Adopting an older dog - any tips?

Mrs_pbradley936

I think that there are far too many nice dogs that need a home and you should not waste your time on a nuisance dog. Far too many “animal lovers” see it from the side if saving a dog from a terrible fate when all too often you are rescuing a very nice family from a menace of a dog that is ruining their lives. I would no more keep a dog that was a problem than I would put up with an abusive husband. If you feel bad give a home to a dog with a better temperament.

pulliptears

Having watched "Dog Borstal" Ive seen the fabulous results they have had with citronella spray collars:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MULTIVET-ANTI-BARK-SPRAY-DOG-COLLAR-KIT-ODOURLESS-PETS_W0QQitemZ200061669824QQihZ010QQcategoryZ43426QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

They are expensive, but they do seem to work.

I also have a licking dog, a Scottie who simply has to follow you everywhere then jump on your knee and give you a big sloppy kiss. Not exactly hygenic, but endering all the same

Eels100

Excellent advice all round but especially Becles, Debt Free Chick and Raksha.

Firstly, you should contact the rescue centre which homed this dog with you. They should be providing you with support and advice - if they vetted you thoroughly before you were allowed to adopt him, this is a good guide to how committed they are to avoiding 'bounce' dogs (those that return to the centre repeatedly).

In terms of advice on how to 'cure' you dog, this isn't the place because your dog sounds like he'd benefit most from being assessed in your home and in the context of his owners, ie the owner is as important as the dog in any problem situation. But in very general terms it sounds like you probably have a collie or similar which has anxiety problems relating to separation and new or social situations. It sounds like you have a dog which has been unfortunate enough to miss out on adequate socialisation and training in previous homes and as a result appears 'uncontrollable' to you. I suspect you have a dog which is probably a bit bored and anxious, very bright and not getting enough exercise at the moment.

I would strongly advise you to talk this through realistically, objectively and honestly with your wife with the aim of working through this problem. At 9 this dog has several years of life ahead of him and you could be rewarded with a great bond if you can devote enough effort now. First stop after contacting the rescue would be to consult a decent trainer - APDT or APBC members ideally. They will assess you properly and give you advice which can safely be applied to your situation.

In the meantime to ease your problems temporarily may I suggest a few measures which will improve the 'bad' behaviour of almost any dog? Develop routines - this fosters a sense of security and may relieve some of your dog's anxiety. Get up an hour early and walk him - if you can find somewhere safe and enclosed to let him off lead (obviously far from traffic) spend time playing fetch and rewarding him for recall, if not then you'll have to cover more miles yourself. Teach him simple commands using treats to reward him - down, roll over, drop it, wait are all things which can be taught quickly in spare moments and will lead to your dog being more stimulated and more receptive to you. Distract unwanted behaviour such as barking by giving him a command you have confidence he can complete with ease, such as 'sit' or 'paw', and reward him for this. Make sure he has had a reasonably long walk before bed and stick to a routine at bed time - in from the walk, into the designated bed with a small food reward for this and then lights out (leaving water available) is a routine which my dogs accepted within days.

I hope you persist with this dog - you were obviously more sensible than many in your approach to homing and you have been honest enough to admit you have a problem now. It will require commitment but from what you describe you are the lucky owners of a bright lively chap who will give you real pleasure if you are able to devote the necessary time to meeting his needs.

chrissiesurfergirl123

What breed of dog do you have? Has he been neutered? How much exercise does he get each day?
Try posting on the forum below for advice - lots of people on there are very knowledgeable and used to dealing with rescue dogs

http://www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php?showforum=4

cazziebo

sympathise with you. I have a gorgeous dog who I love dearly, and behaves pefectly well for me but not my two daughters. He barks frantically when new people come to the house and he has wee mad spells where he charges about - which is impossible when there are young children in. He's still young though. Great advice here re training and can't add to that.

What about putting him in kennels now and again to give yourself a break? some people are aghast at the thought but mine loves the kennels and I've found somewhere who are so good to him. He gets really excited when he knows we are going - he recognises the road. It means that the girls can have friends over and we can go visiting. (he also goes crazy at the sound of fireworks so he goes in then too - the kennels are quite remote and very quiet)

good luck!

Caz

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

dogs are in rescue centres for a reason , the owner just dumped them or they have issue i used to work with some one who took one from a rspca center described as loving ,fun filled, lovely good with kids .
what he got was a !!!!!! dog that know one else would want im sorry but it should have been put down , its just out of controll they knew that when the gave it to him its a case of owner on the floor dog on chair people must be mad to take such a thing on ..........pup from birth is the only way you can be sure what your getting then if it developes issues its down to you

pboae

village_life, you have described a bored, stressed and anxious dog. It could be due to lack of socialisation, not being able to cope with a situation is stressfull, but there could be a lot more to it.

Please please don't go down the harsh punisment route of rattle bottles or spray collars, let alone the barbaric methods on Dog Borstal. There are much kinder and more effective ways to train a dog, and the good news is, most of the behaviours you are describing can be trained out of a dog, but you need to get to the root cause of it first.

There are loads of sites where you will get good advice,

Taking the Lead is excellent for behavioural advice. It is a very small site, but most of the posters are behaviourists, and the advice there is good.

You might also like
The Refuge
and
Dogpages

both of which have training sections and are dedicated to Rescue dogs. Dogpages is a huge site though, so you need to keep an eye on your thread or it can get lost in the traffic.

The sooner you get started on a good training regime the sooner you will see results, and then, even if you do decide to rehome your dog, you'll have a much better chance of finding a good home for a well behaved, well trained dog, than for one with 'problems'.

EDIT: to add, you first posted about your dog back in September, when you were mainly describing seperation anxiety have you had any professional advice since then? Have you arranged a dog walker or other company on the days when the dog is being left in all day?

pboae

THE_LONE_RANGER wrote:

dogs are in rescue centres for a reason , the owner just dumped them or they have issue i used to work with some one who took one from a rspca center described as loving ,fun filled, lovely good with kids .
what he got was a !!!!!! dog that know one else would want im sorry but it should have been put down , its just out of controll they knew that when the gave it to him its a case of owner on the floor dog on chair people must be mad to take such a thing on ..........pup from birth is the only way you can be sure what your getting then if it developes issues its down to you

That is total nonsense. The main reason dogs end up in rescue is because they get bought by people who are too stupid and/or lazy to train them properly in the first place, and then they can't be bothered dealing with the consequences of that. The second reason is because they were poorly bred to start with bought from backyard breeders or puppy farmers with no thought to temprement or health.

A dog that has been screwed up by the bad behaviour of it's previous owner can usually be turned around with appropriate handling and training. It may take longer than it would working with a pup, but they are not lost causes by any stretch of the imagination.

But if you get a dog with a temprement problem bred into it, then rescue or puppy you'll have your work cut out for you.

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

pboae wrote:

That is total nonsense. The main reason dogs end up in rescue is because they get bought by people who are too stupid and/or lazy to train them properly in the first place, and then they can't be bothered dealing with the consequences of that. The second reason is because they were poorly bred to start with bought from backyard breeders or puppy farmers with no thought to temprement or health.

A dog that has been screwed up by the bad behaviour of it's previous owner can usually be turned around with appropriate handling and training. It may take longer than it would working with a pup, but they are not lost causes by any stretch of the imagination.

But if you get a dog with a temprement problem bred into it, then rescue or puppy you'll have your work cut out for you.

Rubbish the dogs are not bought by any one there mongrels bred by idiots in the main which is what rescue centres are full of . ive bred labradors/gun dogs for 20 years or so with no problems , back yard breeders even these idiots do not breed mongrels ,........... if a dog ends up in a rescue centre theses type that say they can turn a dog which is past 2 years are playing a dangerous game they will give the wrong dog to the wrong person and we will all here what happens

hayleyc_2

THE_LONE_RANGER wrote:

Rubbish the dogs are not bought by any one there mongrels bred by idiots in the main which is what rescue centres are full of . ive bred labradors/gun dogs for 20 years or so with no problems , back yard breeders even these idiots do not breed mongrels ,........... if a dog ends up in a rescue centre theses type that say they can turn a dog which is past 2 years are playing a dangerous game they will give the wrong dog to the wrong person and we will all here what happens

Rescue centres are full of all sorts of dogs, not just mongrels but a large amount of pedigree dogs of all sorts of breeds. Perhaps if you were to go to a few rescue centres and have a look around then you might find this out for yourself!

"back yard breeders even these idiots do not breed mongrels" - lots of irresponsible people do deliberately breed mongrels/crossbreeds and pedigree dogs purely to make money.

In any case, your comments have no relevance to the original poster's question as they didn't even state what breed (or cross-breed/mongrel) their dog was.

Are you seriously saying that if a dog ends up in rescue and is over the age of two years then it doesn't deserve a home!!! Why do you assume that just because a dog is in a rescue centre that it has behavioural problems. Even if a dog does have some issues (usually caused by previous owners) then most of these can be worked through. Most adult rescue dogs will have only minor training issues, which are a lot less than the work it takes to raise a puppy properly.

I suggest you have a look at http://www.oldies.org.uk/ or https://www.dogpages.co.uk and find out what dogs in rescue are really like.

I assume since you have bred dogs for 20yrs that you must like/love them. It doesn't seem so from your post.

Hayley

edited to add: To the original poster - if you have a look at the training and behaviour forums on the dogpages link then there is a lot of excellent advice which may help you.