Mattie

Mattie is one of our younger dogs at only two and a half years old. Although he comes across as really shy to start with, we finally won him over after nearly a month of being with us. He was rather noise phobic when he arrived and the slightest sound would spook him to the corner of his bed. Now having had 3 months to settle, everything is not as scary. Mattie is still noise phobic in unfamiliar environments but given the chance of repeated exposure in an area he calms down. His noise phobia becomes no longer an issue once he's familiar with a new place. Mattie has been going out for regular walks. Our volunteers have mentioned how he is a lovely walker but needs more confidence outside his comfort space. Also, with our dog walkers help, Mattie has overcome his worry with traffic. We have a very busy country lane so he has done well to improve around traffic after just a few walks. He recently went on the monthly Riverside Country Park walk and coped really well being around a large group of people, greyhounds and other breeds of dog that frequent the park. Mattie can also be quite hand shy and a bit dramatic if you try to do something he doesn't want you to, like checking his tail. He recently broke/dislocated near the tip of his tail and after a vet check we needed to keep a close check on it. Whilst he wasn't happy about us looking he did grudgingly allow us to do a physical check. Food will help him overcome a variety of things in a home as he is a big foodie - he will however need to be taught some manners regarding treats as he does have a habit of snatching. He will need an adult only home in a quiet area as he still finds some traffic and unexpected noises unnerving. * Mattie has been small dog tested so has the potential to live with another breed of dog pending successful introductions. Having a confident dog to live with will help him both inside and outside the home. When Princess was here he loved a game of chase up and down the fence line with her. See comments for video of Mattie playing with a small breed dog. *Due to Mattie’s noise phobia any potential adopter may be subject to a physical home visit as well as our virtual home visit and other pre-adoption checks. Mattie is one of our younger dogs at only two years old. Although he comes across as really shy to start with, we finally won him over after nearly a month of being with us. He was rather noise phobic when he arrived and the slightest sound would spook him to the corner of his bed. Now having had that short time to settle, everything is not as scary, and Mattie has even recently started going out for walks. Our volunteers have mentioned how he is a lovely walker but needs more confidence outside his comfort space. Also, with our dog walkers help, Mattie has started to overcome his worry with traffic. Food will help him overcome a variety of things in a home as he is a big foodie - he will however need to be taught some manners regarding treats as he does have a habit of snatching. He will need an adult only home in a quiet area as he still finds traffic unnerving. * Mattie has been small dog tested so has the potential to live with another breed of dog pending successful introductions. Having a confident dog to live with will help him both inside and outside the home. Mattie is only just starting to show us his character. We will update more as that personality starts to peek through. *Due to Mattie’s noise phobia any potential adopter may be subject to a physical home visit as well as our virtual home visit and other pre-adoption checks. Mattie is new to the kennel. He is a bit unsure at the moment and shies away from people that he doesn't know trying to handle him. He has improved in the time that he has been with us. Given a chance to settle into the kennel Mattie's confidence is slowly growing. He would benefit from a home with a greyhound girl or potentially other breed of dog already established in the home. Mattie has passed his small dog test and we have a video of him running around and playing with a small terrier. At this time we wouldn't home him with young children purely on the way he is unsure around adults. We may find as he settles into the kennels that he is comfortable around children but at this time we can't confirm that.