Tully Waddell
Sad News 7 November 2023
Tully’s mum said, “It’s with a very heavy heart that I have to tell you that tonight we lost our wonderful boy Tully bear to a brain tumour, diagnosed a week ago and 3 seizures today was just to much for our wonderful boy to take. He’s at peace now and we miss him so very much. Thank you IRR for giving us our special baby boy.
Heartbroken”
History
THE BEST NEWS (25.3.2019)
Tully has settled well into his Forever Home with a wonderful family in Scotland. He has a 2 year old male Golden Retriever and an older Newfoundland as best friends and, apparently, he is doing great.
HISTORY
Tully is a gorgeous, approximately 2 year old Golden Retriever. He was vet checked and rabies vaxed so he could gain his Pet Passport for travelling to the UK.
He was a stray from Carrick pound. They held on to him for longer than the required week as they were sure somebody must be missing him but nobody turned up after more than 2 weeks. In Ireland, he went into foster with Helen until a few days before travelling and then, in the UK, his fosterer was Jane.
PERSONALITY
She said of him, “Tully is a sweet affectionate boy who has had little or no basic training and was not completely house trained when he arrived.
He is a confident boy in most respects but he does like to know where you are and he likes to lick your hands. He copes well with new experiences as long as he has a human beside him. Tully can be very gentle, loves attention and likes to cuddle. Tully is very human orientated and displays little interest in playing with the other dogs even if invited to play. He is content to lie at my feet or follow me about. He loves a tennis ball or similar toy . He also does like soft toys but, after the initial shaking and throwing it about, he proceeds to destroy it.
Tully found his voice recently and will bark during play or as a signal to initiate play, otherwise he is a very quiet boy. We love how he rumbles and gruffs when being petted.
He is still very boisterous, charging through doorways, knocking over anything that gets in his way and jumping up for attention. This is all a work in progress and something his new family will have to work on. There is no malice in his behaviour, it is just that of a dog that has not had any basic training or guidance. He is a puppy in a fully grown body who is keen to learn and please.
HEALTH
On arrival we noticed he was very thin and, when weighed, he came in at 26.7kg. The vet on duty was concerned at his body condition placing him at a “2 on the scale maybe a 3 at a push”. His ideal weight, in the vet’s opinion would be nearer 35kg.
His spine, ribs and hips were visibly thin and his hips and shoulders were easily felt with them having little or no covering or muscle definition.
On the positive side he was alert, appeared happy and was full of energy. I put him on 3 meals per day of dry kibble and Forthglade wet food. He loves food and would surf the worktops in the kitchen looking for anything within reach. He displayed all the signs of a dog that had had to grab food wherever he could.
After a few days, he was still very thin so I have continued with 3 meals a day.
His ribs and spine can be very easily felt but he has a good appetite and eats anything that is given to him. He does eat very quickly but will walk away if another dog goes to his dish. I have started using a slow feeder bowl to try and slow down his eating, however, he has found that, by picking it up and tipping it over, he can get to the food quicker.
His coat is improving daily. As he loses the coarse hair, lovely smooth silky hair is replacing it.
SOCIAL LEARNING
Tully is a very energetic and boisterous boy with no idea of boundaries but, on a positive note, he is keen to learn.
His basic training is coming along but has a long way to go. He is keen to learn and is very food orientated which makes it easier. Overall, Tully is a very affectionate boy and, with continued training and support, he will settle down well.
He is beginning to learn to stay down and we have almost mastered the sit and wait for his meals now. Maybe it was not the best to start with, as he acted as if each meal was the first he had seen for days each time.
He is quite alert and soon explored most of the house and outside.
TRAVEL: He is happy and content when travelling. Tully travels well in the back of the jeep, but will jump through onto the back seat if left in the vehicle on his own without a dog guard.
Initially, he was not keen to jump in but, with treats and the realisation that we come back after an outing , he will now jump in. We are working on control regarding jumping out as soon as the door is opened.
HOUSETRAINING: He is now 99% clean in the house although he still has no discernible signal that he wants to toilet. When outside, he circles until ready to toilet
LEADWALKING: After the initial excitement of going for a walk, Tully walks really well 1:1 using the harness he came with. He does not like a halti and pulls when on a lead or slip lead. With the excitement of being in a group, he does pull.
RESOURCE GUARDING: Tully shows no signs of resource guarding or aggression. He will let another dog take his food or toy without complaint.
SEPARATION ANXIETY: In the early days, he showed some anxiety at being left and liked to know where you were. If you left the room, he would wait at the door until you came back. This is actually a step forward as in the first few days he would try and push past to go wherever you went, or jump at the door.
He has been left twice now with my dogs for up to 1.5 hours with no issues. He does, however, still like to know where you are, still preferring to lie beside either myself or my husband rather than stay outside with the other dogs.
ADULTS: He is very people orientated and would rather spend time with humans than with the other dogs.
He does have a protective side, as I found out the other day. I was feeling unwell and we had a couple of strangers/travellers who stopped outside. They were trying to buy any scrap we had. I felt uncomfortable as they were being quite demanding and, at the point where I had asked them not to come in, they tried to open the gate. Tully, along with my choccy girl, jumped up at the gate growling at them. He did not leave my side and took a while to settle after re-checking the gate.
CHILDREN: He has not met any young children yet but he may not be suitable for them as, although he loves people, he is very boisterous and needs work on his jumping up. He also needs more work in relation to taking treats gently; he is improving but he is very food orientated and gets quite agitated if not given it quick enough so will snap at your fingers.
DOGS: He did not play with my dogs but would follow me back inside rather than stay outside with them. This week, he played for the first time with my dogs, which was such a joy as until this point he showed no interest in them preferring human company.
He has met some of the local dogs. He is initially excitable if on the lead but this is more aimed at meeting the person who is with the dog. CATS: He still shows more than a keen interest in small furry animals so I would recommend a home without any.
He is more settled with the house cats but his interest in them has never been an issue as they have safe places to go. Outside, Tully will chase cats if they run, but what dog wouldn’t? There is no malicious intent whilst trying to chase and he does back off and move away if the cat stands its ground and warns him.