Lance Oliver

UPDATE FROM HIS FOREVER HOME (JUNE 2015)

Although a gorgeous boy, who is always much admired wherever they go, Lance is huge and much too big for most people. This meant he stayed in foster for a very long time and the inevitable happened with Mike falling in love with him and deciding to make him his forever dog.

Mike tells us he recently took Lance to the vet for a quick check-up and he was pronounced ” a very healthy dog”. He weighed in at 40.5 kilograms. whereas he had only been 33 kilograms when Mike first had him, originally as a foster dog, 4 months and 3 weeks before. He had been very boney and under weight and his spine, ribs and hips could clearly be felt.

Mike says “I have taken a new approach to Lance and he has become less of a handful and a bit more appreciative of me. For instance, instead of his food ‘magically’ appearing, I make sure Lance is sitting a respectful distance away while I prepare it. Then I pretend to eat it while he looks at me perplexed. I then put it on the floor and wait until he is settled. Then I give him the command for him to eat. He lowers his head and skulks into the kitchen to his bowl.

I have started to use a harness with either a 25 feet or 50 feet rope attached to give him some freedom whilst still being under control. The harness seems to work in most circumstances except when he really wants to investigate something, like another dog for instance. Then I still have to use brute force to hold him. But, on the whole, it does seem to be an improvement and I think he appreciates it.

I took him to the local Town & Country Show where he generally behaved himself very well. He was friendly to other dogs and lots of people came over to stroke him, saying what a lovely looking dog he is. Unfortunately, he was very insistent on scrounging food when we visited the food tent and, being so big, he came almost face to face with a few people trying to enjoy their burger so I needed to keep a keen eye on him.

Lance is turning into a very nice dog. He loves his walks and people, readily plays with other dogs, (sometimes a bit too roughly for the other dog owners). He doesn’t chase cats, rarely barks, and he does like his sleep. He starts the night on my bed then goes downstairs at about 3:00am and occupies the little alcove by the front door. He is not interested in anything until about 11:00am, not even his breakfast” (and they say it’s a dog’s life:)

EARLY HISTORY OF SIR LANCELOT

We were told Lance was a large 2 to 3yrs Golden Retriever Cross who ended up in a shelter after being found on the streets by dog catchers in the Balkans. In fact, Lance was an enormous boy, more likely a cross with a Bosnian Mountain Dog.

When approached about him, IRR agreed to try to help. He was neutered and vaccinated to obtain his Pet Passport.

Lance, initially, went for temporary foster with Aileen in Berkshire but then moved to Mike in Lincolnshire.

ORIGINAL ASSESSMENTS FROM HIS FIRST FOSTERER

DAY 1 UPDATE ON LANCE FROM HIS FOSTER HOME (1.2.2015)

He towers over Neeson who is 36kg, so he must be a good 40kg. He’s all hair at the moment, his spine and ribs are very prominent so I think he could be another 3-4 kg heavier at his correct weight. His tail is quite curly. He is a very handsome boy and will look totally stunning when he is at his correct weight and his coat is in better condition. Whilst his teeth are in good condition, his bottom teeth extend out in front of his top teeth a little but this doesn’t seem to cause him any problems.

Grooming : His coat is in a terrible state. Aileen says ” I’ve hacked off a ton of matted fur from his legs, bottom and tail. His poor tail looks dreadful now but it had to be done. There is still more to do but I just took off the worst pieces and will work on him again today. I didn’t bath him yesterday as he’s actually not particularly smelly and I’d prefer to get the matted fur off him before attempting to wash him. He will allow you to touch him everywhere”.

Personality Lance is like a big Teddy Bear, very gentle and loving. He has a very happy disposition and gentle nature. He’s very good with humans, affectionate, loves attention and would sit all day and be cuddled. He doesn’t appear to be possessive about food and ate nicely.

Social Learning

House training: Lance slept quietly overnight with no accidents. He made a couple of attempts to mark in the house on arrival but was very quick to understand “no” and is eager to please so he has been perfectly clean since.

Lead walking: He is not trained on a lead. He was taken out last night on a harness and slip lead for safety. He pulled like a steam engine for about a mile but did calm down a bit after that. He took no notice of other dogs although he didn’t actually go really close to any. He is very biddable so, with a bit of training at home, this problem should easily be overcome.

Dogs: He is poorly socialized with other dogs. With two other males in the house, there was a fair bit of grumbling but things are better already now they are getting used to one another. He would probably be absolutely perfect with a female dog from the outset.

Aileen says “Neeson and Henry were bundling this morning and he tried to join in. He’s quite puppyish in nature and wants to play but doesn’t know his own strength. His approach to playing involves growling and barking and the other two frankly were afraid of him so that didn’t work out so well.

Children: He loved it when I threw the ball a few times and he bounded enthusiastically after it but again he doesn’t yet understand the rules and was jumping up on me when he came back with it which is a little unnerving when he weighs almost as much as me! No doubt, with a little work, Lance would easily learn the rules but his sheer size would make him unsuitable for a home with children, especially little ones.

INITIAL THOUGHTS ON A DREAM HOME

Lance is looking for a forever home, probably with other dogs, where he will receive all the love and attention that this gorgeous boy, clearly, deserves. He is a lovely, young, powerful and energetic boy who will need a good amount of exercise.

Lance will make a fabulous pet but he does need someone who will be physically strong enough to handle him until he is fully trained and who is willing to put in the time and effort to train him properly. He, therefore, isn’t recommended for a home with young children or older people unless they are very used to handling large breeds.

UPDATES ON LANCE FROM HIS SECOND FOSTER HOME

FIRST UPDATE 27.2.2015

Personality: Lance is a very lovable dog. He is always happy and has a lovely disposition and is very amenable. He likes nothing more than going for a good walk and coming home for a snack and a snooze. He did have a tendency to jump up at people when he first met them but once told not to he has not done it again.Lance is very submissive towards humans and you have to be careful not to quickly raise your hand or move too fast as he will cower, probably because he was treated harshly in the past. Happily, after just a few weeks he has learnt there is nothing to be scared of and he now seems to be very confident around his male fosterer who never shouts at him but simply uses firm commands and positive body language to control and guide him.

General Health: Lance is generally in good health but he had a stomach virus after arriving with his second fosterer which showed itself in him having diarrhoea. After a visit to the vets and some antibiotics he is now fine. Because of the virus he didn’t have much of an appetite and this resulted in him being underweight for is size, although because of his furry coat he still looked in good shape. When he was weighed at the vet he was only 33 kilograms. He now gets 2 good feeds a day and a small midday feed and, already, he is putting on weight. He should be between 40 – 45 kilograms when he is in normal condition.

Social Learning

He had to be corrected for jumping up to the kitchen counter but he only had to be told once and he has not attempted it again.

Mike says “As Lance is a very big dog, probably the size of a large German Shepherd, he will need suitable living accommodation with a reasonable sized garden.

He currently sleeps anywhere he likes and changes his position from time to time. He never jumps up on the sofa but he does jump onto my bed when I’m in it!

Housetraining: Lance isn’t 100% house trained but if you watch him he does give the signals to be let out. If you miss the signals he can still have accidents in the house.Although he is let out last thing at night, he often barks to be let out at around 2:30am. This seems to be his body clock working, but at least he does ask to go out! At least at first, it would be best to go out with him every time to make sure he performs.

Grooming: Lance will now let Mike groom him and his coat is in good condition.Time alone: He can be left in the house when Mike goes on shopping trips but he prefers to have company most of the time and he likes to know where his human is.

Lead walking: Lance was known to pull on the lead but he has already been trained not to. His new owners will have to continue teaching him so he doesn’t revert to his old ways. As he is a big dog, there could be a tendency for a new owner to just let him pull for an easier life but that would make him think he is in charge and could lead to other issues further down the line.

Lance has not been trained and has no recall so he is kept on the lead on his walks. He desperately needs training, and the next step is to take him to training classes.

Adults: He gets up to 2 hours walking every day, which works out at 4 – 6 miles a day. He loves his walks! Mike stops off at the local pub during the evening walk where he is very well behaved and a real pleasure to be with.

Children: Lance seems to be friendly towards all humans. He doesn’t seem to have a problem with children but, because he can be boisterous, it would be best if his new home did not have small children and likewise he would not be suitable for people unused to handling bigger dogs.

Dogs: He did get out once when Mike visited a friend. She opened the gate and he slipped through. He disappeared but was soon found in the village jumping up at a terrified woman who was holding a terrier. He was actually just being friendly but, unfortunately, Lance doesn’t know his own size or strength.

SECOND UPDATE (2.4.2015)

Mike says “I’ve been fostering Lance for about 6 weeks now and I’ve got to know him quite well.

He still loves his walks and I have to get him to settle as I put my boots on as he gets very boisterous in anticipation. I get him to sit as I put his lead on and to sit as I open the door. That way he starts the walk a lot more calmly. He still pulls on the lead if you let him so I get him ‘collected in’ at the first opportunity. When we get to the farm tracks I give him a release word, in my case ‘get on’, so he knows that he can go in front. It is all gradually sinking in but there is still a long way to go.

I have started to take Lance to a weekly training class. At the first class we had to leave early as he didn’t behave at all well. He wasn’t aggressive but he continually barked and tried to greet the other dogs all the time, causing a lot of disturbance to the class. The second visit was much better but, as the trainer said, he doesn’t know what is expected of him. He did settle down eventually and started to pay attention, and even reacted to some simple commands.

The third week was much the same. Lance still has no recall. In the local park there is an enclosed pen for dog exercise and, when there are no distractions he will return on command, (sometimes eventually!), for a reward. But when there are other dogs in the pen or people passing by, he goes completely ‘deaf’ and ignores me completely. He has escaped a few times when I have answered the door and he runs away as fast as he can. I’m hoping that with constant training he will respond to a recall command. Until then he is on a long lead for his walks.

Lance seems to have a sensitive stomach as he occasionally has diarrhoea and starts to eat grass. He has had antibiotics which cures it immediately. As his diet hasn’t changed I am unable to pin-point the cause at the moment.

He is quite a weight now. At his last weigh in at the vets, Lance weighed 36.6 kilos. He had only put on a half a kilo in over a week, as opposed to 3 kilos in a week and a half previously, so I think his weight has now stablised.

Lance has really come on in the few weeks since I have had him. In the first week when I first took him for a walk, other dogs would growl, bark, and lunge at Lance as we passed. Now they don’t so I can only assume Lance was initially very nervous and the other dogs picked up on this, seeing it as a sign of weakness. Lance is very good with other dogs. Last night we were in the dog pen with 6 other dogs, where Lance became their pack leader. He wasn’t aggressive but ‘told’ the other dogs, (one in particular), not to misbehave and he corrected them if they got a bit wayward. He was very calm but assertive!

Lance now follows me around the house – he even watches me take a shower in the morning. If he is not next to me, he likes to know exactly where I am. He is a perfect gentleman in most ways. He still gets me up in the middle of the night for me to let him outside. I’ve tried changing his meal times but to no avail”.

Cats: When he first saw his fosterer’s 2 cats, he ran up to them and scared the life out of them. But after telling him not to, he now lives peacefully with them, and they often get ‘nose to nose’ without any problems. He doesn’t chase cats when he sees them out on walks either.Other livestock: He has shown no interest in a friend’s chickens or sheep when being walked (although he has always been on a lead when being walked, of course).

LANCE’S DREAM HOME

Lance needs a home where he can have space to sprawl out, get regular exercise, and have company all day. Given the right circumstances, he could live with another dog and cats. He is a happy and well adjusted dog with lots to give to the right owner. In return he will be a great companion for anyone who is willing to invest some time in giving him relevant training and handling.