Two weeks on , and little Nell is doing absolutely brilliantly . Sam hasn't been too well of late , but always enjoys his walks , it seems to lift him , so off I went this afternoon to my favourite place in all the world . I was so proud of Nell , I met two friends who, between them had four dogs , two Labradors and two Rotties . She just mixed in with them all , not even slightly overwhelmed , just a tiny dog being a dog and having a blast . With the help of treats and much praise , she has learned to watch me , even other people notice this , and she also seems to respond when I smile at her , her little tail wags off the scale . I know that she will be a work in progress for a long time , but she is so worth the effort x
Only just catching up with this thread @kateincornwall . It is truly fantastic to read of Nell's achievements and I don't doubt that she will continue underror yourban guidance. Love that she responds to your smile with a huge tail wag - beautiful bonding. Can just imagine little Nell having fun playing with all the 'big' dogs and stealing hearts as she does
Hahaha , don't know why I`m laughing BUT , the little madam was a proper tyke this afternoon , thinking defiance ! Walking at the woods, good as gold until she saw a rock sticking out of the water and was convinced it was the enemy ! Nell doesn't bark much, usually , but my goodness, she made up for it this afternoon , I blew the whistle ,she turned and looked at me , and blanked me 100% . She did come, eventually, in her own time and I did give her a treat because she did come, eventually ! I had to smile , even in the frustration , because it showed a spirit and I do so love a spirit, most of the time
Sams reaction was hilarious , he looked at her, then at me, then a big humph type sigh, laid down on the forest floor and went to sleep !
Definitely scary rock monster syndrome and it'seems good to see Nell really paying attention to her surroundings and unusual sights. Bless Sam . His opinion of Nell's behaviour made me laugh xx
@kateincornwall I have so enjoyed reading your post, Nell sounds gorgeous and how lucky is she to have you as her mummy.
Something strange happened today . Nell is now well used to being off lead at Golitha Falls , I had her off lead on a different local path recently and she was fine . So this afternoon , we went to Largin forest , she has been once before on her long line but today , I let her off lead . She ambled along with Sam just fine, for about twenty minutes and then, very suddenly , she became fearful and stressed .Heavily panting , so I got out her little dish , collected water from the stream but she didn't want it . It was like something had spooked her , but there was no one else around , her little head was looking one way and another, she ran from one side of the pathway to the other , so I put her on lead . Within a few moments, her stress levels started to reduce , we headed back to the car , she didn't pull but was walking ahead of me, anxious to get to the car park . So , maybe it was just an insecurity issue or maybe because she seems to hear high pitched sounds, she could hear something that I couldn't hear ? From now on , I will pop her onto her longline for unfamiliar walks , until she gets used to the surroundings , I just wish I could help her more and understand her x
I could have wept for her , she was so suddenly frightened . I don't think for a minute that Nell was treated badly , she was just ignored , obvious that there was no time for her at all , having her little leaving home bag packed and waiting , told the story , they wanted her gone and quickly . So, maybe she got lost once , or strayed too far from home ? We just don't know how past can affect present do we ?
It could be sound or smell too when Rory was younger he smelt something in the field which frightened him and he would go near this area and spooked.Nell is such a toughy its hard to forget this is all new to her.
Her sense of sight and scent is excellent , to make up for hearing loss I suppose , so yes, something must have spooked her big style , poor little thing x
Oh poor Nell. It sounds possible that it was a noise she heard or a smell that upset her. Unfortunately no real way of knowing except knowing she wasn't happy. I would take her back as soon as possified and see how she reacts again. If she should show some reaction perhaps do some attention exercises with her to keep her focus on you.
