Reassuring Dinky
Last year, we welcomed five-year-old Dinky to Woodgreen when her owner couldn’t look after her anymore. She was a sensitive soul who didn’t like being alone – she had severe separation anxiety.
Woodgreen put together a plan to get Dinky’s life back on track, but her journey with us wasn’t plain sailing. After finding Dinky a new home and offering her owners’ weekly advice on home alone training, it wasn’t long before she had to come back to us. Her new owners weren’t able to continue her training because of work commitments. Dinky was very clingy and would tremble if one of her owners left her alone in a room, so they couldn’t go anywhere without her. We fully supported their decision to bring Dinky back and began searching for another match. Fortunately, only 1% of dogs we rehome are returned to Woodgreen – and we never give up on finding them a forever home.
While back in our care, Dinky benefitted from spending time in the home of dedicated Woodgreen fosterer Charlotte. As well as offering extra comfort, she helped Dinky with separation anxiety training. It was a slow but steady process, from leaving a treat when exiting the room to breaking down their ‘going out’ routine.
Splitting the training up into tiny steps really helped Dinky relax. She stopped getting anxious and eventually could be left alone with toys and treats for ten minutes. And she stopped getting stressed when Charlotte put her shoes on or jangled her keys on the way out!
We were delighted when we found Dinky a new loving owner in Kayleigh. She sent us this heartwarming message: “ You can tell, although she waited a long time for her forever home, she’s been loved every step of the way. ”
Give dogs like Dinky a forever home by adopting a dog or fostering a dog with Woodgreen today.