Underdog Jake finds his forever home

Lurcher Jake first arrived with us in 2015, aged just one. However, even at that early age, he had been passed around several homes before coming into our care. Due to his tricky start in life, Jake lacked confidence around dogs and people and had very specific rehoming requirements, meaning he was overlooked by potential adopters.

At Leeds, we spent many hours working with Jake to help him overcome his issues, creating a bespoke training programme to build his trust with new people, and develop his social skills around other dogs. 

One of the unique techniques we used was taking Jake for weekends away to take part in different activities including hiking on the moors, and to spend nights away from his kennel to help build his confidence in new environments, all designed to get ready for rehoming. 

In November 2023, Veronica and Keith came to the Leeds RC to specifically discuss Jake after they had seen the video of him enjoying a weekend away with myself in Wensleydale. They couldn’t stop thinking about him and so came to find out if they might be a good match for him.

Their home and lifestyle was exactly what Jake needed so we started the intro plan which had been successful with his previous potential adopters, and new handlers. Keith and Veronica followed our direction and after a few hands-off, at a distance meets, Jake was ready to start interacting with them.

They then visited him at the centre every week (twice a week for Veronica as she couldn’t keep away!) to keep building the relationship that would be vital to Jake trusting them the way he trusts his handlers. These meets progressed to on-lead walks in the fields, off-lead time in compounds, off-site walks, day visits and overnight stays!

Everything went perfectly and after three months of successful introductions, Jake moved into his new home in February 2024 after 1,725 days in our care. He has settled into home life really well, and his training and confidence has come on in leaps and bounds.