Sivir - North East

When I first went into the property, Sivir was in her cage in the kitchen.  She didn’t bark at all, and when let out, she greeted me in an extremely friendly manner.  She was pleased to get a fuss and was happy to sit next to me on the settee.  She lives with 2 Shih Tzus, and they were out at the same time.  Sivir just ignored them, and the whole time I was there, she didn’t show any reaction to them.  There was a birdcage in the corner of the room with two budgies in it, and a tank with a turtle inside.  She was great around them and simply ignored them. The owner had a rabbit until recently, and whenever it was out, she was fine around it.  The field where she is exercised is full of rabbits, and she ignores them. Sivir’s owner lives with his mum, and his mother has recently taken in her 5 grandchildren ranging in age from 2 – 15 years. 

Sivir is great with the children.  It is an extremely busy household, and the owner feels the environment is too much for Sivir. He is moving to a flat soon, but they aren’t allowed to keep dogs on the premises, so Sivir will likely get less attention than she does now. The owner has tried rehoming Sivir twice already.  The first was to the vet’s receptionist and her partner.  They had 3 visits before taking her and then took her for an overnight stay.  It seems she was good during the night, but they said the next morning she was going for them and their cats.  They stated that she just saw red.  On the second occasion, a friend took her for a few hours, but they said she switched from being friendly to being aggressive. Sadly, the owner doesn’t know exactly what happened, but these two incidents likely had a negative effect on her. 

The Dogs Trust have been approached to help, but they have advised that they could not take her, as she would need to be kept in a kennel, and given that she can get anxious, they didn’t think it was a good idea. They did, however, take her for a little while to assess her, and they introduced her to other dogs both on and off lead, and she was fine. Sivir loves treats and toys, although she seems to like a tug toy and retrieve toys best.  She loves water and therefore enjoys going to the beach and playing in a paddling pool.  She dives into the pool and has ripped a few in her excitement.  She doesn’t seem affected by noises such as fireworks.  She lives in a busy household, so is used to loud noises. In terms of obedience, she only knows sit, down and give paw.  She responds to ‘come’ although she has never been let off the lead as the owner is not confident she would come back.  If there are distractions, she ignores commands.  She does pull on the lead and is currently getting used to being walked on a harness.  When she sees a dog, she will posture a little bit, but once she gets over her wariness, she is fine around them. Clearly, Sivir needs a lot more work, but I believe that with the right hands and further training, she will be a brilliant addition to any family.  She really has a lovely, friendly nature.