Learn how to really rescue your rescue dog by giving them what they need to function emotionally and
Get help to make your rescue dog emotionally whole and behaviorally fit.
For those of you who rescued dogs, please let me know what the biggest problems were integrating the rescue dog into your household. Also please let me know how old the dog was at time of rescue. This will help me decide what materials to cover in the educational materials I'm preparing to help people rescue successfully.
Many rescues don't talk to adopters about the importance of training to help rescue dogs fit in with their adoptive families. The training should cover basic cues/commands like come, stay and leave it as well as not leash pulling. But also very important is to help new owners discover the best games to play, how to avoid resource guarding and what things dogs find frightening or threatening. This basic work of mutual understanding may keep a lot of dogs in their adoptive homes
I have come down with something and will be spending Christmas in bed and taking care of the dogs and my dear parrot.
I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and thank you for spreading much more cheer than we've been seeing in the world lately.
Have a holiday filled with love and hope.
If a new dog for you or someone else is part of your holiday plans, think seriously about planning the new homecoming in a way that helps this dog feel safe and learn who their new family core unit is, who they can start to trust.
New dogs should not be exposed to groups of extended family, friends and especially not of the kind who will try to tell the dog what to do. Beware of children. Don't allow them to meet the new dog in groups or to rush towards, hug or lean over the dog. This is extremely intimidating and looks like an attack to many dogs. That can trigger fight or flight responses and potentially long lasting distrust of that or any kid. Any meetings with a child, or adult, should allow the dog plenty of space to move away freely.
New dogs are best restricted to getting to know and trust their new home and new family members in harmony. Their new world needs time to make sense to them.
But what if the new dog acts bold and outgoing? Can you take chances with an immediate social life? Not so much. You should still your new dog several weeks of a quiet life.
What about young pups? Don't they need the socialization? Socialization is not the same as throwing them in the deep end of the social pool. It needs to planned, controlled, have a goal and be time limited to very short sessions. House guests and parties are not good exposures because they last too long and you can't control what other people do.
Get in touch if you have questions about specific situations.
Have holidays full of love and giving.
This looks so good! Like coffee flan.
I have started a new page for my dog training and behavior consulting business and you are all welcome to follow it for training and behavior tips, ways to work with me personally, news of blogs and videos, etc. Here is a link. I hope to see you there.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550992111471
Winner of Multiple Dog Training Titles and Certified as a Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) & (CCBC-KA)
. Thanks to all you Doberman rescue folks who have visited the pagethis last couple of days and to Meredith for mentioning it. I feel so strongly that more has to be done regularly to help rescue dogs feel secure in their new role. Love is not enough. They need a process that grows a huge bond. I love Dobes. They are sensitive and funny and can get very confused when they don't have a solid base and clearly communicated guidance. I'll be seeing another rescue Dobe tomorrow who sounds like a fundamentally great dog who has some confusion over what his role is. I can't wait. Please let me know if there are any features on this page that you would like me to create to be of help. And if you need personalized help, please reach out to me.
Does your dog know how to use its body? I have worked with many rescue dogs whose owners are bewildered about how to bring them out of their shells. The latest is a sweet puppy mill female used to living in a cage and having designer puppies. (Don't get me started on that). She is 3 years old and had to experience grass for the first time 3 weeks ago. This poor baby is so unfamiliar with the workings of her body and the way to interact with her people and the rest of the world, that everything frightens her. She doesn't want to risk new movements or going new places. She will have to be taught that it is not dangerous to step over a person's leg or to go down some stairs or to walk on a different texture footing. Everything new stresses her out and she has to take some days to get over new experiences no matter how benign. But each new experience, when planned carefully, will slowly give her more self confidence and pride in what she does. This in turn makes her happier and bolder and she begins to discover how to have fun. Let's all hope for her future turning into a carefree dog. It will take a long time before we see the turn around when she offers to do something new on her own for the first time. The road to that goal will involve tiny steps in short sessions. Her owners will have to learn to be happy for each tiny success and stop, for now, the all too human urge to raise goals higher and higher. when you raise goals too fast, you end up actually punishing the dog for trying something new because it's never quite enough. When you keep goals small, and celebrate with true joy each little step towards progress, your dog's confidence in you and in herself will grow. Slowly at first for sure but then faster and faster. Fight your desire to say, "I wonder what would happen if I try this or that?" when it is very new to your dog. Go slowly even if your dog appears to be ready to do something she's never done before. It's actually a good thing for the dog to build up a desire, a "wanting" to try something new. Let it build for awhile before letting the dog dive in and try it. Slow and sure. Teach the dog about surfaces, elevations, odors, climbing up and down and other things we never even think about. It all makes a difference.
TOXIC SOCIALIZATION--WHAT IS IT AND HOW TO AVOID IT Rescue dog owners and puppy owners are always told how important it is to socilize their dog. Well, it is, BUT, it has to be done the right way or it backfires badly. The guidelines are different for rescue dogs who are over 6 or 7 months than they are for small pups. Small pups need to investigate the world. See things, smell things, hear strange noises. But they don't need to be made to do this when they are in a fear period when even the usual things make them back up and question their safety. This process needs to happen in a gradual way with small intros to new things and people from a distance, keeping vigilant to the pup's body language. Don't force the pup to approach more than it wants to. Allow or even show it how to go away from something that makes it uneasy. With time and repeated measured exposures, the pup will gain confidence. When meeting people, I actually pick my pup up so it can meet new people fact to face and not have the new person looming over them, which looks very threatening. This way, they avoid threats and you can determine how much contact you want the stranger to have by just turning away or putting another hand out in front of the two of you. Don't allow people to reach to your pup with both hands at once. Just one hand and in an upward motion from below the chin, not over the head.
For older dogs, don't even try to socialize the dog until it's been in your home long enough to figure out it lives there now adn to get to know the people in the household. This may take a couple of weeks or a month. Once the dog trusts you, you can start taking it on walks in the nearby area, but stop a lot and allow them to sniff, look around and get their bearings. Then go home. Short outings of about 15 min to begin.
If you need help about a specific dog, please get in touch with me.
Puppies aren't presents - they are a lifetime commitment!
Holidays!!! A time of year when we want to shower love on family and friends...and a time when pets have to cope with confusing changes to daily life. It's also a time when many people want to bring home a new dog. BAD IDEA! for the most part. A new dog will be bewildered and questioning about their new environment and new people. They need a time to get to trust and a sense of security. Holiday times are a schedule of hug and run for the busy people. And the dog doesn't understand all the commotion or who is the person to bond with. So please, readers, spread the word that if a holiday dog is anticipated, either bring the dog home weeks before the holiday festivities or wait until after it's all finished and life returns to normal. I'll be sending more posts about this soon,
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