Alex & Wade

Wade came to me as my 4th foster dog. He was found a stray at just 16 weeks old. When we first brought him home it was clear that he hasn’t had the best start. If you tried to encourage him to come to you he would run and hide. He would often start obsessively spinning and it would be quite difficult to break. If you tried to touch his collar he would start to spin in panic. We started puppy training and agility foundations but had to take a break as the pressure of working close was too much he actually got quite stressed, not what you would expect from a young pup! 

We took some time away from all training and just worked on building a bond and just enjoying being a puppy.

Thankfully having two big collie foster brothers also proved to be a massive help as he loved other dogs and watching them enjoy their cuddles and training slowly brought him out of his shell.

We then decided that we couldn’t uproot his life anymore and he became my first foster fail. 

We got back to agility training and he hasn’t been the easiest dog for my first agility dog, as he had no toy drive or food drive due still to his trust issues.

Fast forward 3 years and I have an absolute little nutbag. He is my little shadow, he is doing well with his agility training albeit he is a little feral and often yells at me to keep up and tell him where to go next quicker but the best thing about our agility journey is how our bond has grown, he is currently training to take over my older dog as my medical alert dog (don’t judge his standards by the agility ring haha!) he has also earned his KC rally obedience level 1 excellent title, his online rally obedience level 2 excellent title as well as passing his bronze kennel club good citizen award (maybe silver by the time the show comes around!) 

My first rescue dog that I owned myself after having lots of rescue family dogs and the most rewarding dog to work with. He also representing rescue beardies at Crufts this year! 

From the puppy who never smiled to my happy chappy! 

 

(May 2025)

 

 

 

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