Billy

Doggie Details

Current status:

Homed

I am a:

Deerhound X

I am:

Male

I would like:

Plenty of attention please!

My favourite thing is:

Spending time with my friends

My personality:

Bouncy and full of fun!

Child Friendly:

Can live with children 10+

Dog Friendly:

Could live with a dog

Cat Friendly:

Not cat trainable

Location:

Devon

If you adopt Billy (or any of our dogs), you will be entitled to receive FREE behavioural support from our qualified team of behaviourists for any issues you might need help with during their lifetime. Further information will be given when homing Billy. Please note, this support is only available for dogs adopted from Forever Hounds Trust.

Big boy Billy is a 7 year old deerhound/greyhound cross, who definitely doesn’t act his age! He’s an outgoing, sociable dog who loves meeting new people.

Billy is really affectionate, interactive and loving dog who thrives on human attention. He absolutely loves a fuss and cuddle! Billy is very enthusiastic about greeting people he knows and can jump up in excitement. This could be quite overwhelming for some due to his extra-large size – he especially likes to give bear-hugs and is pretty much at face height when he does this! He likes meeting new people on walks too, but doesn’t tend to jump up at them. We’re looking for a home where any resident children are a bit older, robust enough to cope with his enthusiasm, and comfortable around large, bouncy dogs!

Billy gets on really well with all the other hounds at our Devon Centre, but can be unsure about some unfamiliar dogs (mainly non-sighthound breeds) on walks. He is happy to pass by unfamiliar dogs as long as he has enough space to feel safe – but despite his size, Billy can be scared about being approached by dogs he doesn’t know! When Billy feels worried about another dog entering his personal space, he can lunge and bark to warn them away when they get too close. For this reason, he will need walks in quieter places without off-lead dogs, at least whilst he settles in and gains confidence in his new home.

Billy tends to be more worried by dogs when he first moves to a new environment, so he must be given at least a week at home without walks. This will give him a chance to settle, de-stress and start to build trust with his new family, before having to deal with the rest of the world!

Billy walks well on-lead in general – but due to his large size, he is extremely strong when he does pull. His adopters must be physically strong enough to manage an excited or worried Billy! He travels well in the car and would probably enjoy joining his new family on holidays, days out and trips to the pub for lunch once he’s fully settled into his new home (after at least a few months!).

We believe Billy has spent most of his life living in a kennel, so he needs time and patience to help him adjust to life as a much loved family member. He has spent a very short period of time in a foster home, where he was housetrained and spent a lot of time upside down on the sofa!

Billy is a big softie who gets very worried if he think he might be trouble, so will need a kind, positive approach to training. He doesn’t even cope with being spoken to in a firm voice – but he responds very well to being trained with food! He will need an enclosed garden, so that he can have access to the outdoors during the period when he isn’t ready to go out on walks in public yet. He should be able to get used to spending a few hours on his own given a gradual build up, though as with any dog who hasn’t lived in a home environment, we can’t guarantee this.

If you’re a lover of big hounds and have space in your life for a small horse with a beard, please get in touch!