Fern (on foster)
Fern
Fern is a young Lurcher (around 12-18m). She is sweet, affectionate, cuddly, cheeky and full of beans. She is currently in foster in Yorkshire to recover from an injury she sustained by accidentally running in to something and she desperately needs a forever home to call her own, to allow her healing to continue with lots of TLC.
“Fern is energetic and playful, and can sometimes be cheeky. She has very puppy like tendencies, so just needs time to learn and grow up in a home of her own. She is very social with other dogs and loves to play, especially with little dogs, although she is respectful of their boundaries when they tell her, and will adjust her play accordingly. She also loves people and loves playtimes and then loves to cuddle up on the sofa with you after. Sometimes during playtime she can get excited and a bit mouthy, but this is generally gentle and she stops when told and redirects onto a toy. This has already massively improved in the week I have had her. As much as Fern loves to play she is also a typical sighthound and loves a good nap. She is happy sleeping on her own beds and also does like to cuddle up with you on the sofa/on your lap and fall asleep. As long as she has had a walk and her food, she is happy to be at home with you and loves to lounge around.
Fern is a quick learner and has picked up toilet training like a dream and now will tell me when she needs to go out by pacing/whining and waiting at the door. She has done well with her walks, and is generally okay on the lead although can pull sometimes. She also gets excited when seeing other dogs running and sometimes jumps around on her back legs in excitement. Again this has already improved massively with routine and training and the more she gets out and about the more this is settling.
Fern is very polite with her food, and she is able to be fed around my other 3 dogs with no problems. She will eat her own portion and not pester the others for theirs, and is not upset if they have a look at her food whilst she is eating either. It is the same with her toys/chews/treats- she is more than happy to share with no guarding issues at all.
Fern has already been in a home with a cat where she wouldn’t settle with their cat, however she is currently living with 2 cats with me. She is interested and will chase if they run, however she has been batted a few times by my cats and is learning/improving with them. I think Fern would be best in a home without cats, although if there is someone with a sighthound savvy cat, who has introduced dogs with prey drive to cats before then she may be able to live with them. It would just need to be the right circumstances!
Fern is coming with me to work at the vets every day currently, and she is generally very good, although occasionally gets a bit vocal but this is normally when she needs the toilet. She is very good for her dressing changes and handling in general, allowing us to flush and clean her wound and replace her dressings with no problems. (This is a lot more than a lot of dogs would allow!). In terms of leaving Fern home alone I think this will take a bit of time/work as she does love to be around people. We have already started some training with this, and I think with time she will get there as she has already shown improvement in a week. And at the moment she has currently had a lot of change so it’s understandable she may be a bit confused/worried about being left whilst in a new home!
All in all Fern is an absolute sweetheart, and everyone who has met her has fallen in love with her. She is beautiful, goofy and affectionate.
If I didn’t already have 3 dogs and 2 cats I would consider offering Fern a home myself as she is honestly a sweetheart and has settled into her new routine with me very well. I think Fern will make a fabulous dog for whoever offers her a forever home, they just need to be prepared to do a little bit of training in the early days with her to help her to settle and find her feet.”
