Ernie originally came to PACT from a massively overpopulated house where he was used for breeding. He is estimated to be just 18 months old and sadly has only ever known life as a breeding dog. He appeared healthy on intake, just slightly underweight and in need of vaccinating, neutering and a haircut! Despite his start, he is an extremely friendly boy who loves the company of humans.
Ernie was extremely strong and unruly when he arrived at the sanctuary and needed two members of kennel staff to harness and walk him. Despite having had no prior training, Ernie has taken to training well and is learning new things every day. He has massively improved with walking on a lead and although there is still work to be done, he walks well on a harness, and he is even now being walked by volunteers. He can still be strong at times since he’s really a very large puppy (he is the size of a Shetland pony!) so will need an owner committed to his continued training. Ernie loves running around in our training paddock with a toy but isn’t very good at bringing it back just yet! He does love food and treats though so can sometimes be convinced to come back for a tasty treat or two.
Ernie was soon adopted but unfortunately was returned the following week due to his fear of the car. This is through absolutely no fault of his own and his adopter was really sad to have to return him; she had done an amazing amount of training with him in the time she had him and is actually volunteering with us at the sanctuary to continue the work she had started.
Ernie surprised his adopter (and all of us!) by proving himself to be housetrained. We hope this will be the case in his new home too.
We have been doing some desensitisation and training surrounding the car and Ernie has made some really good progress. He is slowly learning to get into the car by himself although this is still an area that needs a lot of work. Ernie will happily travel in the car and is happy to be lifted in but has some fear surrounding the tailgate closing. Once the tailgate is closed, he quickly settles for the journey and is able to get out unaided.
Ernie is looking for a home with no other animals but could live with dog savvy children aged 12 or over.
Date of Birth 2021 Breed Standard Poodle x Sex Male Colour Black and Tan Housetrained Yes Destructive No Good with dogs No Good with cats No To live with other animals No To live with older children? 14 Years Plus To live with younger children No Neutered Yes Vaccinated Yes Microchipped Yes