Sam Smith

IT WAS VERY SAD NEWS (27 July 2014)

We heard from Aileen today:

The legendary Riviera Sammy has gone to Rainbow Bridge. Run free my brave, beautiful boy – you were one in a million. x

SAM’S STORY

SAM, who seems to be around 5 yrs old, has been in shared foster care for 12 wks, and has been almost the perfect house guest. He is house-trained, obedient, extremely affectionate and very calm around the house. He is very good with children he has met on walks, and also with elderly people.

He has been in shared foster care between Jan (in the Andover area) and Aileen (in the Wokingham area), so has been living in close quarters with three male retrievers at Jan’s, and 2 female retrievers at Aileen’s, and he settled quickly and easily in both households.

Sam has not had much training and does not yet understand some basic commands, but he walks well on a halti. He is not possessive of either food or toys and he is used to being handled and groomed.

Sam has a strong hunting instinct, and so can’t be homed with any small furry or feathery pets. He also has shown aggression to some dogs when he meets them outside his home environment. He is a large and powerful dog and can be difficult to control under these circumstances. With his fosterers he always wears a muzzle when out walking for the safety and protection of other dogs he may meet.

Because of these issues, Sam needs a special home where his adopter understands his difficulties and is willing to work very hard to identify the root cause of his aggression and re-train him.

NOT A SURPRISING UPDATE (February 2009)

Aileen said, “Basically I have failed as a fosterer, and having looked after Sam for several months in 2008 while trying to find him the perfect home I found that it was impossible to part with him. He’s just become part of the family.

He has calmed down considerably, and is a dream to have around the house. He has learned to play nicely with “his sisters” – Angel and Allie. They frolic together in the garden and have lots of fun (and make lots of noise!!!). He stayed with Jan at Christmas time and behaved well with her dogs too. So I think gradually he is learning how to be a good canine citizen.

Unfortunately he still reacts badly to other dogs on walks. My latest trick is to take him with me when I’m doing short runs of about 45 minutes (I’m back in training for the London marathon) and if I keep him moving fast he doesn’t seem to have time to react to dogs that he sees.

He’s still going to dog communication classes on some weekends to continue his education and gradually expose him to new dogs, and I hope that his rehabilitation continues – slowly but surely!”