14-month-old Whisper arrived at Raystede in February 2024. Prior to that she had been living with a young family in a flat which was unsuitable for her energetic breed as she had no access to a garden. After neighbours had made several noise complaints when Whisper was left alone, she was eventually brought to Raystede.
Whisper hadn’t received much training before she came here, and she appeared very nervous of strangers, other dogs and being handled. As she got used to her surroundings, she started to bark loudly at both people and dogs.
Over the 15 months Whisper was with us, we trained her using lots of positive reinforcement to change her emotional response around people and dogs.
Over time, Whisper came on leaps and bounds. Around people she knew, she was cheeky, playful, and affectionate, but her progress around other humans and dogs was ongoing. We knew we needed to find a home willing to work with her and see beyond her behaviour to the Whisper we knew and loved.
Luckily for Whisper, she found her perfect person. A potential new owner came in and spent three days a week getting to know her over the course of several weeks. They decided Whisper was the one.