Alfie (27.03.14 - 24.10.16)

Alfie, or 'Alfie-doo' as we affectionately called him, was the first of our pack to leave us. He was our little white deaf Bull Terrier. Alfie was brought to the UK from Spain in early 2014, but because of his medical and behavioural issues, his 'rescuer' could not handle him, and he was handed over to Arundawn Dog Rescue. He came to Sam and I as a short-term foster dog 'for 2 weeks' on 27th March 2014, so that we could assess him and make a start on working with his issues, ready for him to be rehomed. It quickly became apparent that he was very dog reactive in public due to anxiety from his lack of senses (although friendly after slow and careful introduction). Because of this, along with his poor sight from severe dry-eye, skin issues & grain intolerance requiring a specific diet, and deficient immune system, he was deemed 'unrehomable' and was adopted into our pack - bringing our total at the time to 7, in a 1-bed flat! At that point we said 7 was our absolute limit and under no circumstances could we take on any more dogs! Alfie's dog reactiveness improved exponentially over the time we had him, and though we always had to be cautious out on walks, we trusted him 100% with any dog we brought into our home, where he felt safe and secure. He was always a very happy, loving and affectionate dog, and got the nickname 'our little tap-dancer' or 'tappy tappy' because of the way he moved his feet and 'danced' when he got excited. He was very gentle around our daughter as a baby, and respectful of her personal space. Although completely deaf, he was a rather vocal Bull Terrier and made cute noises whenever being given a cuddle or a vigorous stroke. Alfie died on 24th October, 2016. We don't know his age, but estimate he was around just 7-8 years old. Our only regret is he didn't stay with us longer, he's very much missed by us all.  

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Oliver (28.04.13 - 27.11.16)

Oliver came to live with us on Sunday 28th April 2013 as a foster dog from Absolute Bull Terrier Rescue, for me to work on his behavioural issues. As a severely abused dog (as you can see from his right eye) Oliver had fear aggression toward any strangers who tried to approach him. The first time I met Oliver, around October 2012 while he was staying with ABT's coordintator Karen, I managed to build an instant rapport and bond with him which no one else had been able to achieve. It was then that Karen decided she wanted me to take him on and work with him, though I wasn't in a position to do until the following April when I moved in with Sam. Not long after Oliver came to us he started collapsing during walks and in June 2013 was diagnosed with severe DCM (dilated cardio-myopathy), a degenerative heart condition. Being given a life expectancy of 12-18 months at his initial diagnosis, and with a retail cost of nearly £200 a month for his 6 different medications, it would have been unfair on Oliver to even attempt to rehome him, so it was agreed he would live out his days with us - however long that might be. To that extent Oliver was technically the first addition to our pack, bringing our total at the time to 6, though as he arrived so soon after Sam and I moved in together, I count him as one of our 'originals'. We didn't want to decrease Oliver's quality of life, so he continued to walk with us off-lead as usual, though taking him out with our slower dogs so he wasn't so tempted to over-do it. Although his condition continued to deteriorate slowly, he still enjoyed life right to his last days. His anxiety issues completely disappeared in 2014, Oliver loved everybody and was a real 'cuddle-monster', wanting fuss and attention from everyone he met! He was loving and gentle towards our baby daughter. Oliver outlived his 'best case' life expectancy by just shy of 2 years and passed away in our arms at home on Sunday 27th November 2016. He was around 10 years old. 

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​​Lily (April 2004 - December 2019)

Lily was a 'true' Miniature Bull Terrier, weighing just 11kg. Sam bought Lily as a puppy, long before we met, and was her first dog. She made it to just 4 months away from her 16th birthday, despite having to have every single tooth removed when she was about 12. After this she earned the nickname 'granny sloth' (from the 'Ice Age' films). Lily had 1 litter of pups when she was 3 years old, one of which - Noah - was kept, and lived with Sam's parents until he passed away following complications after abdominal surgery aged just 7 1/2, on 25th October 2014. As a 'golden oldie', Lily's favourite passtime was (perhaps unsurprisingly) sleeping - in fact most of the time, you wouldn't even know she was there! Though she always enjoyed a slow amble out, stopping at every bush we passed to have a sniff. But, when the wind got up her tail, she still gave the young'uns a run for their money!

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Cassie (July 2007 - March 2022)

Oli's first Bull Terrier! Cassie came into Arundawn Dog Rescue in March 2009 when she was 20 months old. She suffered with severe demodex mange and malnutrition, after her 'owners' decided to lock her away in a metal tool shed fearing her parasitic infestation was contagious, rather than getting her seen by a vet. When she arrived I gave her attention and affection, exercise and training, so she decided she was going to keep me, not the other way round! I had lost my previous dog - a 67kg GSD x Anatolian Shepherd called Maverick - 5 months previously, and was now ready to love another. It was a long road to full recovery, and her permanently deformed feet needed frequent nail trimming. There were 'teething' issues in the beginning, including protective guarding aggression and prey drive, which was a very steep learning curve, but Cassie was my first real introduction to correcting behavioural issues in Bull Terriers. She had a very calm and relaxed, submissive temperament, and helped me to assess, train and rehabilitate countless dogs. 

In her later life, Cassie has spondylosis of the spine, chronic arthritis in a rear leg and mild kidney disease. She was fully retired from helping to assess dogs at around 12 years old. 

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Dave  (2009 - August 2021)

Dave, or 'Davy-Newson' as Sam calls him, was usually mistaken for a Boxer cross. He was in fact an American Bulldog x Boston Terrier...and the Boston was the mother! We often referred to Dave as 'the saddest dog in the world' as his facial expression was always so woeful, but in reality he is quite the opposite and had one of the waggiest tails we've known. The harder you smacked his bum, the faster he wagged his tail! He could also be very vocal when excited. Sam bought Dave as a pup in 2009, and as such was one of our original 5. Even in his later years, he acted like a much younger dog and was always full of energy. He was very athletic considering his parentage, and as a younger dog probably too fast for his own good - we were always telling him to slow down! Dave was often roped into helping me to assess the social skills of client's dogs and rescues, right to the end.

Dave sadly succumbed very suddenly to a ruptured tumour on his spleen at the beginning of August, 2021.

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Rocket (2011 - November 2022)

Our second miniature Bull Terrier, though somewhat larger than Lily. Sam bought rocket as a puppy in 2011, making her another one of 'the originals'. In her younger years she really lived up to her name, we could take her on a nice long off-lead walk, and when we got home she was still bouncing off all the walls! When she turned 5 in early 2016 it was like a switch flicked over night, and she suddenly became a much calmer and more relaxed dog, like one day she woke up and decided it was time she 'grew up'...until, that is, she goes to the beach - and the puppy in her returns! Rocket had a lovely temperament and craved attention and fuss, her only vice being her tendency to lose her head and get over excited at times.

Rocket developed a bone tumour in her nose, which grew from the size of a small pea when first noticed, to a golf ball over a year later. The tumour eventually started affecting her quality of life, at which time we had to say goodbye to her.

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Bacchus

Our French Bulldog. Sam bought Bacchus as a puppy just 6 months after getting Rocket. He is the youngest of our original 5 and at the time of writing (2025) he is the last surviving member of our original 5.

As a young dog, you could say Bacchus was sometimes 'overly friendly', as he would run to people at full speed from 50+ yards to say hello - which some could find a little intimidating with the accompanied 'snorting' noises he makes. As is common with Frenchies, Bacchus doesn't cope well with hot weather, and would spend most of the summer months hiding in the shade. He had surgery at around 6 years old to enlarge his nasal passages to improve his quality of life. 

At 14 years old Bacchus is more or less part of the furniture these days.

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Remington (Rem)

Rem is (best guess) a Labrador x working Cocker Spaniel, and as such it's fair to say as a young dog was absolutely nuts, with boundless energy and enthusiasm. I frequently remarked ''I'll never own another Spaniel!''...then ended up with Oreo - a full working cocker for our daughter. Rem came to us with his sister from Arundawn Dog Rescue as a foster dog in January 2015. We estimate they were just 8-10 weeks old and had been dumped at a pet store, which we later discovered was most likely because they both had congenital cataracts which would require specialist and expensive surgery. I wanted a dog to train as a Gundog, so forgetting our 'no more dogs' agreement after taking on Alfie we decided to keep Rem, increasing our pack to 8 dogs.

In order to raise funds for his cataract surgery, Sam abseiled the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth on 6th April 2015, while she was 2 months pregnant with our daughter! Rem often joined me to help working with other dogs. If anything, he was sometimes too dog friendly, and sometimes struggled to contain his excitement while 'stooging' for me.

Sadly in 2020 Rem's eye sight had deteriorated to the point he was walking into things and was unable to continue his role as a working gundog. with increasing anxieties from his poor vision in a busy household with young children and lots going on, Rem went to live with Nobby's previous owners, who are now good friends of ours. Rem then developed glaucoma and had to have both eyes removed, however he enjoys a spoiled existence next to the beach, and nice open walks. He does extremely well as a blind dog, is still going strong in 2025, and still comes to stay occasionally.

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Nobby (June 2012 - 20/04/2021)

Nobby was a long-term client of ours, but for reasons too long-winded to explain, we had long before agreed that when we were in a position to do so we would one day welcome him into our family, as we were always very fond of him and whenever he stayed - which was regularly - he settled straight in as though he was already one of the pack anyway. Nobby came to join our family permanently on 30th August 2016, taking our pack to it's highest number to date - 9 dogs.

Nobby was our biggest Bull Terrier, a real chunk at 34kg of muscle in his prime. He was known by various names; nobs, nobby-doo-doo, nob-a-dob, to name but a few. Nobby had a stubborn streak like all bull terriers, and sometimes needs a bit of assertive handling to remind him of the rules and boundaries, but was a gentle lad really with quite an anxious disposition in a lot of ways, though he gained confidence being around the rest of his pack.

Nobs took on the mantle from Cassie when she was retired from 'active service', and performed his duties in helping other dogs admirably.

He was fantastic and very gentle around both of our children, like the rest of the pack, sensing their vulnerability - and would lay motionless while our 2 year old son clambered all over him, enjoying the attention.

Nobby was diagnosed with the same heart condition as Oliver - DCM - in early 2021. Oliver managed very well on the medications, however we did not see the same positive results with Nobs, and he sadly succumbed to the illness just a few months after diagnosis. He was 2 months shy of his 9th birthday, so still only middle aged, and was my go-to 'right-hand-dog' for assessments up until just a month before he left us.

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Olive (December 2016 - present)

We brought Olive into our home aged 4 1/2 months on the 27th December 2016...all the way from Wales!

Olive was Sam's first real venture into the world of working Gundogs and following over a year of initial training started to compete with Olive in Retriever Working Tests, where Olive did well and very much enjoyed her work.

Olive is now retired from competitions, but is still very much an integral part of our picking-up team during the game-shooting season, when we are out working weekly (or more).

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Gundog training differs greatly from your average obedience training session for pet dogs, which of course has the added bonus that Sam is continually improving her own knowledge and picking up new techniques to use herself.

If you own a working-type dog, Gundog training sessions, even if just for fun, are a great way to exercise and stimulate your dog, and to also build a higher level of obedience and compliance than you're likely to get from generic obedience training. Retriever training is essentially a very elaborate, structured and disciplined game of fetch.

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​​Tizzy (December 2019 - Present)

Sam's second Gundog, who joined us as a puppy in between Christmas 2019 and New Year 2020. Where Olive was slower and more dependable, easier to handle but not as confident, working Tizzy is like trying to drive a Ferrari in the wet with the traction control turned off!

Sam had some success with Tizzy in competitions, but she is now retired from competitions and instead helps out as part of our picking-up team during the game-shooting season.

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Steve (August 2021 - Present)

Steve is Olive's pup, born end of August 2021. We kept Steve to train as Oli's first competition Gundog. 

He has many of his mother's attributes, making him far easier to handle. However he has his father's (a Field Trial Champion called Troy) drive and more confidence than his mother.

Steve competed in his first competition in June 2023, when he was approaching 2 years old. In 2025 he will be going into his second full competition season, with the first set for early April.

Steve also helps me to do socialisation and assessments with clients' dogs, but his primary role is as a 'picking-up' dog during the game-shooting season, where he did around 25 full days work during the 2024-25 season.

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Loki (July 2021 - Present)

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Kyrie (June 2022 - Present)

 

Oreo (September 2022 - Present)

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Tweed & Flight (​​​​​​​January 2024 - Present)

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