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Its hard to believe that Des is sitting with Lucille relaxed and happy, he will spend his first night in a warm loving foster home away from the cold pound. It is fantastic and only possible with the help of DID and caring people who are in a position to offer the lifelines. Its great!!! Thanks
Hi guys, thought I’d give you a quick update on Des and his first night here, to say that he is the best dog in the world is an understatement!
Ok so we got him home, we noticed he was very afraid of doors & doorways so we had a little struggle getting him in. Once in, we left him to his own devices, letting him out the back, in the kitchen & living space (a bit difficult for a fellow who hates doorways), we didn’t pressure him for attention or crowd him as we noticed this frightened him. He is hand shy, & I reckon the only hand interaction he has been used to is being hit; so we worked a little with him, letting him see not all hands equal pain, he soon got the hang of it, and was soon head butting our hands looking for some loving
Next we tried to see if he knew how to play, so began throwing a ball to see his reaction-there was none; we thought ok this will need a little work, but this morning he is running after the ball but not getting the whole bring back to us idea yet, he is a quick learner so wont be long before he does!
He is terrible on a leash, he has no idea of heel!! But I think by the end of this week he will be great, taking him to Skerries later for a little work & walk. I’ll let you know how we get on, we want him to get used to travelling in the car so this is the best way we think, travel then fun!
I had surgery (minor) on Friday & I was nervous of how he would be with me, but I reckon he knew that something wasn’t right, as he was so gentle with me, he doesn’t go anywhere near my tummy, and as you can see from the photo he does love to lie with me! He is a little more forceful with Ellie, it’s as if he knows she isn’t sore!! Those two get on like a house on fire!
He is a very loving little soul, he is very sociable and likes to be in the midst of everything, and to be honest he doesn’t mind being on his own either, he likes to go into his safety spot and observe. He then gets bored and comes looking for cuddles & reassurance. He isn’t a very licky type dog, but when he gave me his first lick last night, it did bring a tear to my eye! And as for when his tail started to wag, I was a basket case!!
So it came to leaving him alone in the kitchen for the night, I was a little nervous at how stressed he might get & if he might become destructive, we let him out to go to the toilet, brought him in, gave him a treat and left the room, we waited on the stairs to listen for anything-there wasn’t a peep out of him! The only noise that was made was at 6.30am he howled to let us know he needed to go out, he went out, went to the loo and straight back into his bed for more sleeps! No mess last night or this morning! And he welcomed us this morning with a big wagging tail and smiling eyes, what a sight to see first thing!
Not sure how he is socially with kids, men etc, but in time we will find this out and keep you updated. He is an amazing little fellow, and I reckon he is not that old, his teeth are too new to be any older than 11/2 -2 years old. Whoever decides to take this fellow will be blessed with an angle, we love him already! We’ve decided to rename him as Des is a name for an older dog, not sure what to call him though, playing with Bailey, Bosco & I like Shadow (as he is afraid of his own!!)
In short he needs basic training, is toilet trained, not aggressive, very passive & is full of love!!
If anyone has any questions please pm me, and I’ll do my best to answer them!
Lucille, Ellie & ‘soon to be renamed’ Des!!
Oh you really have put my mind at ease with this man
I couldnt stop thinking about him after seeing him and seeing how stressed he was in the pound. It broke my heart… i reckon in a few days his cheekie side will shine throu and il be giggling at his posts
Thank you for looking after him and im sure he thinks he has died and gone to heaven getting to snuggle in for cuddles in a warm safe house.
Enjoy ‘Des’ (til we find out your new name)Hi All
Sorry for not updating this earlier, but Des has been keeping us busy with walks, games & training!! He is such a beauty, and has stolen our hearts-little begger
We sent him off today to have a makeover, didn’t think we’d get him back, Freda from Head To Tail dog groomer’s in Ashbourne fell in love with him too!! She had him all day, and worked her magic on him, he came home happy, smiling, smelling beautiful & with a new bow on his collar!! Oh he looks gorgeous, very metro-sexual!!
Behaviour wise he is improving ever day, he is such a sociable dog with other dogs, very friendly. He is getting better on the lead, but still pulls a lot but that will come with time. Once in the house, he is a model dog, he loves to snuggle & he now knows how to play and…..he loves to play ball!! He has started to bring back to us, it is amazing how clever he is.
SO…….we have decided to see if we can keep him & give him the forever home he deserves; today did it for me, handing him over to the groomer and the look of loss in his eyes thinking we were giving him away…broke my heart, even though I knew I’d be back to collect him-I know I’m a softy! I missed him all day today & the house was so empty without him! We have looked into dog training & agility training for him locally, this will help burn up some of his energy
He is such a happy fellow, not the lost little chap we picked up from Ashton on Sunday, it’s amazing what a few days makes to these beautiful guys, everybody was right, fostering is really worthwhile! Even though we hope to keep this chap, we are still willing to foster more dogs, give them a chance to develop & prosper & give them time to come out of their shells, so that when they find their forever home they will be confident & secure & happy.
Thank you Dogs in Distress for allowing Des to come into our lives
I’ll post some photos of him all groomed soon.
Lucille, Ellie & Des
Wonderful news, Des has waited a very long time for this day. Thanks you Lucille and Ellie – I know you will have many happy years together.
Hi guys
Sorry I’ve not updated this in a few days but we have been exceptionally busy!
Well Des is coming along lovely he is such a good (not so) little fellow, each day another part of his personality is coming through & what a cheeky chap he is becoming!!
The other morning I had cooked him chicken for his dinner, and I left it up on the kitchen counter, far away from his paws, but somehow he managed to get the chicken out of the tray without the tray (a ceramic one) breaking or falling off the counter-I think this is genius! Although I was not impressed he had done this!! But I have to learn not to leave temptation in his way!!We have had a couple of accidents recently where he has soiled in the house, this is only a new occurrence, and I’m sure it will die down again soon, not sure why it’s happening now, if it was pee I would believe he is marking his territory-any ideas to why he is doing this now over a week later and also how I can stop him? It is not from lack of access to outside, we take him for 2 1 hour walks daily & then if we are going to the shop or whatever we take him again for about 15-20 mins; we also let him out the back regularly; I’m baffled by it and it only started on Sunday-at the moment when I catch him I use a firm ‘No Des’ and put him out the back….hopefully it won’t be long until he realises this is not on!!
He loves the beach, although didn’t enjoy the freezing cold sea yesterday and avoided at all costs
He loves other dogs and is very friendly, not a bit aggressive with them, but because he is big, some owners become a little over protective of their dogs, once we explain he only wants a sniff and play, they seem to be ok! The dogs are always grand! One thing we did notice is that other male dogs once they sniff him, tend to become a little aggressive and growl or go to attack him, but because he just lies down and rolls over, they leave him alone; could this be because he needs to be neutered? FYI this is my first male dog, I’ve always had females and had them spade as soon as I could!!!Anyway I’ve still not mastered uploading the photos but will do so soon.
Cheers Guys
Lucille, Ellie & Des
Help!! I can’t upload the photos, I’ve tried to follow the directions on the forum but it’s not working…..please help!!
You can also use
and load up the photo. on DID website click the image icon and in put the Direct link for the photo in.
Hi guys
DES is coming on leaps and bounds! He is getting used to people now & not as nervous, still takes a little time to warm up to strangers but he doesn’t run away.
We had him out in the park the other day, he made a new friend, Holly, who is a young collie x, beautiful girl; he loved chasing her & trying to herd her, both chasing after balls & frisbee, basically having great fun! There were loads of kids around, but he wasn’t bothered by them, such a change in two weeks!
Awh life just wouldn’t be the same without our DES, he gives the best cuddles, he came up onto the bed with us last night for a cuddle, couldn’t believe he came upstairs and onto our bed, usually he’d run up & back down in a flash, he must be feeling at home now
I still can’t upload photos, maybe I’ll txt themto kathy & she’ll put them up for me!!
Lucille, Ellie & Des xx
At last figured out how to do this!!! I’ll keep adding more
These are Des with his favourite thing in the world; his ball!! He loves to play ball & if we had the energy he would play it all day everyday….
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[/url:ox03mmfq”>Des relaxing on our bed last night…a distant cry from the 1st photo of him on this page.
[/url:2w4hco90″>Des’ first time down the beach, great to see his tail high
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[/url:2w4hco90″>Lucille can’t believe how well Des is doing. When I called to see him after you took him home he was so terrified and I could hardly see his tail he had it tucked so tightly between his legs and look at him now! It is so wonderful to see him happy and wagging his tail! You and Elaine have done a great job I can’t wait to call and see him again.
I just had to post today, Des the wonder dog has learnt how to recall in less than an hour today, we tested him on the beach in Rush & he came straight back to us, even though there was a horse he wanted to get to know better! He has also learnt fetch & drop; he had the whole fetch thing for the past 2 weeks but only got the whole drop thing today, I’m so proud of him! He makes me smile, poor thing is exhausted after 3 hours of fetch and is now snoring lightly in his spot ( he hasn’t learnt the cozyness of a bed yet, prefers to sleep beside it!). We love him to bits
More pictures of Des, these were taken on Monday when we took him to Ardgillan Castle for walk/run
[/url:2isat32z”> Des pleading for the ball;
[/url:2isat32z”>Come on, please throw it!!!
[/url:2isat32z”>Woo Hoo I have it
[/url:2isat32z”>My new friends Daisy & Dodger. Dodger who wasn’t very nice to me, but I loved Daisy, she was fun, we played chasing & for a tiny dog she was fast!! I’m trying to give Dodger the paw of peace but he ignored me
[/url:2isat32z”>Des in full flight
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I couldnt stop thinking about him after seeing him and seeing how stressed he was in the pound. It broke my heart… i reckon in a few days his cheekie side will shine throu and il be giggling at his posts 
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