Levi Herring

GOODBYE DARLING BOY 20.7.2015

A heartbroken Nicky found it hard to even say the dreadful words “Our darling Levi sadly passed to the Bridge this evening.

Run free my darling boy you were so loved and will be greatly missed by us all xxx”

HISTORY and FIRST REPORT

Levi is a labrador cross under 2 years old who was fostered by Nicky. Levi is a full on live wire who adores everybody. He is constantly looking for human attention and his tail never stops wagging. Levi is exceptionally strong and due to his enthusiasm he tends to lunge at items of interest; to curb this he is being introduced to a halti gradually to make him more controllable on walks. He has an unusual habit of trying to jump at cars; I think he thinks he should be getting in them!

Levi will swap toys and give, but occasionally he tries to turn it into a game and unexpectedly snatches the object back. In those circumstances he might accidentally get a finger.

Levi is thin, his obvious hunger has left him food orientated and he snatches hand food. He wolfs his food down very quickly and would drink a whole bowl of water at a time if allowed. He will try and help himself to any food in reach, i.e. from a high chair, table or worktop. This could be dangerous for Levi if he got access to cooked bones. With training this can be remedied as he is already responding to the “leave” command.

Levi enjoys human contact of any kind and is happy to be brushed and handled and has not shown any aggression towards anyone.

Levi doesn’t like separation and at night will cry for 15 minutes or so. However he will then settle for the whole night until he hears someone there again. He will whine a little if anyone leaves the room.

Levi has a lovely personality and is exceptionally bright and learns quickly. He wants to be involved in everything and is eager to please. He has all the right qualities that with time, patience and proper basic training will make him into a fantastic pet.

PROGRESS REPORT DAY 11

During the day Levi is much calmer and will lie down for long periods. Encouraging Levi to sit for attention rather than jumping up is working extremely well. Every day he makes progress, this is further aided by the Flower Essences which he started on Saturday. He can sit on verbal and non verbal command. Levi has just learnt the “Down” command which I’m sure will become more refined with practice.

Now Levi has a child gate on the utility door he will take himself off into his own bed in the utility during the day and seems less anxious when put in the utility. He will bark for a few minutes though when left.
Levi being an intelligent dog really enjoys the stimulation of his 5 minute training sessions, He loves to please and of course enjoys his little treats for getting it right. He is now completely house trained and not destructive overnight. He will however, get distressed near balls of any size and will rip them apart.

Levi enjoys his walks and is more accepting of his easy leader. He doesn’t like wearing it and will sometimes have a tug of war on the connector piece but this usually stops once the walk gets going. I don’t think Levi was walked on a lead much in his previous life and he is improving with practice. Levi will bark at some dogs he meets. I find the best way to deal with this is to stand still, and calm him down then continue his walk.

Levi continues to eat well and his fur has improved in condition and is thickening up nicely. His neutering wound mostly healed and his eczema patch is mostly healed just leaving some skin discolouration. The remaining patch is totally dry and looks like its making good progress.

Levi has met the cat. He squeaks with interest at him but has not been aggressive. Levi has a lovely personality and will sit with you whilst you do your jobs. He is a bit of a comic and will carry his water bowl to you when it’s empty. When he’s pleased to see you he has an expression, almost like a smile that makes him very endearing.

BAXTER IN HIS FOREVER HOME

After losing their beloved Pudsey, Denise and Phil have given Baxter a wonderful new home.

Denise said, “We decided to change Levi to Baxter as we use the leave command too much and the poor little man would have got so confused.

He has settled in really well, although he still has major stressy moments. The other dogs love him. He is struggling with cats at the moment but he means them no malice, he just cries at them.

I am soooooo pleased with him, he is perfect in every way. Baxter loves his cuddles, and attention. He needs a lot of lead training, but Nicky has already worked so hard on him.

It hasn’t taken him long to become a daddy’s boy. If Phil doesn’t get up right away with me, Baxter will cry for him at the top of the stairs until his daddy gets up ( hehe that’s my boy!)

Thank you IRR and Baxter for helping us mend our broken hearts.”

SAD UPDATE

Unfortunately, Baxter was obsessed with chasing Denise’s cats so is again looking for his forever home.

UPDATE JAN 2009

Levi has now gone to his forever home with Nicky who originally fostered him.

She said,“Levi is doing really well. He’s still a little whiney at the cat but we’re working hard on that and have had the cat in the same room a few times and with a firm ‘no’, Levi leaves him alone. I wouldn’t trust him unsupervised though. He interacts with everyone. He has a lovely character and everyone’s delighted he’s home.”

UPDATE FEB 2009

Nicky said,“Levi seems to be calmer in the house with each passing day. He will often get in his bed for a snooze and doesn’t need to be in permanent contact with my feet. Levi still needs help with his walking and his social behaviour when out of the house so is starting dog training classes on 8th March.

Progress with our cats is slow. Realistically, I don’t expect to fully resolve this totally, although he is due to start a new blend of flower essences which will help him. Levi is due to go on his first weekend out in the caravan this weekend, which I’m sure he’ll enjoy. Levi who has always remained a little detached from our other dogs has started to play with our retriever. They run round the garden chasing each other having a great time, and play grrr with the rope toy. Levi continues to be a generally content dog who uses his big brown eyes expertly to melt the hearts of all those who meet him.”