PLEASE READ VERY CAREFULLY AND ONLY APPLY IF YOU MEET EXACTLY WHAT HE NEEDS OTHERWISE YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME AND OURS
Blake is a 2yr old black working cocker spaniel, he is neutered,
microchipped, fully vaccinated, flea and worm treated and has a clean bill of health, he will be rehomed with 5 weeks free pet insurance.
Blake came to us as an emergency earlier this year after he was booked into a vet to be put to sleep by his owners. He started life living in a flat where he was crated for most of the time, it was soon realised this was no place for a very lively WCS and the owner's parents took him on. Reading between the lines I'm not sure how well equipped they were as dog owners as almost immediately they reported issues with him guarding food at only 5 months old with then further reports over the next 2yrs of incidents of snappiness etc. Things came to a head when
he apparently tried to get one of their cats and they intervened and got bitten, they took him straight to be put to sleep. Luckily the lovely vets, who had never had any issues with Blake, convinced them to sign him over and reached out to find him a safe rescue space.
After a long assessment here, where he was a real gem of a boy, we rehomed Blake to a lovely home with two other mature working breed dogs (not spaniels though) but sadly after 2 months of trying to make things work he needed to come back to us as he wasn't getting on with living with two more senior male dogs coupled by some bite incidents to the owners (not requiring medical treatment) as he was needing to be carefully managed around the dogs in the home which I believe was perhaps frustrating for him and certainly challenging for the owners
to maintain.
On return to us he slipped back into our huge pack of dogs with zero issues and just loves playing with everyone, he will accept a telling off from other strong characters here without any retaliation and isnt showing the over attachment and protectiveness he developed in his other home. Its difficult for for us when we see such a happy, well behaved boy here to imagine how it goes so wrong in a different home but we know the right home and situation is out there for this fab boy, because of this we won't compromise on what feels 100% right for
him and he will stay with us as long as he needs to until we find his perfect people.
Blake is super super lively, probably one of the busiest cockers we have ever had in (and we have had a lot), when outside in our paddock and land he literally NEVER stops, he is so full of energy, fun and life! He loves having something in his mouth whether that's a ball, a toy or random stuff he picks up, he gets very excited to show you his prize but we are working on him giving it up, he is doing well with the 2 ball challenge where he is encouraged to drop one before we throw a second one to fetch. He is highly intelligent and will go and fetch either a ball or a toy as instructed. He of course loves water and is in and out of the paddling pool all the time.
He will jump up for attention and fuss and will be a very loving boy, he does however like and need his own space which should not be "invaded", he doesn't not like to be disturbed when resting and this is totally respected here. He will give warnings with subtle body language such as freezing and whale eye, you MUST be able to read and understand these cues.
Blake has shown zero signs of aggression in his weeks with us (but see above re recent homing attempt), he craves attention and will jump up a lot to get fuss but he is also responsive to being told down and knows his basic commands such as sit, wait, will give paw etc and he takes treats really nicely too.
Blake was pretty underweight when he originally arrived and it seems this has been longer standing as it's mentioned in his vet notes but he is loving his food here and has definitely got some more coverage now. He is fed separately from other dogs here just so he can eat in his own time, he has shown no sign of any food aggression with either people or other dogs.
Blake currently gets fed in a large built in crate, he cottoned on
very quickly after just a single meal that this was his place for food and will run and wait as soon as the bowls are prepared however the first few times broke my heart, as soon as he had finished his meal he literally screamed to get out of the crate, obviously scared he was going to be left shut in there. This has improved massively now he sees it as a positive place and he is silent in there now until he is let out after everyone has eaten. He will however happily jump into the crate in the back of the car and travels brilliantly without a fuss.
Blake is great with other dogs here, he is living with a large pack of mostly spaniels and spaniel crosses but there are also some much larger dogs. He gets on well with everyone but he particularly likes the young female cockers who he just loves to play with and we feel going forward that he needs another confident, spayed, young female spaniel (or two or 3) in his new home to bond with, take a telling off from if needed and to play with. The resident dog needs to be young, confident and assertive around other dogs.
He walks ok on the lead once he settles. Blakes recall is exceptional, he returns immediately when called and he is fantastic with all other dogs and people he meets when out, he is a real pleasure to walk . He has been good around the livestock and hasn't paid much attention to them through the fence so can be very workable with horses.
He cannot be homed with resident children due to the previous bite incident and cannot live with cats or small furries.
Blake sleeps downstairs quietly at night, is house trained and non destructive and he is ok being left for a few hours, especially with the other dogs for company. Blake needs a VERY active, rural type home ideally with lots of outside space or access to daily country walks as he needs to burn his energy and use his brain. He is very a bright boy who needs physical and mental stimulation to succeed.
Being fostered in Swadlincote, Derbys but can be rehomed further afield to the RIGHT EXPERIENCED home, subject to homecheck and adoption donation of £250.
IF you have the relevant experience and home life situation to be able to accommodate a busy busy boy like Blake please email us telling us all about yourself and your home offer in detail (including full address and contact number) to wonkypetsrescue@gmail.com