Helping a rescue dog settle

pink_princess

Hi
We have just adopted a beautiful cross breed !!!!! from a rescue centre.
She is adorable with a quiet to timid nature and we have all fallen for her straight away

My concern is that she is fretting when we leave, and even if we are just going to the toilet
I mean when just one of us leaves, she won't be left alone until she is ready.

Any tips to help her feel more secure?

krlyr

She is going to feel quite unnerved at the moment due to the move. However, there is the chance she is suffering from separation anxiety - perhaps something she's had in the past, or perhaps something she suffered from in the rescue centre - and you need to tread carefully not to worsen the issue, if that's the case.

With separation anxiety, one of the key issues is to ideally not let the dog get into that state of worry. This initially means not leaving the dog alone - it's a toughy, but it's so important. If you can't personally work your routines so that one of you are always home with her at some point, you could look into doggy day care, friends or family who could take her in, even seeing if you could take her to work! The idea is that you need to prevent her from rehearsing that cycle of being alone and panicking, then panicking at the thought of being alone.

If you can break this cycle, you can then go about teaching her that it's OK to be alone - in teeny, bitesize stages. This may initially be teaching her that it's OK to be on her bed on the other side of the room to you. Then that it's OK to stay in one room with you in another, in view. Then out of view, then buring up the duration.

Is she food-y? One of mine suffered separation anxiety but thankfully is a greedy guts, so food was our best friend. If I went to the loo, I scattered enough treats or used a Kong smeared with food that would last the duration of my toilet trip. For baths, it was longer lasting chews, or Kongs stuffed and frozen. Frozen Kongs also became a lifesaver when it came to going back to work (I wangled working from home for a bit!), I'd leave the dogs two each as these would then last a while, and helped teach Kiki that it was rewarding to be home alone. There's also another benefit to Kongs - licking and chewing release endorphins in a dog, which helps them feel a bit more relaxed (this is why stressed dogs often begin overgrooming of their paws etc. or self-mutilation by nibbling/chewing on parts of themselves). Do remember to adjust dinner quantities to reflect the food you're using though!

Nicole Wilde does a great book on separation issues, called "Don't leave me". It may be worth seeing if the rescue centre can offer any help - on any related history, possibly, or perhaps providing a behaviourist who could help diagnose whether it was separation anxiety or just settling in nervousness.

You could also try some calmative products, like Zylkene, Calmex, Adaptil to name a few. Different products will work with varying success on different dogs - Adaptil actually made my dog more anxious, but then her issues turned out to be related to hypothyroidism (she was diagnosed when we went down the thorough MOT route after several months trying to tackle her behaviour)

spacey2012

Did they have any info on how it came to be in a rescue centre and any issues previous owners had.

pink_princess

spacey2012 wrote: »

Did they have any info on how it came to be in a rescue centre and any issues previous owners had.

The anxiety comes from being 5 years old and having had a great settled life with a great owner, unfortunately her owner passed away last week and the poor thing has to cope with that as well as coping with being in a rescue centre and now a new home

I have no way of getting clothing or a blanket belonging to the previous owner to help her (This helped our other family dog after FIL passed away) .

We won't need to leave her all alone as my husband works from home and if he is out myself or my daughters will be there, the anxiety is just us leaving the room for a few moments, she becomes terrified and begins to shake

pink_princess

She is a bit better today, she is coping fine if we go in to the kitchen now. Still panic stricken if we go upstairs though.
Ignoring it seems to be working. We are acting like nothing has happened when we come back in to the room. Ignoring her jumping around.

janeys

If it's any help one of my rescues was very timid when we got her. Her owner had died and the dog she went to the shelter with had to be put down, she would just cower and wet herself in the rescue. She had separation anxiety and like you we just ignored her anxiety behaviour we gave her lots of loving when she wasn't anxious and we were able to gradually leave her for longer and longer she was learning that we were not going to leave her and we always came back. With time she got over the anxiety and now she barely lifts her head when we go out.

pink_princess

janeys wrote: »

If it's any help one of my rescues was very timid when we got her. Her owner had died and the dog she went to the shelter with had to be put down, she would just cower and wet herself in the rescue. She had separation anxiety and like you we just ignored her anxiety behaviour we gave her lots of loving when she wasn't anxious and we were able to gradually leave her for longer and longer she was learning that we were not going to leave her and we always came back. With time she got over the anxiety and now she barely lifts her head when we go out.

Thanks that does help and sounds very similar except our little one is doing small pellet sized number 2s in fear whilst shaking so bad
Do you remember how long it took yours to relax and feel reassured?

Saying that the improvement in just 24hrs though has been nothing short of remarkable

She is actually a sleep now and snoring, she's been scared to shut her eyes before.

janeys

You will see changes every day and she will perhaps have a relapse or 2 but she will never be as bad as she was the first time it happened. I think our dog was showing remarkable changes within a week, her fur was matted and she was a wee bit under weight but I would say hang in there and you will gain her trust. Well done by the way it will be worth it.

pink_princess

janeys wrote: »

You will see changes every day and she will perhaps have a relapse or 2 but she will never be as bad as she was the first time it happened. I think our dog was showing remarkable changes within a week, her fur was matted and she was a wee bit under weight but I would say hang in there and you will gain her trust. Well done by the way it will be worth it.

She's already worth it and thanks for your experience, I'll post a pic when/if she feels safe enough to take her picture.

meritaten

er - congrats on your new addition to the family! but can we have a pic please?
I don't have much to contribute as per separation anxiety - but, I found that spending time 'training' helped a dogs confidence. and also helps the bonding process.

pink_princess

meritaten wrote: »

er - congrats on your new addition to the family! but can we have a pic please?
I don't have much to contribute as per separation anxiety - but, I found that spending time 'training' helped a dogs confidence. and also helps the bonding process.

Not yet meritaten, she is too timid right now, my family would love to see a pic as well but she is not ready to have one taken:(

Once I am sure she is ready I will take a pic and post it, she is a beautiful dalmatian, staffie cross

She is so well trained, sits, gives paw, waits to be told to eat. She has clearly been one very loved pooch :A

Just her life has been turned upside down through no fault of her or her owners own