Stanley
Stanley’s history
Stanley is just 4 years old and was surrendered as his family no longer had the time to walk him.
Fosterer’s 1st report: Ireland – 15th February 2013
Stanley is the perfect house guest, apart from the odd loud bark when being ignored. He’s house trained, travels well in the car and gets on well with other dogs.
Fosterer’s 1st report: UK – 18th February 2013
Stanley is very lovable and loves to be stroked, fussed and entertained. He loves to run for a ball and does bring it back but won’t let go willingly.
He is happy to be groomed and loves the attention. He does tend to jump up on two legs and put paws on you for attention/affection and has done this to my son a couple of times.
He is quite gentle but he is also fairly heavy.
He walks fairly well on the lead; he pulls at first but calms down. He could benefit from some training, though he is a pleasure to walk.
Stanley will jump into the car boot and will get in the dog crate in the car.
He has shown a lot of interest in our small furry pets, so caution would be needed around other pets in the house. He chases cats.
Stanley has dug a few holes in the garden and likes to bury his bone. He also likes to pick up things from the house to take out to the garden.
He is very aware of food, and he has successfully counter surfed.
Stanley sleeps extremely well at night, has not had any accidents at all. He will get on the bed given the chance.
He does bark a lot at times, usually when he gets overexcited but as a whole he is a lovely boy who can also be quiet around the house. He tends to get noisy when the environment is noisy around him.
He always has a wagging tail.
Fosterer’s 2nd report – 25th February 2013
Stanley is a very lovable dog. He loves to play ball and to carry things in his mouth particularly shoes, teddies, flannels/cloths – he comes out to you so proud when he has his “trophy” in his mouth; tail wagging. He has lately dropped some things when asked but some things have to be taken out of his mouth which he will let me do.
He loves kids and likes to be where they are. He will curl up next to them on the sofa and sit quietly but also will run and have fun and some made crazy moments in the garden too.
Stanley has a very healthy appetite and is very aware of food and when people are eating, if given the chance, he will jump up at the table or hassle you and steal any unattended food.
Stanley is a complete gentleman towards our girl dog. He doesn’t rough and tumble with her although I think he would like her to be a bit livelier. He will bark at her to get her going which scared her at first but she has got more confidence and stands her ground now.
Stanley is great when out walking with our girl dog; he doesn’t pull too much and he’s not interested in being the leader. He does have some issues while out walking where he will bark and pull towards other dogs. He is now working with a dog trainer to overcome this and undersupervision has met her three dogs without any issues.
I have not let him off the lead and always walk him using a harness lead and as recommended by the trainer, a halti. Stanley is a dog who will require lots of exercise.
Stanley has been sleeping in the kitchen using a stair gate to keep him in. He sleeps perfectly on his bed with no problems or sounds during the night.
He has been left in the kitchen, with our dog in the lounge when we have gone out, and he has been fine. When he was left home alone he was fine.
Stanley does not bark at the doorbell, and is lovely when he greets us when we come home.
He is a really lovely boy, who loves to be with you.
He needs a patient and loving forever home to help him to settle.
We will be really sad when Stanley goes to his forever home. He truly is a lovely fella who will be a great addition to the family.
June 2013
Stanley has gone to his Forever Home
Update from Stanley’s Forever Home 2.5.2014
Stanley’s forever mum, Sally, tells us when he first arrived, Stanley was quite a handful, lunging at other dogs, running off and generally doing as he wanted so he was quickly enrolled into dog training classes where he proved to be a fast learner so much so that he is now used as a ‘steady’ dog in the classes, having to lie down and be still, as other dogs race past him to their owners. He has to remain relaxed and must not interfere with the other dogs. He is very calm doing this now so it is quite a big difference from the early days.
Sally says “Although he likes to run off with one of my shoes, he’s not that keen on retrieving objects in a more organised way so, realising he needed a job to do, I bought him a backpack. He now has two ‘jobs’ to do within my household. He accompanies me to the shops and carries home meat, bread, butter etc in his backpack. He also comes with me, carrying a number of ‘retriever canvas dummies’ in his backpack. I hide them in a local field, and then take his backpack off and let him have a good roll and charge about. I go out later with my other retriever, who picks up all the dummies. He loves his backpack, always wagging his tail when he’s got it on and looking very proud of himself. He gets lots of comments from passers by. This Summer, I hope he will be in a local dog display team, showing off his talents.
Stanley is a lovely affectionate dog and has settled well. He’s still very excited when visitors come to the house and I’m not sure if he realises he is staying with me and not going home with one of the visitors. He gets on well with my other two dogs and my neighbour’s animals and has even walked past a neighbour’s cat (off lead) without charging at it.”
It sounds as though Stanley has done very well for himself and has, clearly, fallen on all 4 paws by bagging himself such a brilliant home.
