Merlin
Merlin
My name is: Merlin
I came from: Cyprus
Now I live in: Horsham, West Sussex
My favourite things are: Sleeping on top of my humans on the sofa, chasing deer in the woods, stealing balls from other dogs in the park, sunbathing in the garden and carrots
Merlin’s story
When Merlin came to us from Cyprus in October 2021 we prepared for the worst case scenario and expected a frightened, nervous and shy puppy but the reality was rather the opposite. Out of the van came a curious, bouncy, playful and energetic Merlin. The first thing he did was zoomie around the garden and start playing with his new toys before exploring every little bit of the garden and our house. The first evening was a little difficult as it became clear Merlin wasn’t as confident inside a new house and it took him a very long time to settle down.
This is our first time adopting a dog and we weren’t quite sure what to expect. For the first few weeks we followed the brilliant advice we'd been given by the team at Underdog and focused on taking things slow. It was so beneficial to have all this advice on hand and it really helped Merlin settle in. He is an extremely sociable and affectionate dog and we quickly learned that he loves being stroked and scratched on his chest. He often jumps up on our laps for a cuddle and a snooze, sometimes he brings a chew and expects you to hold it for him so it’s easier for him to chew it.
Merlin’s description was so spot on, and we’re so happy we took the advice from Eve when she suggested him as a great fit for us. The only thing that wasn’t as first anticipated was his size and breed. We initially thought Merlin would be a medium sized lab mix but after his vet check we were told he’d probably be on the smaller side. It didn’t really matter to us and we’re now absolutely delighted that he’s a smaller dog. His curly tail made us very curious about his breed so we did a DNA test and it turns out he’s a mix of 17 breeds!! Mostly miniature pinscher, toy and miniature poodle, chihuahua, pekingese and samoyed, so you could say he’s a Minipinichickapoo!
Merlin is a very clever boy and really enjoys training and is quick to learn new things but we’ve also had a few challenges that we’re still working on. He’s employed himself as a master guard dog and will alert us to any little sound or movement outside the house or garden by barking as loud as he can, safe to say we’ll never miss a delivery again! He also really enjoys sniffing out deer in the woods, and has gone for a few solo-hunts so we’re still holding on to the longline when walking in the woods. However the hardest thing for us has been that Merlin really doesn’t like being left alone.
For the first few months he followed Kajsa around all the time at home and barked, cried and howled if we left him alone or even behind a gate where he could still see us. This was a bit of a shock for us, but we’re working with a behaviourist to help Merlin get comfortable being alone and he is making great progress. He now happily goes off on his own to have a nap in another room and doesn’t follow us around in the house.
It’s been very rewarding to watch Merlin settle in as part of our family. He has such a great personality and really enjoys being the centre of attention. We really can’t imagine life without him.