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9:48 am
Tue 22-Nov-11
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seth
| | lincolnshire fens | |
|  Councillor | posts 1198 | |
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 We seemed to be making slow progress with Heidi the rescue dog until Sunday morning . No Dog , we have a n enclosed passage between the shed,coalshed and the brick built , this was her sleeping area as she is not fully housetrained yet . In the night she had worried the door enough to spring the bolt ,then dug under the back fence , the amount of dirt on her bed showed she had taken tea breaks .At first light I was out in the fog following tracks in the dew, no luck ,field behind us is 120 acres off I go searching for a dog tucked in the dyke banks , nothing round the bale stack all through the barns and back to home. Further searches eventually locate her in the hedge not 30yds away from home any approach and she retreats into the garden which is half an acre of shrubbery ,hopeless. During the night she came back several times to feed but despite the door to the house being left open won't come in and flees at any approach Monday morning she is back in the hedge, Jean spent all morning on the phone trying to beg ,bag,borrow, steal or even hire a cage trap ; Council dog warden only collects dogs you have caught ! RSPCA too big a piece of equipment to keep ! Pest control firms yes we have fox traps but you can't have one for a dog because you might sue us ! 12.30 the phone rings ,Angela next door has seen her heading off,  quick sprint up the road and I manage to turn her back , she does the Heidi thing but backs herself into a corner and I manage to capture her !!!!! All is well with the world again lovely smell of wet dog in the house and we're back to step one. Having found out that she originated in Ireland I think she was heading for Dale Farm . Roast Sunday Lunch is Tuesday this week !
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I don't suffer from insanity,I enjoy it.
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10:30 am
Tue 22-Nov-11
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Sooliz
| | sunny Somerset | |
| Councillor | posts 2152 | 
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Oh Seth and Jean, she is making you work hard! But I'm sure she's worth it, and will settle down in time. Makes you shudder to think what must have happened to her in the past to make her so nervous though.  to you.
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learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
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10:40 am
Tue 22-Nov-11
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danast
| | Argyll, Scotland | |
|  Supreme Being | posts 5735 | |
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Old teachers never die, they just lose their class
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10:57 am
Tue 22-Nov-11
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Gottaknit
| | South Lincolnshire | |
|  Enthusiast | posts 146 | |
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Yes she is worth it – just. She is responsive enough to gently grunt with pleasure when you stroke her head. Trouble is, we speak fluent Dog, but she doesn't know any Human yet.
As I speak Roy is about to take her out for another brief torture on the lead. It is a case of just keeping at it until she realises that nothing terrible is going to happen and she can forget about the lead. At least she can relax in her special place in the corner of the sitting room. She snores well! And she still has enough play instinct to rip up cardboard tubes with pleasure. That is the other thing we want to see – when she can forget trouble enough to be playful, we will know that we are winning.
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11:29 am
Tue 22-Nov-11
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Toffeeapple
| | North Bucks | |
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Oh, I can't imagine what you must have felt when she disappeared. I am so glad that she is back with you. Good luck for the future everyone.
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11:55 am
Tue 22-Nov-11
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elrohana
| | North West Leeds, UK | |
| Enthusiast | posts 249 | |
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I think I missed this originally – is she part or all Border Collie by any chance? When I got my BC/GSD cross, he escaped practically every day, eating his way through doors, fences, learning how to worry the bolt on the back gate till it opened – eventually he worked out that this was home, and now he doesn't stray at all, but the first 5 months with him were a nightmare and hell on the nerves. The Dogs Trust, where I got him, told me repeatedly that most people would have given up and handed him back to them. So there is hope for you yet…..
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.
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1:58 pm
Tue 22-Nov-11
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Aly
| | Normandy France | |
| Supreme Being | posts 3121 | |
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She needs to learn she can trust you. As has been said she must have had a terrible start to life. I have rescued a few cats in my time and they do take work and anxiety but always settled down eventually. They did not all become cuddly cats but they did seem happy living with us and stopped hissing whenever we were near It is so good there are people like you who are prepared to take on a traumatised animal
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I refuse to grow old gracefully
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2:04 pm
Tue 22-Nov-11
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veronica
| | France | |
|  Knowledegable | posts 272 | |
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I'm no expert on dogs — far from it! — but when my sister adopted her dog, she found him abandoned in the street running about between cars. He was definitely not housetrained as she rapidly discovered :) To keep things under control when she couldn't supervise him, she bought a large wire dog crate. Whenever she put him in it, she gave him a treat, and he loves his crate now, because it's his own space where he feels safe. He'll dash into it as soon as she tells him to, and stay there happily for hours unattended. Just a suggestion!
You wouldn't believe he was a stray now. He's absolutely devoted to her, the most obedient dog I've ever seen, and she does agility with him, which he loves. She put a lot of work in, but it was worth it.
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2:41 pm
Tue 22-Nov-11
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elrohana
| | North West Leeds, UK | |
| Enthusiast | posts 249 | |
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I'd agree on the dog crate – it helped with mine as well
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.
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8:36 pm
Tue 22-Nov-11
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maggenpie
| | Cornwall, UK | |
|  Expert | posts 638 | |
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What a nightmare for you, you must have been so worried.
It's a very, very, long time since I was a kennel maid and dog trainer – and training fashions have changed since then – but I remember getting the confidence of a few extremely nervous dogs (and a couple of dangerously neurotic border collie x dalmations) by sitting next to them for long periods, not looking or speaking to them, just being still. Stage two was to do the same with a biscuit held at arms length. Eventually I'd get them climbing into my lap but it took a lot of patience. If Heidi is happy to be stroked you're already doing well.
Lead panickers had a very short lead left on the collar all the time, and were led to the food bowl on the lead at every meal time. My own champion escaper had to have a lead on a running wire to keep her in the garden.
You'll soon find the answers you need with Heidi, you're very experienced dog owners, it's just that its early days yet – and I know you know that! Good luck and to you both and Heidi .
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Never assume anything – except an occasional air of intelligence.
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12:27 am
Thu 24-Nov-11
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Terrier
| | York | |
| Councillor | posts 2357 |
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Blimey Roy and Jean, hope you got your sunday dinner on tuesday…keep us informed of progress and good luck, Love to Heidi too from Jessie
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5:17 pm
Fri 25-Nov-11
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seth
| | lincolnshire fens | |
| Councillor | posts 1198 | |
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I don't suffer from insanity,I enjoy it.
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5:19 pm
Fri 25-Nov-11
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Sooliz
| | sunny Somerset | |
| Councillor | posts 2152 |
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At least you're keeping your sense of humour, Roy
She does sound as if she's making some progress, well done.
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learning to love veg…..except celery :-O
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5:21 pm
Fri 25-Nov-11
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Michelle from Oregon
| | Oregon, USA | |
| Councillor | posts 1278 |
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If you can't be a shining example, be a terrible warning!
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5:35 pm
Fri 25-Nov-11
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Toffeeapple
| | North Bucks | |
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Thanks for the update, it does sound as though she is settling in a bit. Good luck.
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What a lot of effort you put in to make sure she was safe and back home. She will come to realise how loved she is and grow in confidence. As Sue says, what a life she must have had before she came to you. This may be a long job folks, but she sounds like she is worth it. Keep smiling!! 
