Winston

** WINSTON **

Yes, we have a French Bulldog in care. Yes, he is available for adoption. No, we aren’t just going to let him go to the first person who screams “OMG! He’s adorable! I have to have him!!!” If we did that, he wouldn’t have even made it into care with us, let alone past his first adventure out of his foster home!

Yes, Winston is stunning – he’s got the squishy face and big eyes that immediately induce an “awwwwww” reaction. We know he’s gorgeous. He knows he gorgeous. But he is also a typical Frenchie with a stubborn personality and he is a dog who requires a committed and experienced home.

Winston is 3 years old and has spent most of his life as a solo dog, so concepts like sharing are a bit foreign to him. Since he’s been in care, he’s had to learn to share his foster mum – not only with his canine foster brother but also with his foster dad. He’s also had to undergo a lot of work to manage his tendency to resource guard food and other treats. Winston has made great progress, but his resource guarding is something that will remain a work in progress and he will require a family committed to maintaining his current training in this area.

Winston is a clever boy and learns quickly. He is eager to please and will do anything for a small piece of cucumber. It doesn’t matter what other yummy, fancy treats are available – Winston is happy to follow whatever commands you want to give him as long as he’s rewarded with a small piece of his favourite vegetable.

But like most Frenchies, Winston is also a very stubborn dog. He will do his best to push any and all boundaries and requires a very consistent approach to managing him and his daily life. Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile. Remain consistent with your expectations and consequences and you will have a very well-behaved dog on your hands.

Despite starting life as a solo dog, Winston has adjusted well to life with another dog. In his forever home, any resident dog/s would need to be his size or larger though – no tiny little dogs please. He’s also not suited to a home with cats, chickens, guinea pigs or rabbits. Any children in Winston’s adoptive home must be aged 12 years or over.

Winston has all his basics sorted – he can sit, stay, come, is mat/place trained, is toilet trained, travels well in the car and walks nicely on leash. He loves to be involved in anything that is going on in his foster home and also loves to go on adventures.

Despite his adventure-loving nature, it is important to remember that Winton is a brachycephalic breed. He cannot cope with high temperatures, long walks or any significant physical exertion. As a young puppy, Winston underwent soft-palate surgery and this has made a big difference to his ability to breathe well (as well as a Frenchie can anyway…) His most recent vet assessments have indicated that he is not in imminent need of further surgery and that he does not require nare (nostril) surgery as many Frenchies do.

Winston will only be adopted to a family with current or previous direct brachychepahlic breed experience (preferably Frenchie experience).

Winston is located in Melbourne, VIC. Whilst all our dogs are available for interstate adoption, as a brachycephalic breed we would prefer to limit Winston’s need for travel as much as possible and would prefer an adoptive home in the greater Melbourne area. We will of course, consider all suitable applications and will select the best possible home for Winston. Transport costs for interstate adoption are payable by the adopter.

Winston is desexed, vaccinated, microchipped and parasite treated.

*** We’d like to say a MASSIVE thank you to Kristy from A Pure Portrait for taking time out of her busy schedule to photograph another one of our HNE kids. Kristy’s work is incredible and we’re so grateful to her for sharing her time and talent. <3 *** http://www.apureportrait.com