Mia is a 1 year old female Great Dane cross Bloodhound. She is fostered in Norwich Norfolk. She was brought over from Spain recently and placed directly into a home. Her adopters were not experienced enough with large breed dogs to cope with her and she was under threat of being sent back to Spain. We were asked to take her in and find a more suitable placement for her. Mia is a huge, clumsy and unique girl.
I mean you’re not going to see too many quite like her when visiting the dog park right? Mia can be very jealous around other dogs in the home and would be better suited as an only dog. If she was to live with a canine companion adopters would need to be experienced enough to teach her she doesn’t get all the attention for herself for behaving badly!
Mia loves her humans but it can take her a few days to get completely relaxed around everyone in the household so she does need a little time and patience in the early days. She pulls on a lead and is super strong but is, fortunately, very good off lead. She will need an adult home.
As stated previously it is very important this cumbersome girl finds adopters experienced with large breeds. When you adopt a Safe Rescue dog, you MUST use a slip lead. This will keep your dog safe: your new dog will be nervous and will not trust you, and you will not know which situations might upset your dog.
If your dog panics, then a slip lead is the only way to prevent your dog from escaping (many dogs can escape from a collar and/or harness). It will take AT LEAST 3-6 months for your dog to settle-in and for you to know your dog fully (longer for nervous dogs). The slip lead must ALWAYS be used during this settling-in period.
Even after your dog is settled, it is safest to use the slip lead in situations where your dog may become scared (e.g. visiting new places, around unfamiliar people, at the vet), and it situations where unexpected triggers might happen (e.g. around bonfire night). Nervous dogs may always need to wear a slip-lead as a back-up safety measure.
The slip lead is a safety device and must NEVER be used as a training tool. Using the lead to apply pressure to the dog’s neck is damaging. If your dog pulls on the lead, then we can advise you on training methods that avoid harm.
Once your dog is settled, you may want to consider using a harness (together with the slip lead) if your dog is comfortable with being handled when it is fitted.
Most harnesses are not escape-proof, but harnesses with a strap behind the ribcage (e.g. Ruffwear Webmaster or Perfect Fit Harnesses) are safer. Retractable / extendable leads must never be used on our dogs. Adopted dogs must be collected from the rescue and transported straight home in a crate.
