Post by Admin on Mar 17, 2015 15:44:16 GMT
Preparing for your new dog
In order to make things as easy as possible for yourselves and your new dog it is better to prepare as much as you can before your dog arrives. As your dog is coming from another country, mainly Romania, they have a long journey to travel and will be traumatised when they arrive. We can help them through this if we handle them properly.
These dogs that are coming from other countries have been travelling in a cage in a van for several days, they do get toilet breaks, short walks and well fed when travelling but it is very scary for dogs that are not used to this. They then have to travel on a ferry or the tunnel, again it is very frightening for a dog then another journey to where you pick your dog up. Once your dog is with you he still has a journey in a different vehicle with different people who don't speak the same language as him. I know I would be terrified if this happened to me.
Preparing for when you pick your dog up
Your dog will be very confused when he is moved to another vehicle, for his safety he will be better if he has a slip lead on him, it will be a lot more difficult for your new dog to escape with a slip lead on, a collar or harness they can slip out of quite easily. Also much safer for him to travel home in a crate that is secure, a well used crate may be easy to escape from so I would fasten up the sides and roof so a dog can't get out through them.
What to expect and coping when you get home
Before you set off to pick your dog up have a quiet room prepared for him were it is easy to take him out to toilet on a lead. This is very important that he is on a lead for the first several days, he hasn't lived in a house before and doesn't know the boundaries. He will need a crate in a quite room in a quiet corner so he can rest and relax, most dogs have to be left alone completely apart from toilet breaks and feeding. In the crate he will need a very comfy bed and water to drink so have it ready for him. With some dogs it is best to put a cover of the top of the crate but leave the front un-covered so your dog can see out.
Safety has to be top priority when you get home, with a small dog you can life the crate out of the car with the dog still in but a bigger dog you can't. I always put the slip lead through the bars at the top of the crate and loop it over the dog's head when I transport an unknown dog, I can then keep hold of the lead while I open the door, put my hand in to get hold of the lead before leading the dog out.
If you have other dogs make sure they are well away from your new one, he won't be ready to meet them yet and it can take several days before he is, your new dog needs to rest and settle in a quite place before meeting your other dogs or family members.
He will need to have toilet breaks, do not take him outside apart from your back which should be well fenced at a height your dog can't jump easily. He will need to be on the lead for several days because he has never been in a house before and hasn't learnt that there are boundaries he has to stay behind. Walk your dog round the garden and let him smell everything he wants to and hopefully he will toilet for you. If he does praise him but keep it very low key at the moment, a low, happy voice at first. Dogs can tell a lot by our voice and body language, use these to help your dog settle.
Whether you feed him in the crate or room is up to you but it has to be quiet, nobody walking in and out or other dogs wandering in and out. Try and put yourself in your dog's position, he is in a different place with different people and doesn't understand what is being said, I would be terrified as well.
One think I have found when dealing with a confused dog is to smile, it may sound daft and you may feel daft but to your new dog it will help him, smiling softens our body language and dogs communicate by body language so smiling helps our new dog.