Getting a rescue dog - what to expect
Thinking of getting a rescue dog?
That’s brilliant news! There is a lot of information out there from all the wonderful animal rescue charities, so I am not going into the hows and whys, but there is much that can be done to prepare yourselves before and after you welcome your new dog home.
Honestly, I wish I had known this stuff before I got my first dog, aged 19 and no clue what I was doing and ended up returning the poor boy back to the kennels. This post was inspired after a recent consultation with a client who is looking at post adoption support for their rescue dog but their rescue organisation doesn’t provide behaviour advice, the adopter wants to make sure they get it right from the start and have things in place just in case they need it. How cool is that and they are past clients so they felt they could trust me again. I really love that and feel honoured when clients stay in touch or seek my help when needed.
2ND CHANCES
Believe me when I say I have a LOT of experience since with rescue dogs, both personally and professionally. I work with them every, single, day! And the vast majority of my own pets, including guinea pigs, birds, fish as well as rats, hamsters, cats and dogs have been rescue including my two current dogs, Ren the Staffy mix and Hattie Happypants the Bull Terrier. Ren came with low frustration tolerance and zero bite inhibition, she bit hard through all her emotions. Hattie came with separation issues and food guarding issues.
Rescue dogs don’t necessarily come with behaviour problems though, just like puppies aren’t a blank slate. There is so much that is involved in how an animal behaves, and without going into too much detail (maybe another time), let’s just agree that rescue dogs are the product of nature and nurture for the time being, to simplify things a bit. All I wanna do here is give you a bit of heads up, maybe it will help.
When you made the decision to adopt a rescue dog, I imagine you felt compelled to do so because you are lovely human, and wanted to open your heart and home to an animal that had a rough start in life and give them a second chance at happiness. Or something not too dissimilar anyway.
Of course I am a wonderful human bean Katie, but what’s your point?
I’m getting to the nitty gritty I promise. And yes, you are wonderful.
Hopefully you’ve given some thought about setting up your home and the next couple of weeks to settle your new addition? I have to assume you want to set yourself AND your pet up to successfully adapt to life with you or you wouldn’t have clicked on this page!
RESEARCH
OK, so let’s assume you’ve carefully researched not only your chosen companion and how they may fit your life and how both your temperaments match, but also their expected breed traits, likely health and behaviour issues, their history if they have any and if not where they were rescued from and how they were transported, their sexual status (as in neutered or not), breeding history if known, the rescue organisation, their ethics and practices plus any post adoption back up they provide, what your chosen pets normal diet is likely to be, insurance costs, vet costs, training and behaviour costs…If it helps your research, Dogs Trust provide life time behaviour support to adopters, it’s pretty awesome.
That’s a lot to think about already isn’t it, and you don’t even have your new pal yet (assuming you are reading this before you bring them home…)!
HEAD OVER HEART
I also urge you to consider the emotional impact this has on you as well as your pet, especially if you find your new friend isn’t settling as well as expected or is having a hard time adjusting to their new environment.
My pets have given me more than I ever gave them, but I can also testify to how mentally challenging it can be when you bring a rescue dog into your life. Ren for instance, was such hard work I swore I’d never get another dog let alone an adolescent one! And no doubt in less experienced hands, she would have been returned to the rehoming centre.
Ren’s gotcha day!
I can’t imagine life without her now, don’t worry. But at one stage, I did question my sanity and life choices; she used her teeth as a coping mechanism for everything until we helped her learn to self soothe, relax, use her thinking brain not her reaction brain (and believe me she is a fast thinking shoot first, ask questions later kinda girl) and channel her enthusiasm into something that wasn’t gnawing our bed frames or us.…I have lived with and worked some difficult behaviour cases in my time but Ren was tricky!
But we saw her potential and saw how much of a bond she and my daughter had. I was not giving up on either of them. And now, Ren is now a teaching dog, gives her blood (at the vets in case you wondered!) without force or restraint and adores shredding kitchen towel. We adore her, and embrace her spicy personality.
Wow, this really is a lot to consider Katie. What else can I do to make it easy for my new pet to feel at home?
It kinda depends on your home and lifestyle, to be honest. My advice is think ahead.
Do you have children, if yes what age are they? Are they sensible and can put the needs of the new pet before their own? Do you have pets already? if yes, how can you make some adjustments in the home for them too? There is A LOT to consider and would simply be impossible for me to include every detail, so this article is intended to inspire rather than preach gospel.
What adjustments would be needed Katie?
It might be moving cats upstairs, and limiting their access to downstairs in preparation for a new rescue dog. Cats don’t often cope well with change and need carefully preparing for a dog in the home. If possible, you’d be able to have articles like blankets available for swapping scents from new dog to current cats and vice versa.
Or maybe moving young children’s toys upstairs to prevent them being swallowed by a new dog, or perhaps creating a catio (a Google search will show you what I mean) if this proves safer for all.
Installing stair gates across stair cases or door ways, installing cat flaps in upstairs windows, fencing off an area of garden, additional beds, blankets, litter trays, toys and feeding stations. You many need to fix broken fencing or make them higher or install angled fencing to avoid your new or indeed current cat escaping. Maybe the car needs a barrier across the boot to prevent accidentally being visited whilst driving.
Being prepared means you can relax and allow your new dog to settle in their own time.
Gotcha!
So let’s now assume you’ve done your research, got everything ready, the home is adjusted and today is ‘gotcha’ day. What happens now? First, keep your expectations low. Second, be mindful of not rushing things.
SETTLING IN
Minimise anxiety and excitement, be the calm and take them gently through the home on lead so you can prevent any chasing of people or other pets. Show them where the beds and water stations are, where they can find food and quiet locations they can go to without interference.
Ensure current pets are also as calm as possible, and introductions in accordance with the rescue’s advice if they have any. If not then dog to cat introductions should be avoided until the cats are fully acclimated to their new environmental adaptations, routines, scent of the new pet and continue to transfer scents for weeks after arrival. And similar for the dog.
Let your new dog go and chill if they choose to, avoid overwhelming them with visitors. Dogs, from experience, seem to settle much quicker when allowed to sleep upstairs, even just for the first few nights. They can be weaned away gradually if this is not a long term option, or sleep down with them a while.
Human behaviour change
If possible, take a couple of weeks off work and use this time to show them ropes of the new home. Avoid leaving your dog longer than they can cope with and teach them some independence from you, A self settle is a wonderful skill. If you do go out, ensure their needs are met and you say a calm goodbye and calmly greet on return as they find this more comforting than being ignored (Mariti et al, 2018). Perhaps have a sitter with them to minimise anxiety.
They may have been used to earlier rising in their previous life or in kennels so be prepared for waking sooner than normal and needing to stick to a routine for now. Some dogs settle quicker than others, but it can take several months before a dog feels confident and content in their surroundings.
When ready, the dog should be on lead, had all their needs met beforehand and in a calm state of mind, fast moving cats can make dogs aroused very quickly and you want to avoid a chase situation occurring. Take it slowly, there is no rush and with cats, go at their level of comfort.
You may need to avoid going for a walk while acclimating your dog for a week or so. When you do, choose quiet places and times and let them sniff and explore their new home ground. You can walk plenty in the next few years with them and training can happen over time and out of context. Avoid having strangers feed them food, as this might be too conflicting for them.
Other things to consider
Avoid repetitive ball throwing as a means to tire your excitable dog, this can cause over arousal (Bray et al, 2015), painful as well as expensive clinical issues later on. Think low and slow activities such as tracking or some form of nose work.
Imported and street dogs are often a flight risk, so a 6 point harness and 2 points of lead contact (i.e. double ended lead attached to 2 places on the harness), are ideal to avoid losing them should they spook. Street dogs are also more likely to have anxieties about being in a strange country, in an urban area, surrounded by humans and unfamiliar things such as traffic, tall buildings and other infrastructure. You may need to provide them additional support and time to decompress.
Younger dogs may need extra help coping with frustration, some dog need additional skills such as toilet training. Put things away that you don’t want accidentally damaged and pro-actively supervise your dog. Think about prevention rather than cure.
Older dogs may not be able to adjust as quickly, and may have sight or hearing deficits or physical ones. Young dogs suffer physical ailments too though; Ren was diagnosed with degenerative joint disease aged just 14 months and did affect her behaviour.
What can I do after this, Katie?
I love that you asked! Get yourself a good, force free vets who take time getting to know you and your pets. Mine are ace so I am still with them after 16 years, shout out to Emerson’s Green Veterinary Surgery, Bristol, run by Martin Brice MRCVS.
Gradually introduce your dog to their new routines, environments and situations, friends and family. Routines can be more flexible when your dog is settled. Remember your dog doesn’t speak the language and doesn’t know the rules. New experiences should ideally be calm and have positive associations, so your dog can cope better when an experience doesn’t go so well.
If you, your dog or other pets are struggling to adjust, ask the rescue for help. Ask sooner rather than waiting, I’ve worked on some behaviour cases where the owners have lived with issues for YEARS! This is unfair on you and your pet, there is no shame in seeking advice from a professional, that’s why we are here.
In my work for a worldwide canine welfare charity, my role was created to help prevent behaviour problems escalating and reduce the dogs risk of being returned to kennels. And the main feedback we get from adopters is that having that support and knowing they can simply ask for help has increased their confidence in caring for their dog - they aren’t alone. And neither are you.
If things are going well and your dog is adapting well, then enjoy your new life together! Watching a dog flourish under your guidance and thrive in a new environment is beautiful beyond words.
What if I can’t keep my dog?
Ultimately, this could be a possibility, it’s not always a good match. You aren’t failing your dog if you return them to the rescue, you are giving them another chance, elsewhere.
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References
Bray, E., MacLean, E. and Hare, B., 2015. Increasing arousal enhances inhibitory control in calm but not excitable dogs. Animal Cognition, [online] 18(6), pp.1317-1329. Available at: <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-015-0901-1> [Accessed 4 July 2020].
Mariti, C., Carlone, B., Protti, M., Diverio, S. and Gazzano, A., 2018. Effects of petting before a brief separation from the owner on dog behavior and physiology: A pilot study. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, [online] 27, pp.41-46. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817302502> [Accessed 4 July 2020].