💜 MAVIS NEEDS A NEW HOME 💜

Mavis is hoping it’s third time lucky for her forever home. Unfortunately she is not compatible with the resident dog in her home and this decision has not come easy for the adopters. For Mavis and Major to have the best lives, it’s been decided Mavis should be an only dog.

Here is Mavis in the words of her adopters:

“Likes: Playtime, morning snuggles and chews.

Dislikes: Motorbikes, horses and towels.

Mavis is a lovable dog with lots of character. She is a typical terrier type full of energy and so would benefit from an owner who is active and willing to put a lot of training into her. She is very clever and eager to learn but under-socialised, so needs time and guidance to help her develop.

She loves people and is very friendly, asking everyone for a bit of attention. She enjoys a game of tug and a snuggle on the sofa afterwards. She is crate trained and travels well in the car with or without the crate.

Mavis does have issues with guarding resources in the home and because of this should not be placed with another dog or young children. However, she is eager to meet and play with other dogs on her walks and is looking for a home which can continue to develop her socialisation skills.

Behaviours/Training required:

- Guarding resources: She has built a history of showing aggression towards other dogs and children over treats, toys and ‘precious space’. Unfortunately, we have been advised that her guarding may not be trainable and should be approached with caution and understanding. She has not shown aggressive tendencies towards adults. When there is no threat of a dog she is happily distracted from the ‘thing’ she is possessive over by another toy or treats. We have been working on the ‘Leave’ and ‘Drop’ commands however have not yet approached it in a distracted environment.

- Mavis easily gets over excited and over stimulated in situations. She can become fixated on things and is yet to learn how to outsource her energy. We have been working on her ‘Off’, ‘Sit’ and ‘Leave’ commands to help calm down. She is picking these up quickly, but she would benefit from puppy/adolescence classes to continue this training with more distractions. It is also key to make sure she is getting enough exercise and playtime. Our behaviouralist suggested she would be great at agility or flyball. She has proven a quick learner.

- She tends to snarl and nip when you try to dry her paws. We have been working on training paw and dissociating her aggression/fear towards the towel. This work will have to be continued. Despite this we have not had an issue bathing her.

- Lead work: Mavis does tend to pull on the lead and tends to lunge at motorbikes & cars at night. This is something we haven’t yet been able to address.

- Her recall off lead is coming along great and believe she will have no issues keeping up with. She has shown that she is always eager to check in with her human on walks and enjoys playing with balls and sticks.

Mavis came into our lives as we searched to find a best friend to the rescue we already had in our little family (Major). Unfortunately, they do not get along. Due to the guarding traits Mavis has, she has not allowed Major equal space and attention and when she has felt competition over that she has reacted towards him. Although we have worked on trying to manage and improve it, it has caused too much stress on Major and we don’t feel it is fair to continue for either of them.

Despite the reasons behind this decision, Mavis has been a positive bundle of joy. She is very lovable and clever and has a quirky character that would grow on anyone easily and quickly. The majority of our time with her has been happy and fun – she is cheeky and funny with her play and then very cute and affectionate with her down time. If she was our first dog, our home would be her forever home. We want her to have the best possible life and believe she would thrive in the right environment.”

Mavis needs to be the only pet in the home and live in an adult only, child free environment with experienced adopters.

Mavis is around 10 months old now and has lots of life to live and memories to make with a family that will give her commitment and patience.

All applicants will need to undergo a virtual homecheck and be able to travel to meet Mavis. Adoption donation of £250 will apply.

Please share for Mavis and lets hope she is third time lucky 💜