Rusty's info:

Sex: Male
Age: 7 years old
Size: Medium
Breed: Crossbreed

Bio:

Introducing... Rusty!

Are you looking for a fluffy ball of fun? Then Rusty may just be the dog for you!!

Rusty's Story:

Rusty is approximately 7 years old and has sadly spent around half of his life living in a public kill shelter in Romania. He arrived in the UK November 2023.

About Rusty:

Rusty was very scared upon his arrival at Oakwood and he quickly showed us that he was not enjoying the company of other dogs so we moved him to be on his own. This is when his personality really started to show and this goofy little fluff ball appeared, started asking for fusses and making us laugh as he'd bound up and down the corridor with a big grin on his face.

Rusty was adopted back in November 2024 but was sadly returned after just 4 weeks. Unfortunately, this really affected him and he was depressed for weeks, it was just heart breaking to see.

Rusty's cheeky personality has slowly started to shine back through but he's not quite the same dog as she was when he left us for his new home.

He is more nervous of us, flinching at every move we make, even when we are as slow as possible and showing him exactly what we are doing.

He used to be a dream on the lead with no reactivity to dogs or traffic, these days he can be super reactive to dogs and some traffic he's not phased by, but randomly a certain vehicle will terrify him and he's throw himself to the ground and panic. Rusty is very food orientated so he can be snapped out of this but we are trying so hard to get the old Rusty back that we once knew.

Rusty needs someone with patience and understanding and we hope that the loveable goofball that we know is hiding in there somewhere, will gleam back through once he realises again that he is safe again and there is nothing to worry about.

With other dogs:

When Rusty arrived at Oakwood, it was clear to see that he was not comfortable being the presence of other dogs and would snarl and snap when they approached him. This would have been a survival strategy for him in the kill shelter.

Over time, and as Rusty grew in confidence, he was able to make a couple of dog friends at the rescue that he could be let off lead with and made several dog walking friends too.

Sadly, at the moment, he is being reactive with the dogs and even the ones that he is / was friends with, he is constantly flinching around them and not comfortable at all so we are giving him a little break with more 1-1 time with our volunteers instead.

Medium - High Energy

Rusty shows to have low / moderate energy levels

4-5 hrs

Rusty could be trained to be left 4-5 hrs in the future, to begin with he will need to be left as little as possible whilst he settles in

Lead trained

Rusty used to walk lovely on a lead, no pulling and none reactive. Unfortunately, he has become more fearful on walks and his confidence needs to be worked on again