Settling in your new rescue dog
This was the set-up in my home when Hunter first arrived.
Hunter, a 2 years old Kangal arrived yesterday and is being Fostered here under KARAS Rescue.
Its easy to fall in love. These rescue dogs always tug at the heartstrings.
I’d love to have him laying in the Living Room with us. I’d love to take him out for a lovely long walk. I’d love to be laying on the floor with him, hugging him & telling him he's loved & safe. I’d love to be contacting local doggy people and seeing if we can meet up to take him out & find him some friends. I’d love to bathe him & brush him – he's so dirty and his fur is so clumpy. He needs a really good brush! I’d love to spoil him with loads of treats, he hasn’t eaten a thing since he arrived and its been 24 hours. I’d love to play with him and get him playing tuggy or fetching a ball. I’d love to get him booked in with our Vet to be neutered & vet checked ready for his new home. I’d love to measure him up for a harness. I’d love to introduce him to my other Anatolian – she's dying to meet him but here she is, sitting patiently behind a double gated system.
Look at the smaller photo – who brings a new dog home and locks them up behind bars??
This is my Office. I’m sitting at the my desk and this is my view – the other half of the room is converted into a safe, secure, quiet place for Foster dogs to come and to allow them to find their feet / chill out / decompress for a bit whilst we get to know each other.
See, the trouble with that list of new experiences that I just wrote about above is that it’s a list all about ME and what *I* want ….. Its about the things *I* want to do …… What *I* expect Hunter to do …… What *I* think he should be doing …..
But, what about Hunter?
What about what HE wants? Needs? Is ready for?
The last couple of weeks of Hunters life are mostly guess-work but it might look something like this:
1) The only home (regardless of what that home was like, it was “home” to him) Hunter has ever known decided that they no longer want him.
2) No regular supply of food (he was a stray on the streets) until he was picked up by the Council.
3) No warm / comfy bed – just the floor to sleep on
4) Noisy / unfamiliar Kennel environment
5) Long car journey with a total stranger
6) Handed over to yet another total stranger (me!)
7) Walked into a new house full of new smells, new things etc
8 ) New food / new bed / new routines
9) Unsettled – is this “home” or am I moving again soon?!!
How stressed do you think Hunter may be feeling right now?
He doesn’t know if he's coming or going.
As much as I desperately want to bathe him (he stinks!!) and brush him out does that REALLY need to happen in these first few days?? Where's the harm is just delaying the bath for a week, until he trusts me a bit more and we have a bit of a bond between us?
If he snaps at me for trying to brush him who’s fault would that be? I think its perfectly reasonable that after the last few weeks, Hunter is likely pretty stressed and it wold be fairly reasonable of him to snap if this total stranger started pouring water over him whilst he was restrained on a lead in a house he's only just arrived in …… And then he gets labelled as “aggressive” and no one wants to rehome an aggressive dog.
How about if I took him out for a long walk and met loads of dogs. He's mentally shattered, he's not had a proper sleep for days plus, I’ve noticed a bit of a wonky walk on his front leg so he may be hurting / in pain somewhere and we’ll need to get our Vet to investigate.
If I’d taken him out for a long walk and lots of off lead dogs had run over to him I think its perfectly reasonable that he may snap at them given how rubbish he's probably feeling at the moment ….. That would have made me pull back on his collar / lead (I’ve not got close enough to measure him up for a harness yet) which would have caused pain around his neck and BOOM, just like that, I’ve created a negative association towards other dogs approaching …… Whereas if I leave it for a week or so until he trusts me more & he's feeling more relaxed maybe he wont snap at the other dogs and he wont get labelled as “that horrible rescue dog”
I could shower him with super tasty treats but I don’t know if he resource guards his food or buries it under his bed so I’m not going to put myself (or Hunter!) in that position where he has a supply of delicious treats hidden in his room and I have to walk in to my Office to be met with him growling / lunging at me.
Same with his toys.
Does he like being handled? I’ve no idea?!! Could I just walk him on a collar / lead temporarily, for now and measure him up for a harness next week once I’ve gently assessed how he copes with my hands touching him in various places ….. Of course I can, its no big deal. Its not long term. But for now, he wont wear a harness.
There's so much I could do, for *MY* benefit which would set him up to fail.
Or ….. I can put my feelings to one side for the moment and I can do what I think is best for Hunter and what I believe he needs to set him up to succeed.
So, here we are ….. This is the set up. A double-gated stairgate system keeping Hunter away with a neutral space in the middle which no dogs have access to at the moment. And Hunter is behind bars, chilling – he's very relaxed and is being such a good boy. No barking at all, no whining. He's appreciating the peace & quiet, I think. He’ll go out for a couple of very short walks just to stretch his legs but long hikes over the Park are off the menu for now. He’ll not meet up with any friends / dogs yet. He’ll not be bathed or brushed. He’ll not wear a nice comfy harness. He’ll not be showered with fancy treats or lots of toys. He wont see the Vet (unless something really urgent happens!) And I wont lay on the floor with him kissing & cuddling him ….
I wont be doing anything with him really.
Apart from allowing him the time & the space he needs to decompress. To relax. To settle in. To find his feet. To figure out that I’m actually an OK human & that he can trust me.
When your new dog moves in whether it be a rescue or not, try to understand it through THEIR eyes. What do THEY need ….. Not you …. All of that other stuff can come later but for now, in the first few weeks, less really is more