Ted is a 2 year old male Cockapoo. He came to us as a stray, so we have no background information for him. He was, understandably, quite anxious when he came to us but is starting to relax much more now.
Ted is a loving boy who likes nothing better than being with you. He is fully house-trained and will indicate when he wants/needs to go outside.
Ted currently has one good walk a day with as much time as he likes roaming in our garden for the rest of the time which he will do quite frequently but prefers it when it doesn’t rain!
Otherwise, Ted is happy to chill out in the house. He likes to chew – antlers/yaks cheese and is a devil for asking for treats.
Ted is the first foster we’ve had that has taken lumps out of Kong toys but on the plus side hasn’t shown significant interest in chewing things he shouldn’t have (apart from Crocs). Ted knows to sit and is getting better at staying.
Ted is learning to wait to start his dinner and also to not barge through doorways (work in progress). He walks pretty well on a harness and leads through town.
As he was a stray and has therefore only had his name for 3 weeks his recall can be a bit slow, so we only let him ‘off lead’ with a trailing long line.
Ted is not bothered by cattle/horses/pigs – not taken anywhere near sheep BUT he has chased a low-flying bird on a couple of occasions.
Ted is interested in our chickens but learnt early on about the electric fence so teases them instead (runs at them but stops short of the fence – he likes to get a reaction). Ted is always keen to meet new people (adults/older teenagers) and positively revels in the fuss he gets.
Ted has lived with our cat without a problem. He is interested in Eric but does no more than sniff at him and Eric will sleep peacefully in the same room as Ted – higher up but not necessarily out of reach.
Ted has also been living with our Cockapoo (female, 5yrs old, neutered). She has taken quite a while to warm up to Ted as he can be quite domineering/bossy and likes to think he is in charge which has led to several confrontations.
Most of the time they cohabit well but there are too many flashpoints for it to be considered harmonious. Ted has been good so far when meeting dogs out and about – not being fussed about them.
Ted will bark at the neighbour’s dogs – largely because he can’t see them through the fence and they bark at him. Where he can see them through the hedge he doesn’t always bark, just looks at them as if they are odd as they are working themselves into a frenzy. Ted is good about being left home alone/with our dog for a couple of hours.
We generally leave them with a good-sized chew/stuffed kong so they are relaxed about us leaving and we haven’t seen or heard any issues when we’ve checked the camera while we’re out. Our dog sleeps upstairs with us and Ted sleeps downstairs in the kitchen where he has access to an armchair and a couple of dog beds.
After the first few nights, he has adapted well to this arrangement and generally sleeps quietly from 11 pm to 6/7 am. Teenagers roaming during the night can disturb him but they can also quieten him back down.
Ted has been bitten and caused a puncture wound (once) in foster and as a result, cannot be placed in a home with children (see details below). Ted travels super well in the car (in an enclosed double cage in the boot, separated from our dog by a solid divider).
Ted is keen to get in and can do so unaided and is learning to exit more slowly when he is being let out. He is happy to return to the car to come home and gets a good chew for doing so. Sometimes he looks out of the windows but hasn’t yet made any noise while travelling.
Ted likes to pilfer certain things (crocs/my husband’s slippers) and will chew them if not noticed. He will swap them for a treat – in fact, he generally just abandons them when he sees you approaching the great location!
Ted has not exhibited any significant guarding behaviour while he has been with us. He is happy to be handled all over and will lift his paw if you stop stroking him before he is ready. Ted does not however like to be handled by his collar and will get quite agitated if you try to do this.
Ted has had one visit to the vet, entered confidently and was happy to be there – he air snapped once at the vet but otherwise was content to be checked over and vaccinated. Ted does not like the concept of having a shower and will resist (strongly), see comment above about the collar, being put in the shower, but once there can be washed without a problem.
Ted is happy for his back end to be dried with the blower and will tolerate his front legs being dried but gets very agitated about having his head/ears dried and needs to be muzzled.
Ted did not like being clipped but did have quite a few matters that had to be dealt with at the time so this may become less of an issue as he is groomed more regularly.
Ted has the habit of nipping when he is tired/over-excited and/or wants to play. He doesn’t mean to hurt but he does and we have been discouraging him from putting his mouth around our hands/arms/legs.
Ted did nip me hard on the upper arm when I was grooming him the first time (note to self – always wear long sleeves when grooming a new foster for the first time and be prepared to muzzle earlier!).
Ted has also scratched and bruised my leg (through trousers) when I needed to separate him and our dog who was having a ‘spat’. Unfortunately, it was after grooming so neither dog had a collar on. I was however collateral damage and it was not intentional.
There has been one bite in foster which occurred after 4 weeks when a male fosterer wanted to put Ted’s harness on to go for a walk and ignored (very clear) messages (lip curl, low growling, snapping) that Ted was not happy.
One bite, (caused punctures) was sustained on the back of the hand. After a few minutes had passed I was able to fasten the harness and the walk went ahead without any further incident.
We are trying a different harness that does not need to go over the head to see if this reduces any anxiety. As Ted has bitten it will not be possible to place him in a home with any children. Ted can get stressed at things he can see out of the window (birds mainly) and will bark or growl at them.
Ted can be distracted by treats/attention but will often want to go out into the garden to check they have gone. We feel that Ted would be best suited to a home where he is the only dog and does not, therefore, need to assert his dominance.
Ted would love to be in a home where someone is around all of the time as he is a brilliant companion who loves to be in your company, sitting under or by your chair, or as of now under a desk.
When he is left alone he will need a room that does not look out onto a busy road as he finds lots of comings and goings quite stressful and won’t settle. As he was a stray I think Ted would benefit from an experienced owner who will be able to handle any challenging behaviours that may surface.
