Denzel - Working Cocker Spaniel, Dog (5 Years)

I think Denzel's health is obviously brimming at the moment. This morning on our cross country walk, he was getting very frisky on his extender lead with the country smells and was running about, and pulling me around. In the end I got fed up, and said to Phil, "You can have him for a while, I'll take the easy option (Phoebe)", so Phil took his lead and I took Phoebe's, and we carried on. Within two minutes, we'd gone through a gate, and as I had my back turned to close the gate behind us, I heard a shout from Phil, turned round, and there was Denzel despatching a pheasant that you wouldn't have known was there in the hedgerow. I just hate that! Fortunately, one shake and the pheasant was dead (my screams of, "oh, Phil, get it off him!" were a little misguided. It was over in a nano second). No point in shouting at Denzel - he is, after all, a working Cocker Spaniel and to him it's all in a day's work. We were just so shocked that he's no more Mr Nice Guy! We didn't think he had it in him (the speed, at least!). One to warn Lisa about this afternoon when I do the final home check (although being country folk, I'm sure she would have picked it up, plucked it, put it in the pot and thanked the Lord she didn't have to worry about leadshot breaking her fillings!!).

The final home check paperwork has been completed and despatched to the rehoming officer. All is looking good, and if approved, I will be bidding my final farewell to Denzel next Saturday. His new home is on a farm with the most oustanding views of the south Shropshire countryside. Totally stunning. He is a very lucky boy.

Keeping a thread like this makes you realise how far you've come from the start. As well as getting his health sorted, I can see how well he's done with the training around his food, going through doors, walking to heel and so on.

Denzel has been such a lovely dog to have around. He was such a sorry sight when he arrived, with his face bitten and swollen, and his terrible stomach problems and that awful smelly long hair. He has blossomed and like all the dogs I've fostered, I will be so sad when he goes. That won't be for long, because after I drop Denzel off, I will be heading straight over to Jan's to pick Baz up to give her a break and Baz a change of scenery. I know Phoebe will be thrilled to have her old sparring partner back in the house, so the departure of Denzel will be easier for her to bear as well.

It's the same for us volunteers Ria...remembering Denzil when he arrived & then seeing the transformation at the Dog Show the other weekend...it's amazing....The foster dogs really do have an advantage over our beauties in the kennels I'm sure more of us wish we could help out by being fosterer's...but thanks to all who do it, it really does make a difference...

I'm glad Phoebe & you will not be too sad I reckon that Baz will keep you both on your toes.!!

All the best to Denzil, his new home sounds perfect as does his new Mum I'm sure they will both have a great time.

Sadly, fate has dealt us a punishing blow today, and Denzel is now available for rehoming again. This morning on our walk, Denzel displayed too much unprovoked negative interest in another dog, which makes his rehoming in the chosen environment, where socialisation around other dogs is needed, questionable. On the one hand, I was so upset because we were in the final hours of countdown to his rehoming tomorrow, but on the other hand, I am very glad that the incident happened now, when he was with me, and the evidence, although unbelievable, was undeniable. After a long discussion with the prospective adopter, it was decided that it is not in either party's interests to take such a risk. The last thing that I would want for Denzel is to be restricted in his movements at the workplace.

Denzel is therefore looking for his forever home once again. To be absolutely sure of the best environment with no repercussions, he needs to be homed as the only pet (no dogs, cats, furries or birds/poultry). He also needs to be homed with people where he will not be left alone for more than a couple of hours (unless you have a very rural location with no close neighbours that will have to put up with his howling!), and where his walks will be supervised and controlled at all times.

Despite this sounding like a negative post, I would have absolutely no hesitation in adopting him myself, because I would now know what situations to avoid (I have to say that I have no intention of adopting him, as it would stop my fostering career, which is of greater benefit to the rescue than one adoption). We feel that his reaction to other dogs is breed based, and I have a number of friends with that particular breed, that I am now going to engage with in a very controlled environment, to attempt more positive interactions. At the end of the day, we have to remember that Denzel has no previous history prior to him coming into foster, as he was picked up as a stray. Goodness only knows what circumstances he has faced in the past that might have shaped his behaviour.

On a human level, Denzel is bombproof - he is loving, loyal, gentle and constantly makes you smile.

There is definitely the right home out there for this loving boy, it might just take a little longer to find.

After speaking to FDR, I have had a call from Spaniel Rescue tonight and Denzel will be leaving for pastures new this weekend. He will be assessed, rehabilitated and trained with a view to him becoming a gundog (if he wasn't one already). I am assured that the trainer is one of the very best and that they have every confidence in him.

This will be the best outcome for Denzel, and although I will be very sad to see him go, I feel confident that he will be doing what he was bred to do. I will keep in touch with his progress and will make sure that it's a happy ending for him.

Gosh things do move fast Ria...I'm sure you know Denzil better than anyone & if you think this is best for Denzil ,let's all wish him good luck & look forward to updates on his progress..he is such a lovely dog I'm sure something to allow him to use all his senses will be right up his street

What a sleepless night I had, worrying about Denzel's transfer to the Cocker and English Springer Spaniel Rescue. So many tears shed, so many worries that he was going back into a kennel situation, knowing how fretful he is without human company. Meeting with the chap who was transferring Denzel from Birmingham to Stoke on Trent, I was given lots of reassurance that he will be well cared for and properly assessed, both to identify what the likely cause of his problem is around labradors, and also whether he will make a good gundog. He assured me that he is unlikely to be in the kennels for more than a week.

We had a lovely walk before we set off with him and made sure that he was tired out for his long journey. It was a very sad moment when we transferred him to the car for the last part of his journey. I will miss him terribly. He was a lovely boy. Good luck lad!

I have shed a bucket load of tears these last 24 hours - mainly because of the speed at which Denzel was moved on. I had prepared myself for his going to Lisa, safe in the knowledge that I was on hand if there were any problems, and that I would still see him every week. However, knowing that he was back in kennels in Stoke on Trent broke my heart. I telephoned the rescue this morning and spoke to John, who assured me that he was settling in fine and that he was going to the assessor in a couple of days. He felt that he will be rehomed into a normal family environment as he might be a bit too old to retrain to the gun. I have to say, I was delighted to hear that because although I can see him working really well, I just can't see him kept as an outside dog in a pack. John has promised to let me know how he gets on and where he ends up, and is confident that they will find the perfect home for him.

Good news Ria ..sounds as if they are as you say a very caring & professional set up, dedicated to helping the dogs in their care find their forever home as quickly as possible...nice of them to keep us informed of his progress let's hope Denzil is ready to find his forever home soon

Greetings and Happy Christmas to All at Forest Dog Rescue and CAESSR,

First - I/we are now the lucky owners of little Denzel, as of the first Friday of November this year.

Many thanks and Seasonal Best Wishes to all of those concerned that have helped in Denzel's rescue - he is a lovely little dog.

The story so far - at Home Denzel has been wonderfully behaved, with only the odd word needed to stop him helping his self to food not on offer - we feed him twice a day and so far he has always wolfed his food down a little too quickly possibly, though he's only made himself sick once.

Despite being a little saint at home and an angel with strangers we meet, Denzel's one problem is his reaction to other dogs - he shakes and whines and barks at them in protest and even tries to nip at them - hence I use a head collar with a harness to walk him - wow does he love to walk? - in true Spaniel form he'll still want to go on after ten miles of wandering!

Denzel has such a loving nature in the way of the Springers that we had into their old age recently - hopefully he will get to be friendly with other dogs as they were in time - his current reaction all seems to be down to chronic insecurity and bad memories....

Health wise he seems very fit, despite the fatty lump and the heart murmur - I'd guess his age to be around three years old, from the way he behaves - he's so strong for his weight when he wants to be!

I've included a few more pictures of him - though I'm not sure they do him justice yet - I find it difficult to catch him in a natural pose because of his concentration and devotion to me in particular...

Thanks again for such a wonderful new addition to our family - I'm very pleased to have adopted him - I know our Springers Josh and Beji would have approved!

Best Regards,
Denver Johnson.


Sorry site rules mean I can't post the pictures properly 'til after Christmas

How lovely to hear that dear Denzil now has such a knowledgeable & caring home,it sounds as if he has landed well & truly on all four paws....What a shame we have to wait to see your photos, I remember Denzil when he first came to \FDR & what a truly awful sight he was...really unloved, unkempt & uncared for & ill.. in fact a pathetic little chap, But always a smile on his face for those who looked after him....we saw him blossom under Ria & Phi's care & now the icing on the cake, he is loved & looked after & it sounds as if he's looking after you both too...what a Christmas Gift...thank you for your update & I hope his issues with other dogs will fade in time, my dogs did although she is sometimes selective still & usually with good reason!!...All the best for a happy 2012

Hi there Denver,

Thank you so much for posting on here and giving an update on Denzel. I have been watching the CAESSR website daily to see if anyone posted an update on there, and it's absolutely wonderful to get your message on the forum here.

Denzel is such a character and I know you will have many happy years with him. I was very upset when he was taken from me and transferred to CAESSR, but I believed the story I was given that they had people queuing up to take him, although it looks like he wasn't too long in kennels (3 weeks). I would have been happy to have kept him on foster with me until he was placed, but that's water under the bridge now and I'm so pleased he's fallen on his feet.

It wasn't until that last day before he was due to be adopted that we had seen any issue at all with other dogs, other than him lunging at the male Golden Retriever. As you say, in the home he is a saint. When he first arrived he was dreadful to feed - I put it down to his scavenging before he was rescued. After persistent training, he would wait until his food was down and he was given the go ahead to eat.

Lisa, the potential adopter, was a senior vet nurse and she had him checked over at work by the vet, who diagnosed his heart murmur and put his age around 5 years (he was previously believed to be about 8. Once he had all his hair removed, and had his campylobactor and toxacaris infestation under control, I thought he behaved like a puppy!!!

The pictures are wonderful - I have attached the instructions for adding photos to the forum.

Please keep us updated with his progress. I would definitely like to hear how he's doing. Thank you so much for giving him a wonderful home!!

Ria xx

Hi Ria,
Extra Special Thanks to You for getting Denzel back on his feet and spending so much time, effort, love and care on him - he's a wonderful loving little dog and I'm certain he still has a place for you in his good memories.


Thanks for the site instructions - unfortunately as a new site member, it seems I am restricted in my postings insofar that I'm "not allowed to post external links or emails for 7 days" - hence I can't put in my few pictures live until next week. I will edit my post next week.


Try as I might, I can't put in a deactivated set of links that could give you a sneak preview by changing the odd character - I suspect that the ones I gave in the first post wont work - web masters rule - I have hosted the pictures but cant post the links - I would think that all JPEGs are tested for correctness if not content by the host site....


I promise to try my best to keep you posted on little Denzel's progress.


Best Regards, Happy Christmas and an Even Better New Year,
Denver Johnson.

Thanks Phil,
for editing my post and enabling the hosted pictures early - sorry for attempting to infringe the house rules on new members but I wanted to give a little feedback before Christmas....


Regards,
Denver Johnson.

Hi again All,
Denzel's new natty red collar has arrived in the post today - so I thought I'd stick in a few more pictures to keep up to date....




Best Regards,
Denver Johnson.

So pleased for Denzel and also for Ria who now can sleep at night again.

xxx

Happy Christmas and many many more to you, Denzel!!!

Hi Denver,

Just wondering how Denzel is settling? Did you have a good festive season with him? Hope he didn't eat too much turkey!!

Been filing my photos and found a fab photo and a funny video of the boy and my dog Phoebe.

Hi again Ria and Lala and All,
Happy New Year.


Denzel has settled in as a member of the family wonderfully - he really didn't take much time to achieve this since he's so socially integrated with humans that I think no one could fail to love him....



It's a shame that he is not as happy with his own kind - at home I've put up a 90M run of wire fence so that he can't get at the neighbour's dog again - one of his first feats free off the lead in the fairly large back garden was to bolt through a hole in the fence in pursuit of the neighbouring great white hunter's 'gun dogs', somewhat worsening relations with them - no damage done - said neighbour is a person that claims in spite, to have wiped out the local fox population - no love lost there....






Walking is what Denzel loves doing - but I do have to keep him away from other dogs at the moment, though he's great with people. I'm confident that he'll become friendly with other dogs - eventually - it's mainly by gender I think, there is one Alsation bitch that he doesn't grumble at so far! - so he is beginning to fit into the neighbourhood, slowly!


Thank you very much Ria for posting the lovely picture and especially the little video clip - that gives me more faith in Denzel becoming dog friendly. It also boosts the ultimate plan to pair him up with a little soul-mate - we had been planning to find a couple of male dogs originally (they seem to be less popular, or there seem to be more in rescues), but it looks very likely that we'll be seeking a girl-friend for little Denzel in the coming year, since he's such a Don Juan.


I've put in a couple more pictures - when the light gets better, I should be able to shoot some with my real camera, rather than my phone....





Regards,
Denver.

What a shame he is displaying this behaviour - I, too, am sure it is gender based. We had Nelly, another foster dog, staying with us for a day and a half while we had Denzel, and he was perfectly fine with her too. If I remember correctly, he was returned after one night by a previous adopter because he had a fight with their neighbouring black lab (and came off worst with three deep puncture wounds), but they had a springer male who he got on fine with. Your neighbour sounds like a right arse, so well done Denzel

I think he's such a people dog that he wouldn't care one way or the other if he had a girlfriend, to be honest.

Keep up the good work Denver! I'm so pleased he has someone that will work with and through his insecurities.

Hi again Ria and Lala and All,
Happy New Year.




It could be the Zorro head collar I walk him with or Denzel's habit of holding his ears up in an arc just enough to look like a Medieval Italian/Hispanic Don hat that adds to his girl chasing sword-fighting character!




I can't have Denzel going after other dogs though! - at the moment I keep Denzel to one side of the track I walk on to let other walkers with dogs pass - to some extent this reinforces Denzel's behaviour - but I'm certain he'll get over it eventually....




I've mainly been walking Denzel in the dark of late partly with the early nights, but he loves that - the pictures are a few miles into a walk!






Regards,
Denver.

I think we sometimes have to accept that our dog is not going to get on with other dogs. Ben loves people and tolerates other dogs as long as they don't come too close. We go to dog training and he's doing really well, but is still aggressive when another dog approaches him. When I see dogs running together and having fun in the park I wish Ben could be part of that, but I'm sure that's not going to happen.I obviously want that a lot more than he does !! Sounds as if you've done wonders with Denzil and love him to bits.

We were very lucky because we knew where to take him where he wouldn't come across other dogs and where he could run free. Unfortunately, once he was fully recovered from his terrible digestive problems and built up his stamina, he would want to roam further afield, and once squeezed through a hedge at a high level and shot off across the golf course. He was after the rabbits, of course, as he was always 'working' the undergrowth. In the end we had a lot of his long walks on a retractable lead, which he still managed to stretch his legs and have a good run around on, but was safely never more than 8 metres away. In the forest he was fine off lead, and did meet other dogs well. Again, there's always the problems with dogs feeling trapped when they're on lead. Perhaps you can get the best of both worlds by introducing a soft muzzle, particularly as he's obviously used to the halti around his head.

I wish that we could walk our dogs at night, but in the countryside with no lighting whatsoever and ruddy great potholes everywhere, it's just too dangerous.

Hi again Ria and Lala and All,
Denzel really knows how to act COOL - when he gets in snow!










I think his little face in the last says it all - nice that at least someone loves the bad weather!


Regards,
Denver.

How lovely to see Denzel enjoying the snow....He seems to look so much younger ..it must be because he is living such a good life.

Oh, bless him! He looks like he's having so much fun in the snow! It also acts as a great contrast so that you can see his lovely colouring! You've obviously got a lot more snow than here in Tenbury! Where are you, by the way?