on bones. He enjoys a variety of fruits and vegetables and takes food gently from your hand after patiently waiting his turn.”

“He can be a wee bit stubborn on occasions but no more than any gun dog type of his age and any disobedience seems to be down to his mischieviousness. He has a wicked sense of humour!!!!!”

” He definitely needs a home with another dog or dogs and one where he will get the huge amounts of exercise he needs and enjoys. Preferably, it will be a home where he can enjoy doing something like obedience, working trials, agility or heelwork to music. He would be better with older or no children as he is a big boy and could easily knock a small child over. He is great with people of all ages.”

FERDIE IS STAYING

Pauline told us with a grin “Well, the curse has struck again and on our anniversary too!!!!!!!!

In 2005, we succumbed to Danny’s charms, in 2006 it was quirky Gizmo who captured our hearts and in 2007 we couldn’t resist little Rhani.

We have both agreed that Ferdie is here to stay. We both adore him so this year’s anniversary present to ourselves is, yet again, of the canine variety. We had to change his name a little as there could only ever be our one and only, very special GSD Freddie but, no doubt, he had a paw in this adoption too.

As time went on, we found ourselves using both names and he seemed to prefer his original one
so, in the end, he went back to being Freddie again”.