LOTTIE is now about 9mths old. She had been a bit of an escape artist, no doubt due to boredom, ending up in the pound twice!!! They said of her "She is a little pet who just wants some attention and her belly rubbed".
We sought veterinary advice on the advisability of spaying her and, as a result, she is now spayed.

Pauline who met the transport says " Lottie is a little live-wire and probably not for the faint-hearted but she is totally adorable. I think she would make a great obedience / agility dog for someone willing to spend a bit of time on her. She seems to have absolutely no fear of people and is really great with other dogs."

LATEST UPDATE FROM JULIE

So Lottie's back!  She is still a bundle of energy (although maybe slightly calmer) into everything, scared of nothing!
 
She still pulls like a train even with a Halti and jumps the babygate with absolutely no trouble.
 
However, like all lovable rogues she is absolutely adorable.  She is very affectionate and loves nothing more than a cuddle and now also a belly rub.
 
She was really pleased to see her old mates and greeted Roddy and Layla like long lost relatives.  I am also fostering another young bitch but she was not too pleased to see her.  We keep having handbags at dawn but I think that is more the other foster dog than Lottie although she is not blameless.  She does get jealous.
 
She has grown and is more "leggy" than she used to be.  She is now the size of a small Labrador bitch.   I have been trying to get some more photographs of her but she will not sit still!

She has remembered her crate and now takes herself off there when she wants a quiet 5 minutes (yes - I'm still talking about Lottie).
 
She still loves "gardening" and even though she has only been with me for just over two days, we have one new hole in the lawn and basket of last Spring's bulbs has been brought into the house.  Compost, bulbs and chewed up basket were everywhere.
 
When in the house, she will come when called and will sometimes respond when out on a walk but there's no way I would trust her to come back if I let her off.
 
I'm sure she would have great potential as an agility or flyball dog as she has so much energy and confidence.  Someone is missing out here on a dog that is great fun so if you can give her a loving active home, please contact us.   

THE FIRST UPDATE FROM JULIE

Lottie was in foster with Julie in West Sussex who said "Where's the "OFF" switch?"

"Lottie is absolutely lovely but SOOOOOO energetic. Left to her own devices, she would tear about the place, jump all over the furniture, jump up at you, chew anything that might be tasty, dig water bowls (yes - she tries to dig out the water and gets it everywhere), dig up plant pots and pull washing off the line. I don't think she had seen a lead before the weekend so its like trying to keep a fish under control on the end of a line! On the plus side, she is totally non-aggressive and bones/food etc can be taken away from her.

She is totally charming but she is so curious and into everything that I don't feel I can leave her unsupervised for a moment unless she is in her crate. This is for her own safety rather than anything else. She has jumped up at an open window and although not particularly low, I think she may try and get out if there is something interesting happening out there.

I wouldn't dare take her out with just a collar so she has a harness on to be walked as she wants to meet everyone and, given a chance would chase and bark at cars and lorries. I'm working on stopping her rushing through doors and between your legs.

Her scar still seems to be healing well although I leave her lampshade on her when she is left alone. I think the stitches are beginning to itch because I have caught her a couple of times biting them. She is eating OK although, if distracted by something, she will leave the food and go back to it later.

House training is getting there. You take her outside and she will run around and then fly past you (or between your legs) to get back in the house where she will mess. Got this one worked out as I now shut the baby gate so she can't get further than the kitchen. Given time, I think we will get this sorted out successfully. I can't take her out with the others at the moment as she is too lively so she has no one to copy.

Living with the cats is a work in progress but she is getting there and does not chase them in the house. She has now been put properly in her place by the "boss cat".

Lottie has met the two boys next door (7 & 8) and she was fine with them. She also saw lots of children playing on the village green at the weekend and wanted to join in.

Someone adopting her should be aware of how much work she is
but I'm certain she will be well worth it."

After strenous play time and a big walk in the woods/and fields she finally relaxed.

TWO WEEKS AFTER ARRIVING

Julie says, "Lottie is eating well and has settled down a lot in the last two weeks. Maybe it's the routine and getting regular food and exercise.
She will sit for a treat and is beginning to learn that you don't jump up at people. Most of the time she is OK with me unless I have something in my hands that she wants then she will jump. New people she will jump up at but has learnt that she will get told off by some people!

I got so fed up with her pulling when we walk that I took a leaf out of her book last night, when she pulls, I stop. (I tried the looping lead thing, dropping it and changing direction but she just interpreted this as her cue to lie down!) Anyway, this morning she seems better so I will keep working on this. She still wants to bark and chase the traffic but this is a whole load better than it was. I have tried to keep her under control with treats but she is not interested once she is out that front door.

Housetraining almost 100%. Still have the odd accident if she cannot get out in the garden, but I really am not comfortable letting her have access to the garden unsupervised. Apart from escaping, she digs up pots so yesterday I lost the Rosemary (it took her seconds to wreck it). I let her out regularly and things seem to be OK. She will pee and poo when she is out on a walk.

She is no problem getting in her crate, so much that at bedtime she runs in there herself - maybe something to do with the pigs ear that she gets. She will happily stay in her crate from 10.30am until 6.00pm-6.30pm and has not had any accidents in there. In the morning, I open the back door first, and then let her out and she rushes out to do her business."

All she needs now is a forever home with someone experienced enough to keep her steered in the right direction. An agility home would be perfect so she can use her brain and high energy to advantage.

LOTTIE HAS COME A LONG WAY

A delighted Julie says, "Lottie has been with me about two and a half weeks now and you would not recognize her as being the same dog. I had people visiting all weekend so she was able to be out of her crate most of the time and she wasted no time in charming everyone and playing with Roddy. Consequently, for the first time ever, she went to sleep in front of me. Before this I would have sworn that she never slept because no matter what time of day I saw her, her eyes were always open and she was ready for action.

On Saturday we took her by car into the local town and she was as good as gold in the doggie section at the back of the car. Normally she tries really hard to get out and sit with the driver but this time she just laid down. The outing was to buy a Halti for her as I was fed up with her pulling and misbehaving whilst out walking. We went into the pet shop and we took our eyes off her for a second and she used the opportunity to "steal" one of those fat balls for the birds. We left the shop with a nice new Halti for her and a chewed fat ball for the birds!

I'm well impressed with the Halti but Lottie is definitely not! On Saturday afternoon we tried walking all three dogs together. Lottie tried really hard to get the Halti off and Roddy (my 18mth GR) also tried to bite it off for her but did not succeed. She has given up trying to get it off and is now walking much better. When I return from a walk I now feel that I have just walked the dog rather than spent an hour down the gym! We have also started to walk her on a 30ft training lead in the field which she loves. She is even getting the trick of recall (whilst on the lead) and is beginning to do things for treats. Frankfurters are the treat of choice and she will always sit nicely and now even lay down when asked if they are available.

I have been brave enough this week to let her have the run of the house whilst I'm working. Instead of flying around the place and wrecking everything like she used to, she is now sleeping most of the day outside the office door with the other two. As I said, a different dog.

She is certainly changing for the better and becoming a more affectionate, lovely, well mannered girl (although there is still some work to do!) so if you are looking for a lovely family pet to do agility with - she's your girl."

See, she can sleep!

HER NEW HOME WASN’T TO BE

Her new owner reported that everything was going well with Lottie and she had settled down very well, no accidents in the house at all, she really was very good. She loved the car and jumped in all excited but was not so thrilled about getting out.

"During her walks she was not pulling as much and her new owners thought she would love to be let off the lead. Her daughter worked on her training in the garden. She would stay in one spot until called, then she would walk back and do this with or without any treats."
Unfortunately, they were a little too keen to let her off lead and Lottie had other ideas about coming back when the world was her oyster so, sadly, Lottie is now looking again for her perfect forever home.
 
She is now back in foster with Julie in Sussex.

©2008 Irish Retriever Rescue UK