Advice need re rescue dog *LONG!*

neveranymoney

Really hoping for some advice or just some words of encouragement about our newest arrival. Our wee rescue dog has been with us about a fortnight now and i really need to know are the things I am doing with him the right things and why does some of (make that nearly all!) the training fly right out the window?!

We got him from a rescue centre, he is a three year old mutt but the closest breed he would be is a boarder terrier. We were assured he was great with children and other dogs, he has been cared for at some stage in a house as he is house broken, neutered and microchipped and is super cuddly and friendly - never a growl or a bark (except when going to bed at nights but that has started to even off and i will elaborate on his other barking in a minute!) and LOVES dozing on your lap and being petted and we were as smug as anything about how well he adapted to us.

After a few days of settling in a few things have come apparent. He seems quite anxious and will pace about the house, like he is feeling unsettled. He will settle down if someone is sitting in the living room and have a little nap, but it takes very little to set him off again. He will obey certain things - he is allowed to come up in the morning and say hello to the children in their beds but will obey a casual 'no' if he follows you into the loo, tries to get up on the settee if anyone is eating and he will just about sit when I am giving him food, getting lead on etc. However, even though he has not been in any way shouted at and it is all very calm, these things set him off - really licking his fore legs and gnawing at his hind quarters. Sometimes he will respond to a 'no', or i have to move his wee head or i just distract him by calling him over in baby talk but this seems to be becoming more pronounced over the weekend. We have bought toys but he hasnt a wit of interest (bar a filled kong) and will chase a ball after you throw it have a gnaw and just walk off, no interest in bringing it back or even keeping it from you so how do you teach a dog to play? He has two good walks a day, rotating about 5 different routes and lengths so he doesnt get bored and this is were the fun really began.

Of course he chances his arm and tries to pull but I do the whole, stopping, taking 2 steps back and the praising him when he is walking nicely. I can cope with all this though as it is obviously a work in progress. BUT, He gets mega excited at other dogs, ignores any commands and would nearly have your arm out of its socket - I have taken the route of just walking on and pretending there is nothing going on but other peoples dog walking etiquette sometimes makes this difficult. Bigger dogs dont seem to be a problem but a little pup came over and he went nuts and went for it, my husband had to grab his collar and pull him away and there is a Yorkie beside my mother in laws and he goes mental when he sees him and really barks and if he could get through the fence, well, lets just say it wouldnt be good.

Well, sunday put the tin hat on it, he had already met my mother in law's Cavalier King Charles and whilst it barked its brains out, Scampers, (our dog, btw) wasn't too bad. So we brought him up for sunday lunch and put the 2 dogs out the back. Cue the Cavalier going bananas and barking and yapping continuously and not very happy at all, he has never been trained and does what he likes so I think he was disgusted at this interloper. The neighbour then let the yorkie out - now scampers going crazy but that all got sorted. The next we hear a massive yelp from the cavalier, the two dogs were beside each other but apart from that nothing, if Scampers had gone for him, I think there would have been blood. Scampers gets shouted at by husband, Cavalier brought in. Cavalier goes into yap frenzy to get back out. Husband stays very close to the dogs. Then another almighty yelp from Cavalier, husband opens back door, Scampers comes running in to me like sheet lightening and is shaking like a leaf but is put back out and eventually the Cavalier (who hasn't stopped barking or yapping for a full 30 minutes by this stage) is deposited to a neighbours. My husband THINKS Scampers was playing and went to mount the other dog and he is a perfect example of what happens when dogs are bred wrongly as he is riddled with pains and all sorts so Scampers probably hurt him but he cannot guarantee Scampers wasnt about to go for him. The stress levels of all were through the roof and this had lead to all the nervous behaviour coming back doubly.Then, this mornings events actually really shocked me as he is so pettish and at times the perfect dog I guess I thought he would listen a little bit!

My husband and children were coming in the back door and my son opened the door whilst no one else was really looking - Scampers has seen the door open and hadnt made a bolt before but my teenage daughter or an adult has usually been in the way. Holy Moses, he was away like a whippet. We called him, ran the other way, all sorts and he didnt look back or stop once. He managed to almost get out onto a main road, only another dog walker ( he went over to the dog, quelle suprise) grabbed his collar for us. My son was really upset as he thought it was his fault and took a good bit of calming down. Please can anyone give a bit of advice as I am worried i may end up making a mess of things. my husband has always had dogs when he lived at home and we had a lab years ago so aren't dog novices, HELP!

Polmop

Sorry cant give any advice but good luck and i hope someone will be along soon.
We took our rescue dog just over a year ago and cant imagine what it would be like without him now, but the first few months were a nightmare

isitenough

Sorry no advice but wanted to ask what rescue you got him from? Is it worth a call back to them for help?

skintandscared_2

Please don't take this the wrong way but if you could just quickly edit your first post to put some paragraphs in it would be a lot easier to read - many thanks.

It might be worth reading up on terriers. We have just got a Jack Russell and, oh my days, the energy they have!! My hubby used to have a rottie and you'd think a big dog would be more of a handful but apparently that's definitely not the case! :rotfl:

I am still trying to learn about terriers' temperament but I do know that they need lots of playtime on top of the walking and they get bored very easily. I'm surprised he doesn't like the toys - ours loves his, but he's a teething puppy so will chew anything that moves LOL.

Have you thought about seeing if you have a professional trainer in your area who does one-to-one sessions and could come to your house just for an initial assessment on what they think might help? Either that or the normal obedience classes where he will learn to walk on the lead and come to you when called at the very least. Good luck!

neveranymoney

Thanks to all, skintandscared - I used to be fanatical about proper grammar and text but am a lazy cat and have been going on the i phone more than laptop this weather and I am surprised it made any rational sense at all! A Friend told me that when you get a rescue dog home, they are an angel for the first couple of days, (its probably the shock!) then chance their arms to see how far they can go and what the rules exactly are and settling in is a long process. He is currently lying dozing away without a care in the world!

skintandscared_2

No worries, I hate grammar police but I had to print your message out so I could follow the lines with my finger 'cos I kept losing my place LOL.

neveranymoney

Oh flip, I'm sorry! Re your comment about terriers and their energy levels - for a dog who looks like the laziest creature ever, when you get him going, Usain Bolt wouldn't keep up! After reading your comment about your wee pup loving his toys, I took him back out and got him good and revved up, and started throwing a ball with a rope attached. It was one of those moments you wish you had a video camera, he went crackers, shaking his head, having a good growl at it, got very enthused indeed and then promptly dropped it and wouldn't be cajoled near it again?!

MrsAtobe

Have you had him checked by a vet yet? The gnawing at his forelegs and at his rear end could be a sign of an anal gland issue, not all dogs scoot. Once he's checked every, the you can start on the behaviour, and I'm sure krlyr will post far better advice on that than I can.

Well done on taking a rescue dog though!

neveranymoney

We took him to the vets the day after we brought him home and because he is the worlds greatest canine actor, being all placid and looking like butter wouldn't melt, the vet just had a rudimentary look at his teeth and ears, gave him a jab and sent me on my way. I have wormed (nothing came out) and used frontline flea drops but I did say to my charming teenage daughter I would have thought the vet would have had a wee look at his rear end to which I got the reply, 'tut, it's not like you are the animal expert , mum.' He is due back for second set of jabs on the 12th of August and I will definitely be asking for a more thorough examination and some advice.

elsien

The poor little soul also sounds like he might be quite stressed and anxious. Two weeks isn't really any time at all in the general scheme of things. Is he crate trained at all?

neveranymoney

I think you are spot on and the fact that he is so friendly has masked it. We got one of those balls that click into the stick and when we took him out to play with it, he really shied away from the stick so we just put it away. In no way crate trained and I think I have unwittingly created a rod for my back as he doesn't like being left alone at all and because its the school holidays and my husband being off on holiday, there has always been someone in the house with him and it is dawning on me that there is no way he can come back to my mother in laws on Sunday after last weeks antics and we have never left him alone in the house at all. Now, I don't mind not going as he would be left for about 3 hours and there is no way I would be happy with that at the minute but realistically he will at some stage have to be left on his own for the likes of food shopping and taking kids to the cinema, but I am worried that starting this now would lead to more nerves. We are literally in from the 2nd good 45 minute run of the day and 80% of it he walked beautifully whilst the other 20 was him nearly choking himself to get at other dogs, (no barking or growling, just very excited) so I just kept a firm hold of the lead and walked on purposely and chatted inanely away to my daughter as if it wasn't happening. Is this the right thing to do?