Going the extra mile for Underdog Rupert
At only 10 months, Rupert has had a rough time in his short life. But he’s now ready to meet his forever family.
Rupert first came to us as a stray with a fractured leg. He was only three months old.
Thankfully we were able to save his leg and after surgery we placed him in a foster home to recover. As his strength grew, Rupert blossomed and his playful nature began to show!
Once he had recovered, Rupert was quickly adopted. But from spending his puppyhood recovering from a leg injury, Rupert had a lot of pent-up energy, and soon began to show some unwanted behaviours. His adopters sadly struggled to cope and made the difficult decision to return Rupert to us.
Our dedicated training team got to work and devised a special training plan to teach the young pup better ways of expressing himself.
Rupert’s trainer Mandy noticed that he had loved to sniff and search, so used scent training to help build his confidence. In their special training sessions, Mandy guided Rupert around a scent course to search out hidden snacks. Discovering treats helped him feel better about exploring, and he developed a stronger relationship with Mandy and his other carers.
Rupert was also very worried by cars, so Mandy made a plan for that too. Mandy used Rupert’s toys and the skills he’d learnt in scent work to help show him cars didn’t have to be scary. She drove her own car into our secure field and placed all Rupert's favourite things nearby so he could play happily without having to focus on the car at all. Over a number of sessions, she gradually moved his toys closer to the car and started hiding treats in and around it. Before long he was happily exploring the car all by himself!
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“He’s come on leaps and bounds,” Mandy says. “Initially he wouldn’t go anywhere near a car, but now he’ll happily explore it without worry.”
“Rupert is a lovely dog and will make a great companion. He’s had a rough start to life, having spent more than half his life in our care, but is doing so well with his training. He still has a little way to go but he’s very much heading in the right direction. All these training skills can easily be transferred to an adopter to continue in the home.”
Mandy, Rupert's trainer
Could you offer a dog like Rupert a forever home?
Rupert is super smart, lots of fun and bursting with potential, just like so many other dogs in our care. Many of our dogs are looking for a forever family who will continue their training and help them grow. Could that be you? If you think you could be a pawfect match, find out more about how to adopt from us.
We’re here for dogs like Rupert
We are supporting hundreds of dogs like Rupert with complex behaviour problems, who require significant training and support before they are ready for their forever homes. In all our rehoming centres, we go the extra mile for every dog to make sure they get the happy ending they deserve. But we can’t do it without your support. Help us be there for every dog for as long as they need us.
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