Patch & Jess

PATCH AND JESS’ HISTORY

Patch and Jess were surrendered by their owners after a change in family circumstances.

Initial Report: Ireland July 2012

Patch and Jess are seven years old and we got them at the age of nine months.

Both dogs have never used a lead as we live in the country and they just stay around the house and we walk them to a nearby pier where Jess goes swimming. Both dogs are very good with children and will not get over excited or anything and will keep their distance. Patch doesn’t like much noise and gets scared easily so if children etc. are around and loud she will distance herself from them.

They are both scared of sudden loud noise such as thunder and lightning.

Jess

Jess likes fetching, walking and playing. She is timid and laid back and she has always been very healthy.

Jess also enjoys swimming. She wouldn’t be used to many other dogs around except Patch and I think you will notice that they are best suited together, that is not to say that they wouldn’t get on with other dogs but they are so quiet and easily scared that they usually keep their distance. She doesn’t jump up on you and in the seven years we have had them I could count on one hand the amount of times I have heard them bark.

Patch

Patch is a very quiet dog, not as playful as Jess. She lounges about during the day and doesn’t fetch or play very much. She likes going for walks and enjoys seeing other dogs but if they bark or anything then she will try to run a away from them.

I think Patch depends a little on Jess to look after her as they are both extremely close.

Fosterer’s First Report – UK: July 2012

Since the girls arrived they’ve met our dog, my Dad, Sister, her 3 children (one little girl who is 6, the others twin girls 17), and one of the girls’ boyfriend’s. Both dogs went to sleep while they were here having had lots of fuss and strokes and settled happily in the house.

After our family visitors had gone, both dogs had their tea with my dog (no issues over food at all). Both dogs have taken a treat from me, and were very gentle and polite in doing so! Patch seems quite keen on treats and this produces a little trot and waggy tail – which is nice to see from such a quiet dog!

The bird scarer (a few fields away) went off, and by the third time Jess was quite concerned by it and trotted off into the house.

Jess has had a play with a ball (which she likes to keep once retrieved). She likes fuss and attention, and is definitely a people person!

Both dogs have had a brush, and whilst both were ok, I felt Jess showed some dominance over Patch in putting her head over Patch’s neck whilst I was brushing her. Jess always has to be there if Patch is having a fuss too.

Fosterer’s second report – UK: July 2012

Both dogs are completely gorgeous – they have absolutely blended into our ‘family’ with no trouble at all – in fact, we find both dogs very humorous in their ways.

PATCH

Patch is very sweet natured, calm, fussy, loves attention, sleeping and being walked. She really has the funniest character – desperately wanting to join in all the fun, but not really knowing how, so just ‘doing her thing’. We absolutely adore her!!!

She is very gentle taking treats, doesn’t jump up, walks to heal, although a little frightened of bikes and cars and likes to step to the side and watch them go by, rather than carry on walking.

If we go past dogs barking behind hedges etc., sometimes she stands her ground (but has never barked), sometimes she backs away, although she has got braver as the days have gone on.

If she sees a bird or cat in the distance, she can pull on the lead to want to run after it. We haven’t yet seen her look for Jess for ‘comfort’ but if walking her in front on her own, she does occasionally look back for the others!

She is not a slow-coach on her walks, despite her being quite overweight when she arrived, and having lost some of her fat already, seems much more agile. She does pant a lot during her walks, and she can get a wet chin from doing so, which we dry off to avoid it getting sore.

She is an absolutely gorgeous dog, and is welcome to stay here as long as she likes. She has made friends with Amba (our dog), but generally likes to do her own thing.

She loves her treats, is very good with her food, doesn’t jump up or scrounge! Has occasionally picked up a toy and done little ‘rags’ with it, but not overly fussed by them. If we run round the garden, she likes running after us and being silly.

I think cats could be a problem in that she wants to chase them, and birds, and she likes to stand and watch other dogs if behind fences or on leads. She hasn’t shown any aggression towards them that I’ve seen.

She loves being stroked, so is happy to stand and be so, for anyone new!

Patch appears very healthy. She was overweight, but she has already lost weight, and appears livelier. We did question her sight and hearing, as sometimes when there is a lot of noise, she appears not to hear you, but we have a quiet home here, so haven’t noticed that much.

She is a gorgeous character: happy and very funny. She makes me laugh every day with her funny ways, and is very soft and loving. Absolutely adorable!

JESS

Jess is just as lovely as Patch but has a completely different personality.

She loves the TV – particularly equestrian programmes, particularly when sitting on the settee!

She comes when called and hates to do anything wrong (like going to the pond for a drink – and slipping in!). She walks very well on the lead, but can pull if she sees a cat or bird to chase.

Jess doesn’t scrounge for food and is very polite with treats. She loves attention, and has to be in there when other dogs are having a fuss. She has to be the centre of attention. She likes to give you her paw – any paw will do and they are large lion paws, so can be quite a weight!! We call her the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz, as she seems to have all the traits – she occasionally ‘woofs’ like the cowardly lion, has paws like the cowardly lion, and is quite afraid of things, like the cowardly lion! It is Jess that looks to the others for comfort if she is afraid, or comes to us if she doesn’t like something.

She is not afraid of other dogs, but likes to keep out of the way of cars and bikes, and other dogs barking behind gates. She doesn’t like loud bangs like the bird scarer in the field nearby.

She loves to cuddle up on the settee if given the opportunity, although doesn’t jump up without permission. Jess likes to lay with me while I am working in my office. She is a great people dog and doesn’t jump up. I do feel Jess needs Patch, more than Patch needs Jess, as she is more needy of attention and comfort.

Jess loves playing catch, fetch, tuggy and shredding a toy, but she likes her food and treats and is very good with both. She loves to bring you a toy to play with, with her and she loves bounding around and running after me around the garden.

Jess is friendly with other animals – she is absolutely fine with Amba, playing with her, and not in her face. She will either stand up to or want to step away from other dogs behind fences or on leads, but is not overly bothered by them. I think she would chase cats and birds if given the chance, so possibly not a cat dog!

She is happy to greet people and be fussed by them and is very lovely in her way. She is polite, although can muscle her way in if the others are getting attention! She has been lovely with everyone she has met.

Jess has lovely bright eyes, a lovely coat and appears healthy in all ways.

Jess is an absolutely lovely dog in every way. She is attentive and wants to please, play and be with you all day. I do feel she needs to have people or another dog around (I’m not sure yet if this is just Patch), but we will check this more over the following week.

Both dogs are an absolute pleasure to have around. They are welcome in our home for as long as it takes.

APRIL 2013

The great news for Patch and Jess is they have found their Forever Home with Sharon, their fosterer.

UPDATE APRIL 2013

Sharon says “Well what a pair of mischevious, loveable and funny dogs Patch and Jess have turned out to be!!!

We decided to adopt these two, not only because we love them, but because we feel their personalities as ‘a pair’ would have made them difficult to rehome!

JESS has very much made herself at home and, if the lounge door is open, it’s a race to the settee!!! Once she has installed herself, fully spread out, with her head on a cushion, she will not be moved and plays ‘dead’! If you try lifting her off, she becomes floppy and lifeless – it really is very funny!!! My husband has ‘lost’ his seat many times to Jess!!!!

She loves watching the TV and still hasn’t grasped that, when she sees an animal of any kind on there, they are not real. She still likes to be the centre of attention and, if the other two are getting a fuss, she can be a bit “bargy” at times but she is a very good dog.

Jess loves to play in the garden with both dogs, plenty of toys (usually shredding them to pieces), and constantly keeps an eye on next door’s 8 kittens, Mummy cat, 3 dachsunds, 2 guinea pigs and some guinea pig babies!!!!! If ever we ‘lose’ her, she can always be found staring through the fence!!

She is a pleasure to walk on the lead and, when I start getting my coat and shoes on, all I can hear are a ‘million feet’ pitter pattering at the door!! She can hardly contain herself with excitement!!! To start with, she had the good old retriever ‘selective hearing’ but we have now trained her to a whistle, which results in her rushing back to sit at our feet ready for a ‘sweetie’!!!!

Her fear of ‘the dark’ has gone and she is now always the first to rush outside but she still hates fireworks and thunder – a problem even when they are on the TV! I feel some sound training coming on!!!

Jess has lost all of her excess fat and now has the most beautiful coat. All 3 dogs went onto a new diet suggested by a Homeopathic Vet and Jess’s dry skin condition has almost completely gone now! She likes to be the starter of all mischief but is the most innocent one by the end, convincing herself she had nothing to do with it!!! She is an absolute pleasure to have around!!!

PATCHY (as she is more commonly known these days) really is the funniest dog and every day she makes me laugh!!!!

She has gone from a dog that could hardly drag herself down the road without huffing, puffing and snorting due to her excess weight to a slim dog that thinks running is ‘the way to go’!!!!

She loves doing a ‘flypast’ if she’s dropped behind for a sniff and we have gone on ahead and she can easily keep pace with Jess for a little race!!!

In the last two months, Patchy decided that she might like to have a try on the settee! Now poor Jess can’t get a look in if Patchy has beaten her to it although, if they have half each, they are happy to share!!!

Patchy loves playing with the other two but her favourite trick is to watch the others playing with a toy then casually sneaking in and stealing it from under their noses without a care in the world!!!!
Patchy’s eyesight is by no means the greatest at short distances but her hearing and nose capabilities are second to none! If there is a treat going, Patchy is first in!!

She is very loving and when everyone else is ready to go outside, especially if I’ve been out, Patchy has to have a lovely stroke before going off to see what’s new!!!

She is now happy to go out in the dark, provided I go first but, if it’s Dad letting them out, then she has to be coaxed out with a lead! Despite being the quieter of the dogs and loving a good restful snooze, Patchy is definitely the main guard of the pack! She is always first to warn off other dogs and is quite bold in her greeting of them. Having said that, she is a pleasure to walk on and off the lead and she loves being close by, just in case the whistle is blown, which means a treat is on the way!!!

Patch is always lead astray by Jess and ends up being the one ‘caught in the act’ – this usually involves something being de-fluffed!!!!

Patchy generally likes to be around me when I’m at home. She likes to sleep in my office with me, lay outside the bathroom door, if I’m having a bath, and sleep at the end of the bed, if I’m having an impromptu nap!!! She is a wonderful, happy and loving dog!!”