Bracken

Bracken in the dogs home

Bracken is a very nice dog and is safe in the West Midlands after being taken from a dogs home with just days to live – simply because there are too many dogs.

Bracken will be castrated, vaccinated, wormed and flea treated before he goes to his new home.

Here is an update on Bracken, by Hazel, his foster carer
“Bracken first came to me on 23rd December, When I collected him he was a lot bigger than I thought he would be, but he was very excited to see me. He had travelled all the way from a London pound where they had found him wandering the streets and was due to be put down due to lack of space in the pound, he had only been there 5 days!

When I first saw the advert from DogWatchUK asking for help to save this lovely man I couldn’t believe that they were going to put a dog to sleep after only having him 5 days, it’s hardly a second chance in life! So I decided I was going to save him!

After his long journey from London to Stafford in the West Midlands I expected him to be very quiet and wary of strangers but I was amazed at how excited he was to be meeting my family, he wagged is bum off! My two children 9 & 4 loved him.

After a long tiring journey I thought he must be hungry so I fed him and we all settled down in the living room for the evening to let him settle. He did eventually calm down and settle.That evening however we discovered he doesn’t like being alone, if someone left the room he would wine even if others were still with him, if we all left he would bark and bark. He slept in our bedroom on the floor that evening and every 2 hours would come and stick his face in ours to make sure we were still there! The next day we took to working on crate training him, he took this well and by that night he was sleeping in it but still in our room. Since then, after 2 weeks he has now progressed enough to be sleeping in the crate in our dining room at night.

Bracken is a lovely dog who is suffering from separation anxiety, I can only guess his previous owner may have left him at home alone all day with free run of the house as he has some minor faults as all dogs do but we are working on these and he is improving as time goes on. He is toilet trained to a certain extent. If he is allowed to wander the house he will have accidents but if he is in an enclosed room with you he will ask to be let out for the toilet. He could be a good guard dog as whenever he hears a noise he is straight to investigate, if the door goes he barks and when the phone goes he wanders in to see what it is. He can be nervous whilst out walking, when other people walk behind us and when loud traffic goes past, but this is understandable and hopefully should subside with time.

When he arrived he was scared to go into the garden, we had to physically go out there with him whilst he did his business, then he would want to come straight back in, but he does go out on his own now. He plays fetch with us all including my kids and loves sticks, he still doesn’t like being out there for long alone, but we have seen a great improvement from us having to push him through the door to go out. His downfall is being too loving, he will follow you everywhere! We have managed to teach him to stay and can now cook tea in the kitchen without him under our feet whilst he sits or lies outside the kitchen door. He still follows you but he has now settled enough to stay in a room alone or go and sleep in the hall without wondering where you are, this following is still a work in progress.

Bracken loves a fuss, you will be watching TV and he will come over and stick his head on your lap for attention and a fuss, he will try to creep up onto the chair with you just to get close to you and get a cuddle, he will also fall asleep with his head resting on your lap. He has taken to our beanbag and loves to sleep on it, well I say on it, he’s a bit big to curl up in a ball on it but he tries his best.

When he first arrived Bracken was VERY skinny, you could see his hip bones, spine and even his heart beating when lying down. It was heartbreaking to think that someone could have left him home alone without proper meals each day, as this is what I am guessing has happened, although he was found wandering the streets of London, apart from being skinny he seemed in good health so I am guessing he wasn’t walking around for too long. Because of his skinnyness he always seems to be hungry and will thieve food given the chance, we are working on this to make him understand he doesn’t need to do this anymore.

He had his second vaccination yesterday (11/1/12) the vet confirmed he is American Bulldog x Great Dane. I asked about his skinnyness which he thought could be related to his separation anxiety and he suggested feeding him 500g more than the food recommendation for his size.

Bracken approaches other dogs with enthusiasm but is friendly and just wants to say hello, Bracken is a lovely companion who only wants to be loved and love in return; with some training and guidance he will overcome his separation anxiety, food begging and clingyness. He has made great progress already and we have only had him two weeks. It will bring me such joy to see Bracken homed with someone who will give him the love he has long deserved.”