Post by Admin on Mar 17, 2015 16:26:11 GMT
Your New Dog
At last the day arrives and you are able to get your new dog, you have waited some time for this dog because he had to come on a long journey as he was in a different country. Your dog has had a very long journey to get to you, several days travelling across Europe, then the ferry or a train through a tunnel which to a dog that has never known a home is terrifying especially with the motion of the ferry and the noise in a tunnel. Another journey then into kennels for 2 nights so these dogs are not given the chance to settle down and relax, no wonder they are stressed and traumatised when their new owners pick them up especially if they have another long journey to get to where you live.
We know when we are stressed it can take several days for the stress to go once the reason has gone, it is the same with dogs only your new dog has gone into a home and may never have been in one before, he is with strange people and who may speak a different language which your dog doesn't understand so the stress continues to build up.
Arriving home
You are excited because you have your new dog, you want to cuddle and cuddle him but all your new dog wants to do is be left alone, this is normal behaviour for a stressed dog. Before you go to pick up your new dog you need to have made some preparations for him:
Somewhere safe for him to relax, this can be a bed, crate etc, I prefer a crate as you can close the door on your new dog and leave him in peace knowing he is safe. I also prefer to have gates up so I can keep him in or out of other rooms for his safety especially if you have other dogs, your new dog needs to be able to see them without having to interact with them at first. It is asking far too much of your dog to put him with your other dogs too soon, it can end up with a large vet bill because of them fighting then your new dog will get the blame and be labelled as an aggressive dog when it is our fault for asking too much of him, take it slowly and your dogs will get to know each other without adding to the stress. When we introduce a new dog to our established dogs, these get stressed as well but they do relax a lot quicker than the new dog.
When a new dog arrives I do give them a room to rest and recover in, I have water in there and feed the dog there until he has had a rest, the length of time a dog rests depends on the dog, this can take a day or two or can take weeks or months, it depends on the dog and on you the owner.
Introducing to your other dogs
It is not fair to expect your new dog to interact with your other dogs as soon as you take him in, if you have brought him home with your other dogs in the car that will help as long as he was separated from them for the journey. A covered crate is ideal for this. It is the introduction to your other dogs were the gates play an important part, they give all the dogs a chance to talk to each other first, my dogs get very excited when a new dog comes into my home which can upset a new dog especially if he is an oldie or a puppy or has been abused which many dogs have.
I let mine and the new dog tell me when they are ready for the new dog to be with them, this can take hours or months, it took one of mine 3 months before she was able to be loose in the room with my other dogs but she was an exception, the other longest was 8 days and he was a Romanian dog that was really stressed and traumatised when he arrived.
House Rules. house lead on a new dog this helps a lot, if my dog gets on the sofa and I don't want him on, T pick the lead up and lead him off the sofa and giving the command at the same time, then lots and lots of praise, I don't use treats for this because I don't want to carry them around all the time or have bowls all over the house so I use praise, there is nothing wrong with using treats, it is personal preference. By leading the dog off the sofa we are setting him up to succeed, dogs learn much quicker this way.
NEVER touch your dog to wake him up, many rescue dogs have never been touched to be woken up, it is usually a noise that wakes them, if you touch them to wake them up you may get bitten because you give given him a fright. Think about when we are woke up suddenly and how confused we are, it is the same with dogs, a confused dog may bite, I bite if someone wakes me up with a fright. If you need to wake your dog for any reason, start talking to him using his name.
NEVER get hold of your dog's collar at the back of the neck, if you need to get hold of the collar for any reason go for under his chin, going for the back of the neck is an aggressive act to a dog, they think they are going to be attacked or killed as it is a vulnerable area for them and were many predators go for to kill them.
Every house is different on their house rules, they are personal preference but everyone in the house has to follow them or your dog will get confused. It is better to discuss and work out the house rules before your dog arrives then keep to them by encouraging him to follow them. Your dog will soon learn them, may not always obey though, that will depend on how consistent you are with the house rules.
Feeding
ALWAYS feed your new dog seperate from your others, with a closed door between them, if you are worried about your floor you can put paper down under the food bowl, this is easy to pick up and throw away. Puppy pads are useful for this as well, in fact it is a better use than what they are sold as. These dogs may have had to fight for every bit of food they have ever had and they have to work out that they don't need to fight now but that takes time and good management.
DO NOT let your new dog go in with your other dogs if any are still eating, it is asking for a trouble, your new dog will probably want the food off the other dog and you can have a fight.
The feeding rules can help your dog settle quicker or they can become a battle ground, it , up to you If there are any dogs he can see he may attack them until he works out he doesn't have any need to, I still have a closed gate between my Staffy and my other dogs because he eats very slow and my other dogs will go and help themselves if they can, this could end up in a fight and a large vet bill so I don't take chances, I have had this dog 4 years and still do it.
NEVER attempt to take food of any dog, you need to teach dogs to drop anything that is in their mouth that you don't want them to have, that takes time and patience, there are ways to get a dog to give something up but that will be in the Training section.
Once something has been given to a dog it is their's and we don't have the right to take away what is given, think about someone giving us a box of chocolates then grabbing it off us when we have started them, I would chop someone's hand off if they did that to me so we can't expect dogs to do what we won't.
Exercise
Dogs need both mental and physical exercise, mental exercise can be just as fun as physical, short training sessions, no longer than 10 minutes but can be done several times a day is mental exercise. Also play mind games with them, I find the 3 cup game is very popular, have 3 plastic cups, turn them upside down and let your dog see you put a treat under one then mix them up, let your dog find the treat, once they have it is their's and is their reward. The different ways of getting the treats from under the cups has me in stitches .and this is a good way of your new dog learning that he can trust you which is really important to a dog.
Physical exercise is walkies, a harness is much better than walking them on a collar, the design of the harness is also relevant, those were the strap goes round the chest are easy for a dog to get out of. The best harnesses are 2 rings of webbing joined at the top and bottom by a strap of webbing, fitted correctly it is difficult for a dog to back out of. If you need more help than a harness it is easy to do but I would also have a lead clipped to the collar as well as the harness for safety when you first take your dog out.
It may take several days or weeks before your new dog is ready to go out in the big, bad world, it will be frightening to him at first so only a little walk, some may only be able to go to the bottom of the path and back at first. Let your dog tell you when it is time to go back.
Remember your new dog doesn't know how to walk on a lead or be exercised, they have been free for all their lives until the dog catcher caught them, you have to be very careful when exercising your new dog that they don't escape. If your dog escapes it will be very difficult to get them back as they have learnt to fear humans and most have reason to. Even though you think your dog is settled and happy they can still run off so you have to be very careful with them. If you want to give them more room to run clip a long line to their harness, these can be 30ft, 50ft, or longer, I use the 30ft ones and can add another if needed. Extending leads should never be used on a dog when walking along the road, your dog sees something interesting on the other side and goes, you may have put the stop on but these stops often fail, if it fails now and a vehicle is coming your dog will be run over, it isn't worth the risk.
It is better to go to slowly than to go quickly, if you try to go quickly you could end up with making your dog worse and confused which will take longer to get him to the dog you want. Let him take his time, teach him by setting him up to do what you want and you will get a wonderful dog eventually. We have to teach our children how to behave and live in our world and we do with our dogs.
Enjoy your new dog and don't forget to let us have pictures
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