Pepper – fostered

Pepper is 4 years old. She will need to be spayed but this cannot be done until March.

Pepper will walk quietly past dogs and is very manageable, but she does not like dogs in her personal space, can’t say we blame her as she was used for breeding! So we are looking for a home without other dogs or cats.

If you would like a sofa surfer, then look no further than Pepper, as she lives for cuddles, fuss and more cuddles. She also loves her walks and easily did an hour and half run with Dave, our CaniCross man, over the weekend, she is a fit young lady.

This is what Dave had to say about her

“Took pepper our for an hour and half, she got praised off two horse riders, as I made her sit and watch them pass. They said she has done amazingly well, I felt like a proud dad, met a couple with a dog and she did not even look at their dog. Passed louis Lucie and Dougal in the street and she acted like they were not there. Even passing the kennels on the way out she breezed past them all. She really is a diamond.”

Pepper is the clown of the kennels, she will roll around, press her head right into you, has the lean and Dobermann bum rub off to a fine art, she just melts into you.

There are plenty of secure fields these days so she can let of steam, her recall can be hit and miss, and she is not a dog to be let loose at a local park but she more than makes up for this with her adoring personality and friendliness.

As she was found as a stray we are saying a home with older children and no other dogs or cats. If you would like a sofa surfer then please fill out an application form.

Pepper’s Assessment

Kennel behaviour

Pepper is quite excitable on having the lead on and exiting the kennel.

On going back into the kennel Pepper became quite stressed and twisted slightly. She was bouncing up at Dawn. She also reacted to the dog in the next kennel barking at her, she snapped, growled, and barked, this is probably due to being stressed about going back into the kennel.

Handling

Pepper pulls on the lead initially through excitement. She is happy to be handled all over and actively seeks out touch and affection. Pepper sometimes responds to her name and a recall cue, but other times doesn’t.

Sociability

Pepper only reacted to another dog who was barking and growling at her in the kennel block. No reaction when walking past the other dogs. Pepper is pro social and seeks out attention and touch from strangers and those she knows a bit better. Not observed around males.

Arousal/Reactivity

Please give details of reactivity on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 = low & 5 = high)

Reactivity to traffic = 3

Pepper enjoyed doing little snippets of training for a treat. She became very excited with the tug toy and enjoyed playing tug with me. She was a little snatchy with the tug. She reluctantly swapped the tug for a treat. No interest shown in the ball.

Pepper jumps up quite a lot for attention but will sit on command when asked. A highly trainable dog.

Pepper became very alert when cars were passing and lunged on the lead when a motorbike went past slowly. She lunged again when another motorbike passed. This could be worked on with the use of treats and positive reinforcement training as she does respond well.

Possession

Pepper was reluctant to drop the tug toy for a treat but did eventually swap. She doesn’t become aggressive or possessive, just wants to keep playing with the toy.

Comments

Pepper is a very pro social dog who seeks out human attention and touch. She can be a bouncy girl, but I believe with consistent positive training this will soon be resolved. Pepper needs some training around traffic but again I feel she will succeed with positive reinforcement training for this issue.