Long-time Underdog Moose finds his forever

In October 2021, a nine-month-old crossbreed Moose (known then as Milo) came through our Salisbury centre's doors.

Moose’s previous owner made the difficult decision to hand him over due to their health issues.  

Young Moose found the change overwhelming. Due to the pandemic, most of his life so far had been spent in lockdown, meaning he’d missed crucial puppy experiences. He hadn't made friends with other puppies and worried when left alone. Our vet team also noticed pain in his leg, which he was given pain relief for.

Moose wasn’t having much interest from centre visitors, so the Salisbury team thought he'd have a higher chance of finding his forever family in Kenilworth, so he was carefully moved in September 2022. 

The Kenilworth team "fell in love" with Moose and his cheeky character when they met him.

The move worked and Moose finally got some interest. But he found new environments overwhelming and it proved hard for him to relax in a home. Sadly, several adoption attempts didn't work, and Moose found himself back with us. His adopters had struggled with his energetic behaviour, coupled with his size. He had also started to bark at dogs in and out of the home and had become very scared of anyone taking his food and toys.

Our team worked with Moose to make a training plan that a new owner could use, when his match was finally found. They wanted to him feel more confident meeting new people and dogs and less protective of food. Moose’s volunteer pals took him out of the centre for fun outdoor adventures. He also slowly spent more time with doggy friends to help him feel more comfortable around them.

Moose spent another year and a half waiting for a family to take a chance on him.

“We had always planned on having a rescue dog,” remembers Alina. “We were looking at greyhounds, but we had Moose as our ‘wildcard.’”

The couple came to meet him and were quickly smitten.

“We felt drawn to Moose right away. He was the big dog we wanted, and although he did have some behavioural issues, he was super playful, loved his treats, and any attention he could get!” says Matthew.

“After a couple of meetings, we felt that given enough time, he could blossom into a confident dog and his playful personality could come out,” he adds.

Matthew and Alina reserved Moose, but our training and behaviour team weren't fully confident about Moose's progress. They felt he needed more training to help him cope with his fears, so he could be as happy as possible in his next chapter.

The reservation went on hold, and the team got to work on intense rehab work for Moose.

Moose's biggest challenge came at feeding time, when he got scared his food would be taken away. To manage this, our teams taught him ‘away’ so he could go in another room or behind a gate, to enjoy his food (or a toy) in his own space. Moose practiced with trainers in Kenilworth's real-life kitchen and living room, to replicate doing it in the family home.

Moose also could be scared of the vets and didn't like having his legs looked at. Our team worked on a happy vet visit training programme, so he felt less anxious around people he didn't know. The team taught him to go on a mat in the vet suite for physical exams, so he knew when he would be touched. And he learned cue words for different parts of the exam, to help him stay calm. 

Soon he was ready for short home visits with our staff to introduce him to his new digs. 

Moose then packed his overnight bag and started having sleepovers so he could become familiar with his new home. These got longer every time, allowing him to get to know Alina and Matthew’s routines and to practice dinner time in this new environment.

After over four months of meetings, it seemed Moose had found his ideal home, and the team finally felt he was ready.

On 18 April 2024, Moose was officially adopted from Alina and Matthew after over 25 meetings. Since then, Moose has relaxed into life at home.

“Moose is an absolute snuggle  bug, and loves to play and be in the garden. He is really starting to trust us and leaves things when we ask,” says Alina.

“Moose is no longer worried about people being near his food. He now lets us put it down right under his nose, walk around behind him, and pick it up within his eyesight.”

The couple get ongoing support and advice from our training and behaviour teams, so they can carry on doing the right thing for Moose. Staff have popped to Moose’s house to see how he’s doing, even bringing a dog out for him to practice meeting them calmly.

Moose is making good progress. He can now walk happily beside another doggy friend, and can feel confident with other dogs coming up to sniff him.

Alina and Matthew say adopting Moose has been a very worthwhile experience. “Dogs Trust’s long-term residents have so much potential,” says Alina.

“As adopters, you need to be patient and work with your dog every day to build up their trust. It’s important to remember some things won’t change overnight, and they are acting out of fear, not to be naughty. If you are willing to meet the dog where they are in their journey, they really can shine.” 

Matthew concludes, “In five months, Moose is already a completely different dog from when we first brought him home. We know he's on the right path to being the most confident boy he can be.”