​​PAWSFORTHOUGHT

​   Success Story

 

Tia was found abandoned and unchipped on the streets by a dog warden a few weeks before Christmas 2017. She had recently given birth to puppies but there was no sign of them. We believe she is a Staffordshire Terrier cross Weimeraner.  She was taken in by FOAL Farm at Westerham in Kent where she underwent some significant operations. The wonderful FOAL Farm nursed her back to health and we were lucky enough to adopt her in March 2018.

She is a kind energetic bundle of fun who teases our 12 year old boy Staff remorselessly. They are good friends and love the sun. We believe she is something between 18months to 2 years old.
 

On our first walks she was strong on the lead and nervous about everything trying to control her environment. We knew immediately that letting her off lead would be a challenge and when we did in a secure park she shot off like a rocket and wouldn’t respond to her name eventually coming back a panting bundle covered in scratches from trees and bramble.

 

We persevered for a few weeks but then knew we needed help despite our experience of dog ownership. If you own dogs, never be shy to ask for help because they are worth every ounce of time and energy to make them the companion they can be.

 

We had seen Tracey walking with owners and other dogs at Hargate Forest in Tunbridge Wells and chatted a few times in passing. Through the grapevine of dog walking friends we were advised to contact Tracey to help us with Tia’s hound like off lead behaviour and anxiety. We are so grateful we did.

 

Tracey came to our house and observed Tia and our old boy together and put a plan in place for us to build her confidence and ease anxiety but set some boundaries as well as educating us on how we should put these into practice.

 

We stuck to Tracey’s plan and the change in Tia is remarkable. Within 2 weeks she was off lead in Hargate forest running free, playing with other dogs and coming back to us. She walks off lead beside us, ahead of us and sometimes has a few seconds off piste for rabbits or squirrels but she is always checking in with us, watching where we are and always comes back without having to call her.

 

We can’t thank Tracey enough for the help she has given us with Tia. We have a much happier pair of dogs. We have recommended Tracey to many members of the dog walking community in Tunbridge Wells without hesitation and often meet now when she’s walking other dogs which is always a joy.

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