Rescue Stories

It is difficult to know where to start about our Sid. He is one of the most problematical dogs we have ever handled, but also one of the nicest personalities, and certainly the most intelligent. He is a dark brindle with very little white, big soft brown eyes, and is exceptionally tall. He is four years old.

He was handed in to us by a young man who worked as a chef whose relationship had broken up. As a result Sid was being left alone in a run in the garden for up to 14 hours a day. His owner clearly loved him very much and sent letters and even Christmas cards to him for some time afterwards. There was never any mention of behavioural problems and he certainly did not show signs of any trouble when in our kennels. He went to live with a couple who already had a Rottweiler bitch who welcomed him into her home, as did his new owners. Sid was only a year old at this point - a bit gangly but very playful. Within a week his new owners felt they could not cope as he was very headstrong, so we took him back.

He was then homed with a gentleman who had had 4 boxers before and was known to several boxer enthusiasts in the area as a very competent and knowledgeable dog owner. He lived in a very large house right on the seafront, so plenty of exercise was available. He understood that this boy would need further training and instantly took to the dog's very outgoing personality.

We were told several months later that Sid was giving trouble. Apparently he was difficult with other dogs, barked at cars and motor bikes, and occasionally got very snappy with people, particularly if they tried to stop him doing anything he was interested in. His owner called in a dog behaviourist, and also had him castrated, but to no avail - although the behaviourist did say that he could not get Sid to misbehave and felt that there really was no problem with the dog. Maybe the owner just was not strong enough to get the dog's respect and obedience? We were not sure, and offered our assistance, but his owner was clearly very fond of the dog and in the end took to taking him out on a muzzle. This of course did not please Sid, who proceeded to behave even worse.

Sadly, things came to a head for his owner when he was taken seriously ill and was advised that he would not be strong enough to take Sid out for walks again for at least 6 months, so back he came to us. This time we did see some seriously bad behaviour whilst he was in our kennels: he had a pop at two of the staff. However, for the great majority of the time he was a delightful personality, and only lost his rag if he was told to do something he didn't want to, or to stop doing something he really felt he had to do.

So off Sid went to our dog behaviourst for a 3 week course in civilised dog behaviour, and just like everyone else who came into contact with him she felt that this was a really special dog with a great deal to offer. He trained very easily, was more than keen to try and please, and generally gave the impression that he really was a saint and we should not believe all the nasty things people said about him! He came back to us and was put in our kennels while we tried to find the right home. True to form, everyone in the kennels fell in love with him, including the two people he had previously had a go at, and he never put a foot wrong in the very long time it took us to find the right owner.

To say that his new owner has taken on a problem is an understatement. Sid's intelligence allows him to sum people up very quickly indeed. He has a tried and tested method of"pushing his luck" (after all he has done it a few times now) and after a short time he did have a go at a couple of people, including his new lady owner. But we feel confident that this time Sid has met his match. He is now owned by someone who has years of experience of Boxers and she has turned round difficult dogs in the past, but this one has proved to be quite a challenge. Sid has been with her for about 3 months now and has received both formal and informal training every single day. He has responded well to most of it, but where his behaviour has been outside her experience she has called in a police dog handler to tell her how to deal with him. They have worked together and there is now such a degree of trust between owner, dog and trainer, that he seems to want to be good and knows instantly when he has made a mistake. The police dog handler says that he has never met a dog before that enjoys his training so much, and who accepts sometimes quite firm chastisement with such good grace. He is greeted in true Boxer fashion before each training session and is genuinely pleased and excited at the prospect of what is quite a rigorous workout.

Sid still makes the odd mistake of course, and sometimes forgets himself particularly when excited, but his history is such that this behaviour must be overcome if he is to be allowed in society. All this training is for his sake, as the prospects for him are not very good unless he can be trusted with both people and other dogs when out in public.

All who know Sid feel that this is not the sort of dog who can be just a pet. He needs to be occupied and work for a living. He needs to think. We feel reasonably sure now that he has never really been trained, he has just been"managed" when he misbehaved, which is entirely different. He seems to love the sometimes vigorous training exercises he has to go through several times a week. He now walks to heel well, he can be walked past other dogs without pulling at his lead and shouting insults at them, he has even been let loose in the fields and will come straight back when called. He can be called away from something interesting he is investigating without resentment, and can be left quietly in the car without barking and threatening everyone going past. He has made enormous strides.

Of course we are not out of the woods yet and his training will be ongoing for as long as is necessary, but the next step will be to find him a "hobby". Whether this will take the form of tracking, obedience, agility or some other activity we are not sure yet, and we are taking advice on this, but his owner is determined that he will be given the opportunity to reach his full potential and that she will end up with the most wonderful dog - because Yes, you've guessed it, she has fallen for him hook line and sinker. This dog is 95% saint and 5% sinner and she is determined that the saintly portion will win in the end. She has kept a diary (written by Sid) of the day to day ups and downs since she took him home, which we hope to add here in due course - so come back in a few weeks if you would like to know the latest on our Sid.