Meet Ragnar, a shy, gentle natured boy, full of charm and playful character, who has made great strides in learning to trust people since being rescued. He is currently in a foster home in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Ragnar is a 4 year old male medium Terrier Hound cross.
He is looking for an extra special home with at least one other companion dog and a secure garden. He needs a patient and understanding family who will continue the work his foster home have put in, to help him shine even brighter and reach his full potential.
His playful nature was apparent from early on. He loves to solo play with toys and uses them to offload some of his emotional stress. Despite being a very nervous dog, he seeks out company and typically likes to be in the same room as the family members, often sharing the sofa with them, just not too close as he doesn’t yet enjoy any physical contact and will actively move away if approached.
He gets along really well with the resident dogs and loves to cuddle up with them, especially the male, from whom he gets a lot of confidence. He has met a number of friends’ dogs who have visited the foster home and has been friendly towards them all.
He was rescued from a Cypriot village in 2021, presumably having been abandoned as an unwanted hunting dog. He was cared for at the CyDRA rehoming shelter, where the volunteers there worked on building his trust. This was no easy task, as Ragnar was so emotionally fragile and his faith in humans was shattered.
With the loving care that they showed him, he was able to fly to an experienced foster home in 2022 where he has been cared for since. He lives in a calm family home with 2 older teenagers and their 2 resident dogs.
Initially, Ragnar took refuge in a safe space behind the sofa whilst he adjusted over the coming weeks to living in a very new environment. His foster family have given him all the time, patience and space he needs to make progress without putting pressure on him which would have resulted in making him more scared.
He gradually ventured out from his den behind the sofa after a few weeks, slowly becoming integrated into the home. Now he loves to snooze on the various beds in the kitchen diner or curl up on one of the sofas.
It took a few months before he was brave enough to go into the garden but he now loves to be out there, although he can find neighbourhood noises scary and will often bark, so needs help in feeling safe. He is also wary of visitors, but this has been improving over time with his foster family supporting him and allowing him to choose to have space away from them.
He is house trained but does still have the odd accidents due to his nervous disposition. The foster home has been working on building his general confidence and he joins in with enrichment activities and some simple games. Trying to get a harness and lead on is tricky because he doesn’t enjoy the proximity of the person putting it on, however once the harness is on he is not worried by it.
He has very recently started to venture into the outside world, beginning with some sniffs just outside the garden gate. This then grew into going in the car to very remote areas where, along with the male resident dog, he has been able to start exploring the countryside away from traffic and other people or dogs.
He has also been to a secure field with the resident dogs which he really enjoyed. He showed good potential for recall and was interactive in playing games. There were other dogs in the adjacent field and he interacted positively towards them through the fence. He travels in the car very well.
Getting him out and about is something that will need to be very gradually built up so as not to cause a reactive dog by overwhelming him and introducing him to too many new things at once, making him more fearful and compromising his safety.
Ragnar is positive to leishmaniasis, a condition common in Mediterranean countries that is the result of a sandfly bite. This is managed with an inexpensive daily pill and a blood test every 6 months. He is otherwise fit and well with no other known health issues. He is neutered, fully vaccinated and microchipped.
Ragnar will need a calm, quiet home, and any children will need to be older and understand that Ragnar is not a dog they will be able to fuss and play with. A secure garden is a must for him to explore and get exercise outside.
He will need at least one dog companion for confidence and company. He is fine when left with the other dogs but doesn’t cope well being left alone. He has met with numerous visiting dogs and has done well with them all. He has not been tested with cats.
His foster family have been sharing his journey on social media and he has many followers cheering him on and watching his progress. He has won the hearts of many admirers.
If he has won your heart and you think you could offer him the very special home he deserves please get in touch with Superdogs rescue.
