Ida is a five year old ex-breeding Bichon Frise who is being fostered in Leominster. She loves being in the garden and seems to be amazed that she can go in and out if the door. She likes to follow her foster mum around and is never more than a few feet away. She is just starting to play – with her foster mum and with one of the other dogs in the family. This is lovely to see as it has probably never been part of her previous life. Ida is always the first to greet her foster mum in the morning – with a little whimper and a wag of her tail. As soon as she is let out her tail shoots straight up and she has a little gallop around in sheer delight. She likes to snuggle – although she starts off in her own bed she tends to find room in with the other dog by the morning! She has started sneaking up onto the sofa and will sit on your lap – although she still finds it difficult to fully relax as she does in her bed – where she has been known to have a very unladylike snoring session.
This is a lovely little girl who is making daily improvements. She is incredibly brave and curious for an ex-breeder but care will need to be taken not to allow her to escape when on her lead – this would cause her to panic and possibly run off until she has bonded with her new family. Ida is learning that the lead means going out and will come to her foster mum, lying down to have her lead put on. She is happy to be carried around although she is still fearful of being “caught”. She is being encouraged to walk by her foster mum’s side rather than behind her. When Ida first arrived in foster she would grumble and occasionally growl as she was so fearful. Since then this behaviour has stopped entirely. She has not shown any aggression or bitten even when in stressful situations such as being removed from her crate. She went to the groomers and behaved well – being bathed, nails clipped etc. If she becomes too stressed she shuts down for a while.
Ida is housetrained and is not concerned by anything non-human in the home. She does worry about being cornered but this improves on a daily basis. She will now push past her foster mum to go out but only comes in either with the other dogs or if she sees that her “exit” door is open. With adults, Ida is initially timid. She has been out to the pub etc and will tolerate being touched by strangers. She has also met children aged 1-10 years and has been quite happy. She is still frightened by sudden movements but reacts only by hiding. As with all ex-breeders it is important that she allowed to come to you and to settle at her own pace. For this reason she would be best rehomed with older children that will understand this – or a home with no children. She is getting used to being touched and behaves very well and simply freezes if she is unsure. Ida loves being in the car and travels well. She shows no interest in toys at all. Ida travels happily in a small crate in the car and when she first came in she slept overnight in a crate. She has been left entirely alone in her crate for an hour – she simply goes to sleep. She has been left alone in the house with resident dogs for a couple of hours. Ida does not bark.
Although she is generally very well behaved, Ida has had no formal training. She comes when she is called, goes in and out when asked – and travels well in the car. She has been 100% clean both in the house and the car. Ida is not frightened by mowers, vacuum cleaners or fireworks but is very curious. As with all ex-breeders she is hand shy and can panic if cornered. She is just starting to take titbits from your hand. She lies down when she sees her lead. Her confidence will need to be worked on but Ida improves daily and tries very hard to be brave. She needs to progress at her own pace and be allowed to settle.
Ida is new to walking on a lead but happily walks behind you on a harness and lead. Both are used for safety at the moment as she can occasionally become fearful of new situations. She does not pull but likes a short lead – she panics on a long line as she feels too far away from you and will freeze. She likes the reassurance of lead contact but does not need to be pulled – she simply follows and stops when you do. Ida is very friendly with the dogs in her foster home and is pleased to meet dogs of all shapes and sizes – she is, however rather timid of “full on” or noisy dogs. She has not been tested with cats but has not been reactive with the cats, rabbits and sheep that she has seen whilst on a walk.
Ida needs a quiet home, with experience of ex-breeding dogs and a calm resident dog to help her learn how to be a pet and help her confidence. Her foster mum also thinks that she might cope with a foster home without a dog as long as her humans are home for most of the day. She does gain confidence from the other dogs in her foster home and is happy to be left with them. It is essential that she is allowed to progress at her own pace and not pushed to bond too quickly. Any children in the home will need to understand her need to be left alone until she is happier to be handled. She really is a lovely girl and in the right home she will blossom to be a wonderful faithful companion. Ida is up to date with her flea treatment, vaccinations is wormed and is micro-chipped. She is neutered. Prospective adopters will be expected to travel to meet her in her foster home in Leominster.
If you are interested in adopting Ida please read about our rehoming process and complete a Pre-Adoption form ( link here ) and one of our adoption coordinators will contact you for a chat.
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