Skiff came in to us as a stray with no history, not even a microchip to find his out his name and sadly nobody came forward to claim him. Skiff is a special boy who has come on absolute leaps and bounds, if you follow us on Facebook you'll have seen his updates but this is his journey;
though right from the off we knew this boy would be a challenge as the only way to safely handle him in to the kennel was for the dog warden to catch pole him, something that isn’t used lightly and only when absolutely necessary.
Once he was in his kennel it was abundantly clear that he was terrified and very uneasy with all these new people that wanted to care for him.
What was also clear is that he had an abscess in his mouth which had burst. Evidently we couldn’t whisk him off to the vet for a check up so we worked closely with the vet who thankfully prescribed antibiotics and anti inflammatories to help get him feeling better!
So the journey started…
Day 2:
Skiff as you can imagine was still extremely terrified of the situation, people and the kennel environment, his response to this was barking, growling and hackles up. None of which we blamed him for.
His red eyes were still very red but an improvement on the day before, we hoped his medication for the abscess was starting to kick in but we knew this called for a gentle approach, leaving his kennel as his space.
so sitting outside his kennel, offering treats and speaking softly (and for some even singing) was the first step to gain his trust.
Day 3:
We never expect miracles and fully appreciate that dogs need time.. time to process, time to learn, time to decompress and time to trust.
We were spending as much time outside of his kennel as we could, any passing minute or opportunity. We knew that every minute helped.
Day three we finally had a little break through, we found his love of food and he started to gently take treats through the bars from us. We managed to get the odd touch of his face but he was still uncomfortable with this so we didn’t push any further but bridges are starting to be built. (https://fb.watch/qpqELrV-xg/)
Day 4:
Day 4 was the first day we managed to enter his kennel, he was still scared and uncomfortable, he didn’t seek out attention but equally no longer showed signs of fear aggression.
He had quick sniffs of us, we had quick touches we had quick touches but having us that little closer without the safety of bars his love of food couldn’t entice him for a treat for our hands… we were a long way off from waggy tails and happiness.
His eyes were becoming less red and his mouth was definitely starting to look and feel better.
Day 5:
Building on day 4s amazing progress of being able to safely enter skiffs kennel, we found some super yummy food (Lee’s lunch) to encourage him to come nearer to us with minimal pressure.
As you can see from the video (https://fb.watch/qpqDLfD1Ct/) he was still very wary, on edge and alert, sometimes wanting to run away but to ensure he knew he still had a safe place to retreat to we always leave his pop hole open so he can gain access to his bedroom… but his guard is dropping, taking treats from hands and even partially enjoying a fuss.. the first time we have really had contact with him!
Day 6:
Skiff was starting to realise that no harm would come to him, starting to understand that humans bring food and starting to get a wee bit of confidence.. so much so we even got a paw for a treat on day 6
This was monumentous considering we couldn’t get anywhere near him to begin with, to him optionally touching us, again with no pressure, access to his safe place, no leads and no expectations.
Day 7:
What we hadn’t managed to capture in previous videos was Skiffs sheer panic and fear at the sight of a lead… we have no idea if the trauma of his arrival was the source of his fear or if it stemmed back prior to this but we knew that desensitisation was the way forward.
Skiff is definitely a man’s man and 7 days in brought the dog we all knew was in there somewhere… a happy bouncy boy with a super waggy tail!! We started by having the lead on the floor, just so he can have a look, sniff and play with it, so it’s not so scary when it comes to being clipped on…. Turns out despite being cautious it was turned into a game! We couldn’t have asked for more.
It was time to get Skiff out of the kennel… you might think that 8 days is a long time to be confined to a kennel but if you’ve kept up to date with Skiff’s progress you’ll know that anything before this would have been too soon, too overwhelming and too stressful for him.
Thankfully he is in a kennel block with direct access to a playpen, so with the help of a few boards blocking certain areas we were able to create a corridor straight to the outdoors. As you’d probably guessed it took a few attempts for him to brave putting the first paw out of his kennel that had become his safe space and comfort…. But he made it and didn’t he enjoy himself!!
Once he’d finished his zoomies, relishing in the space and feeling the sun on his back we did attach a short lead to him, just to get the feeling of the pressure on his neck, we didn’t use it just purely left it hanging. https://www.facebook.com/reel/887283976510222
Day 9:
With his new lease of life and new found love of people (mostly the male staff) we started working towards getting him out on the lead.
Starting by walking him up and down the corridor, back in to his kennel, lots of praise and food we felt it was time for a short trip round the field before going into the playpen for fun… and didn’t he do well, yes there was stress panting, a lot of searching for reassurance from his handler but so much progress we were bursting with pride!
It was a long time coming but we can safely say he is a HAPPY BOY!! He is now going out on walks, enjoying life being a dog, relishing in cuddles galore and even meeting strangers!!!
He is still wary in his kennel and of certain things that are out of the norm, but for the most part this dog who would have once been classes as aggressive albeit fear driven dog to a loving, friendly boy who is now ready to find a new home!!
Skiff has made SO much progress since he first arrived, a full u-turn in temperament so now we can start the search for a forever home for him! One with experience, dedication to continue his training and socialisation, one with understanding and patience to allow him to grow and learn. We are ideally looking for a home with no other animals or children so he gets the 1-2-1 attention he needs.
There is a perfect home out there somewhere we just have to find it for this special boy!
https://fb.watch/qpqKVgIsgU/
