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Helvellyn 2025

Peanut backstory

Sanctuary dog peanut has been working hard this past year so that she can be safely handled and is now able to join us on some big adventures. Peanut came into the rescue at 6 months old after having been mistreated for her puppyhood and key socialisation period which has left her very distrustful of humans and dogs. she would previously go straight in for a bite with zero warning if she felt at all threatened or trapped, this could be simply going to stroke her or offering a treat she was terrified and always reacted with fight rather than flight. She was struggling with having such big feelings. However after several months of rehabilitation she began to see that the world was not so scary and she does not have to bite all the time but can instead give warnings when she is uncomfortable and that we will always respect her boundaries and the warnings that she gives. We are now a year down the line and she is slowly becoming a lovely social dog, still has her moments but she now feels comfortable to choose to move away or give a clear warning when she needs space. 

The hike

Peanut has been working on some specific skills in order to join our hiking gang of youngsters such as putting on her harness and muzzle, getting picked up and carried, wait and recall. these are all super helpful skills when hiking with dogs and as she is so clever she picked them up quickly and at the start of January we went for our first hike joined by tony. A big day for peanut, we started by taking the train and a bus to the start of our walk, specifically choosing the early transport which would be much quieter so that we could set her up for success. After arriving in Patterdale we made our way up helvellyn via grisdale tarn and striding edge. Taking things at her pace we made it to the top in 2hrs 30mins after taking a few snack breaks. It was a joy to see her so visibly relaxed whilst hiking, a stark contrast to her on arrival in rescue where you could visibly see the tension and stress that she held. As we made our way round striding edge she was beautifully behaved listening to all her commands and completely ignoring any people around us and focusing on the task ahead. We made a detour on the route down that was much quieter than the original marked way so that we could continue to set her up for success this meant that she could have some free time off lead to potter about and make her own choices on the way back down. The whole hike took about 4hrs 30mins and then it was back on the train to go home which she managed beautifully even though she was tired at this point. we cant wait to see peanuts future as she continues to grow and flourish.

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