Buying a puppy - what you need to know
We want to help people find the right puppy for them. If you’re thinking of expanding your search beyond Woodgreen, here are some tips on how to make an informed choice.
Meet Gendry
Gendry was part of a German Shepherd litter. After the mum rejected them within a couple of hours of being born they were brought to Woodgreen to hand rear.
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After just a couple of hours of being born, Gendry, along with his nine siblings, was rejected by his mum. And with his owners understandably struggling to cope with them all, they placed the pups in our care to be hand reared and rehomed.
Not only was Gendry a bit bigger than his brothers and sisters, his character was larger than life too! Sallyanne in our dog rehoming team really took a shine to him – hear from her in our behind-the-scenes interview, below.
At first, there were some minor teething issues for the litter – quite literally. A health check revealed that Gendry and some of his siblings needed dental treatment. For Gendry, that included extracting one of his lower canine teeth. Aside from that, the pups were in good health and ready for the next step in their journey to finding a forever home.
They were then placed in the capable hands of a Woodgreen fosterer for hand rearing. Meanwhile, back at our centre, the search got underway for their new homes. Just over a month later, Gendry and his siblings were brought back to Woodgreen, where our teams worked a bit more on socialising them. And before long, they were ready to start life in the loving homes we’d found for them.
Hand rearing a litter of puppies
“We operated on them on site – one of the vets did them all in one day! They went really smoothly.”
Gendry, as seen on The Dog House, Series 1 Episode 3 and now called Forrest, is thriving with his new family. There have been some bumps along the way, though. Forrest’s owners experienced some trouble with his behaviour towards other dogs while out on walks. So we arranged a call with Behaviour and Training Specialist Wendy, who provided some advice that seems to be doing the trick.
“Forrest is the most amazing dog. He’s absolutely enormous but a real gentle giant! We love him to bits. It has been a challenge taking on such a big dog, but we’ve worked really hard with his training and it’s paid off. He’s got a best friend called Marv, another rescue dog.” – Sian, Forrest’s owner
See more from Woodgreen and The Dog House
Read more about 'Buying a puppy - what you need to know'
Help more dogs like Gendry and Dennis
Whether it's a dog like Gendry rejected by his mum hours after being born, or one like Dennis found abandoned on the road, we're here to help - with your support.
Explore more from The Dog House
We’re honoured to give Channel Four access to Woodgreen for The Dog House. Explore more and see the work our handlers, vets, specialists and volunteers do every day, giving animals another chance at life.