Eddie Staffy X American bull 18 mnths

Here are some pics of my lovely lad, Eddie - I'll be along later to tell you his story, and get your hankies out - it's quite sad to begin with.

Ok - are you sitting comfortably - here is Eddie's story.

Eddie was taken from a vets last year - he was next on the list to be put to sleep because he had aggression issues. An extremely kind soul saw past his problems and took him out the back door. A picture and details were passed to me and friends of mine said they were interested. To cut a long story short, the adoption fell through so I began working with him. From his behaviour when he first arrived, he had been beaten, starved, given very little access to water and was kept confined most of the time, giving him some issues that needed dealing with. He was also a testosterone fuelled maniac who displayed both fear and anxiety aggression, and who had severe trust issues with men. Wow, I hear you say. Well, everything changed for Eddie the day he was castrated - he went to the vets hating the world and came out later that day a completely different dog. I have never seen such a change in a dog in a matter of 6 hours - in fact, my friends call Eddie my neutering poster boy because they remember him as he was. He went back for his post op check, and the vets exact words to me were 'He's a lovely dog - he's just a bit nuts'.

Anyway, here we are now. Eddie is now a much calmer dog, although he likes to have what I like to call a 'Springer' moment, and has a mad half hour where he runs around, generally he's chilled. I haven't been able to get him to eat any slower, but he doesn't guard his food bowl anymore - I do crate feed him because he prefers that security. Eddie is crate trained, and can be left for up to four hours provided he is crated. He will chew beds with fluffy fillings, and likes wood but hasn't been destructive in the house - he keeps it to his crate or the garden. I have to limit his water - he drinks like he isn't seeing it ever again and he will make himself sick if he drinks to much, so I monitor how much he drinks, and just offer it to him more often. He is still a little unsure about men, but tends to back off rather than switch to 'eat' mode since being parted from his testicles - he loves women, and will be more of a woman's dog. Doggy friends should be either at least his size or chunky, and he liikes to play rough - he'll have a go at dominance with my other fosters but backs off if one of them gets in his face. I would also like to see him go to a home where his new owners have had bull breed experience - he needs a firm but affectionate hand, discipline and a steady routine. Eddie is housetrained but will occasionally leave me a little present during the night - I'm sure there is a behavioural reason for this, and understandable given his past. My boy needs patience, understanding and love, and I know the right person is out there for him. Given his past, Eddie has come a long way and deserves a forever home.

Hey everyone - I'm back. Thanks for being patient about updates - fully recovered now and on a mission to find my boy Eddie a home. We have been working on his 'sharing' issues recently - given his history, I knew this would be a bit of a tough one to sort but he's doing really well. Edde will now play football with the others, as opposed to just nicking the ball and drops when you tell him. He is as loving as ever, and his new home should be prepared to have him siamese twin with the first person he feels he can trust.

Thanks for the tip Kay - here's what happened. Eddie spotted the ball, tipped over the bowl, ate the food and then proceeded to play. Guess he has more intelligence than I give him credit for!!

Lol my cavvy isn't that smart luckily.

Just found breakfast bowls on the net... here's the proper site astore.amazon.com/brakefaststore-20
but you can get them on uk amazon
www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dpets&field-keywords=breakfast+bowls&x=0&y=0

xxx

Thanks for all the suggestions, but I managed to stop his fast eating when I was testing him for food aggression - I do this every time I get a new dog in (I also foster for other rescues). I made him stop eating every couple of minutes and took the bowl from him. After a couple of sessions, he stopped and although he still gets excited at mealtimes, he now eats at a normal pace. His best friend Yoda went to a forever home (hopefully) today, so I am expecting a change in behaviour until he gets used to Yoda not being around - he is also now surrounded by 4 bitches, so this should be an interesting experience. Eddie's new home should have at least one other dog, but nothing smaller than a Staff, and I will have to keep you posted on whether a girl or a boy is the better option. Eddie continues to be very loving, but has to be touching me all the time, to the point where I am falling over him. Can anyone give me some suggestions to help correct this because I have tried everything to try and get some respect for my 'personal space'!! Still a lovely boy who needs a new home with lots of fuss and hugs.

Before you all shout 'About bloody time' - I am really sorry you haven't had an update on the lovely Eddie in a while, and I can do nothing but beg your humble forgiveness and offer piccies! Let's just say a simple kitchen refit turned into a major house renovation, along with a tornado of other chaos.

Here are some new piccies of the lovely Eddie -



So, let me update you a little. The lovely Eddie no longer guards the water bowl or drinks ridiculously, and I can leave a bowl down all the time because he shares like a good boy You can see him in the pic above playing ball with another one of my fosters, Echo - this is one of his favourite pastimes, and when the ball is popped and dead, him and Echo play tug of war with the remains. I am still having a few problems with his night time pooping, but this has become less frequent since moving his teatime forward an hour. Although he loves his bones, these are also a contributing factor in this problem, so I will give them to him in the morning rather than later in the day, and no more than once a week. I again need to emphasise that Eddie cannot be rehomed with younger children because he is very excitable and does have a history of aggression, although Eddie has not attempted to nip a human since his castration. His ideal home would have at least one other dog, and both male and female interaction. He tends to see more authority in a deeper voice, but has way more love and hugs for the girlies - perhaps he's just a bit of a tart!! His new home should also have bull breed experience given his history, and lots of love and patience.

Ok - more pics to come shortly - I promise this time!!

I think Eddie is awesome and the right home is waiting just sometimes it takes a while xx well done though for giving him the time to learn manners