Tigger
Tigger
(Tig’s) came into rescue during October 2007 due to a family break-up. Her
owner dropped her off on 27th October to begin her new life. She was a very
timid little girl, fearful of most things (be it human or objects). A
contributor factor to her being fearful of objects was because she used to
wear a transmitter collar in her old home for the electric fence, which she
must have touched a time or two as still today she pushes strange objects
with her nose to see if she is going to get a shock from it. She also had
fear aggression towards other dogs (we called it her crocodile impression)
as my sisters black Labrador discovered the first day he met her!!!
Tig’s went to training classes where she had to be in a room of up to 20
puppies/young adolescent dogs at a time…oh my goodness she so didn’t like
that!! She used to sit with her back to the class hoping that no one noticed
her. This was much to the amusement of the lady who ran the class, who
christened her “M’Lady”… needless to say that the name has stuck & she
responds to it beautifully with her nose stuck in the air. One good thing
that came out of those classes was that her fear aggression went away and
she now greets dogs with a nice big kiss on the nose when they come to her.
It’s just over a year now that Tig’s has been part of my family, and having
never owned a Ridgeback before I am beginning to see the Ridgeback traits
that people tell me about emerging from her………..a love of sleeping, snoring,
sunshine, hot radiators, bouncing (like Tigger of Disney), and a great
fondness of food, which has given rise to even more nicknames such as
“scavenger” and “snap rat”, as she will eat anything especially if its been
trodden into the pavement!!!
Still,
as time progresses I am getting a new, more confident dog. Tig’s wouldn’t
let you get too near to her when she first arrived as she cowered to the
ground or ran off… I can now hug her; she didn’t understand the command
‘Paw’, now she gives her paw whenever I ask for it. She had never played
with toys in her previous life and now she plays with kongs, and kong balls
(obviously because of the food element, but who cares) and just today I have
got her to master the Nina Ottosson puzzle…wow how amazing given the dog she
was a year ago.
I would like to say a great big thank you to Janice and everyone who helps
out raising funds for the rescue dogs, as without you I wouldn’t have a
beautiful little girl that I love so much. Tig’s has brought such fun and
laughter into my life I cannot imagine life without her.
Now that Tig’s has settled in I think it’s the right time to think about
getting her a pal to keep her company………so over to you again Janice!
Thanks a million
Julie
17th February 2009
