Poppy update

[calmtulip]

Some of you may remember Poppy, a spaniel cross husky, that was owned by a mumnetter earlier this year. The owner had adopted her through Facebook and was looking for advice (which she actually chose not to take).

Through a series of strange co-incidences (it's a small world) I've heard about Poppy more recently. It seems that things went from bad to worse with that owner, and it culminated with Poppy biting a man's hand so badly that he needed to go to A&E for stitches.

(The owner was at a garage and Poppy got out of the car and was loose. A man grabbed her to bring her under control and that's when Poppy bit him.)

Poppy was then booked in to be put down, as the owner said no rescue would take a dog that had bitten.

However Poppy was rescued by someone with a kennels and he managed to get Poppy there before the vet's appointment at 3pm.

Poppy is still there, but isn't getting much training I don't think. They are looking for a new home for Poppy but obviously aren't an experienced rescue. I'm so worried that Poppy will end up in yet another home (her fourth) which won't be able to meet her needs and help her adjust.

Any ideas on how we could help?

I just can't get Poppy out of my head, but know that we are not the right family to give her a new home.

I hate how these dogs just get passed from pillar to post :(

PS I can PM anyone who's interested the number of the kennels. It's down south.

Ok I've emailed and tweeted huskies in need. So hopefully they might be able to help Poppy.

I think This is the original thread plus it has a picture of Poppy so that may help.

Ok done. This thread and the original tweeted. And they've been emailed too.

Poor Poppy, hope she can get the help she needs. I'd offer but I'm too far away and don't have the time and experience to take her. I have a samoyed myself so I know how demanding alaskan/siberian breeds are.

Looked at old thread-If she was six months old in March, how come she is now down as being born late November? That would make her six months old now, as she is younger than my pup who is seven months old today. Back in March she would have been only 3 months, yet she looks huge in the photos. So how old is she actually?

Who knows helly I just find the whole thing really sad and upsetting. Especially when I read the old thread and can see how a bad outcome was predicted.

This thread is turning into trial by forum and not helping the situation.
None of use saw the situation in real life and saying "but you should" now....... is not helpful.

Could we just use this thread now to find the right support and help for the dog and leave the OP alone as this will achieve nothing?

Let me know if you have contacted Husky rescue - I have contacts I will chase up if still needed.

mutty this thread was started days ago and has only blown up today because the original owner has turned up and started slinging abuse about again ,for which she has form . Personally I think its beat if we just all stay away from this thread ,I hope the dog gets the help it needs .

mutty I've pointed huskies in need in the direction of this thread. It might be worthwhile in using your contacts too in case they aren't able to help Poppy.

We were told Poppy was 6 months old when we took her, it was only when we finally tracked down the original owners that we found out the exact date of her birth.

Most rescues won't help because of the seriousness of the bite she administered, I did try quite a few

People should just realise that telling me my behaviour cauSed this dog to bite is conpletely untrue and unfounded. We were told to take it easy and we did, she was walked twice a day for half an hour because that is the advice I received on here.

I was not prepared to take advice on a forum full of people I don't know over advice from a reputable dog behaviourist. Poppy issues started long before we had her, even the vet said that.

all this anger and judgement should go to people who take in puppies, don't train them and then just give them away.

Which ones did you try? Then folk can put the feelers out The smaller, breed specific ones who foster their dogs may be worth a try in any event.

There's a lot of folk on here involved in rescue, so maybe a network of people on here 'in the know' will provide a solution.

Was the behaviourist APDT accredited? If you could just tell us, it might be of use

I think all of us know that Poppy had serious issues prior to you getting her. It was kind of you to try. I think most of us were trying to say that, a dog with such issues needed to be placed with a hugely experienced, breed specific home.

So, I guess, while you did not cause her to bite, your well meaning intentions did not help either, as she now has a bite history. And I mean that in a well meaning way too so please please don't get defensive

We all do stuff with the best of intentions and with kind hearts. We all make mistakes. And we all need to listen occasionally to folk that are more experienced than we are.

Well mostly I worked with Blize I also phoned the dogs trust here in salisbury and there was another one near Bristol... Snow paws or something like that. Tried two in Hampshire, I think husky rescue was one of them.

Any help to get Poppy homed would be amazing, she is a lovely dog!

The industry isn't regulated. Anyone can call themselves a behaviourist. You were pointed in the direction of trusted associations and from what I have read the behaviourist you hired wasn't from one of them.

And yes, a behaviourist using outdated methods can make existing problems worse.

But that means when you had the initial problems with her "biting" she was only three months old. Three month old puppies are not equal to adult dogs in terms of aggressive behaviour. She wouldn't have even had any adult teeth, how come you or your vet didn't realise how little she was? She was surely quite sort-outable at that stage, with every passing month I imagine it gets harder. You would also have had different advice if you had said how young she was. I really hope that there is a brighter future for this pup.

I can accept all of that needa though by all accounts Poppy was responding well to training, she was enjoying being part of the family. Her behaviour in the family was not the issue, it was difficult at times but we were dealing with it. When I saw the state of that guys hand though I knew I couldn't risk her being around my very young children and I had to find her a secure different home or have her pts

She had adult teeth, I got her at the end of March she was at least 5 months.

She had all her adult teeth

One minute you are saying you took advice from here (walking for 1/2 hour) then your saying you were not prepared to take advice from people on here

Nobody is blaming you for her biting somebody as such (as in nobody thinks you trained her to do it) but what was said is that posters had already predicted a bad outcome.
You knew she was snappy therefore you should have muzzled her when outside of the home.

You were given tons of advice which included rehoming, most of which you refused to heed despite their warnings and look what's happened.

You thought it was cute that everyone wanted to play with her and that she followed you around. When in fact you were advised to give her space and time to settle.

OP it was clear when you posted that you had zero experience of dealing with a dog that has issues and your refusal to seek a more appropriate home has led to this which is where you need to accept responsibility.

That is what I am most frustrated/angry at.

I didn't hire a behaviourist, I went with the charity called Blize because they were going to help me rehome her if needed

Anyway it doesn't matter, we did not cause Poppy to bite that man, that was months of being fucked up by someone else that did that.

She got out of your car and was able to bite him,you enabled the situation. Even confident dogs would be wary of being collar grabbed by a stranger.

You got her on the 20th of March so she would have been nearly 4 months if she was born on the date you say. 4 month old puppies do not have all their adult teeth, so is she in fact much older? Has she been through more homes than the ones you know of?

I have done a quick Google of Blize, can find the Facebook page. It doesn't give a lot of detail re the credentials of the guys who run it, so will dig deeper.

I can see why you would need to rehome as, by your description, the bite was deep.

Many dogs, even those without serious issues, would be uncomfortable with a stranger, particularly a man, grabbing their collar. My cocker would cower.

I think the thing with Poppy, is that she never needed to go 'over threshold', which means, you NEVER put her in a situation where her stress levels are raised, and certainly not to the point of biting.

With time, you can counter condition, which means basically turning the negative associations into positive ones, in a very patient and controlled manner. It involves trust and time and patience. A very basic explanation

I would have really hoped that the charity would have explained this to you. Did they talk of such stuff?

Which is why we were suggesting going very slowly, as you had only a sketchy idea of her history and were unlikely to know her 'triggers'. To safeguard you and your family, if you like.

Lets hope we find a home for her.