How to help settle a new dog in

daheff

Hi

I'm getting a new dog from a shelter in the next few days (all going well). I'd appreciate it if people can advise what they would suggest would help settle the dog into the new surrounds. Dog is going to sleep inside (not in a cage), will have access to back garden during the day etc.

Its been a while since I settled a new dog in so any suggestions would be a help

thanks

aonb

So well done for rescuing a dog - I hope it all works out really well.
How old? What breed?
With any dog coming into a new home calmness & quiet, gentling handling will help. Make sure he has a bed in a quiet space that he can retire to if needed. Are there other pets in the house? Some nice comforting food to help with the settling in would be good - some boiled chicken & rice maybe. Introduce him to his food and water bowls, a nice cosy blanket in his bed, and show him asap where he is to go to the toilet. Lots of praise and gentleness and hopefully he will settle in quickly. Establish a routine asap too. A couple of short walks daily initially to get him exercised and relaxed, to see how he behaves and goes on the leash, and reacts to being out & about.
Buy some tasty treats for a bit of training and 'spoiling'
There will be lots of advise on here for you - let us know how it goes

ShaShaBear

daheff wrote: »

Hi

I'm getting a new dog from a shelter in the next few days (all going well). I'd appreciate it if people can advise what they would suggest would help settle the dog into the new surrounds. Dog is going to sleep inside (not in a cage), will have access to back garden during the day etc.

Its been a while since I settled a new dog in so any suggestions would be a help

thanks

All the advice from aonb is sound, but I would just like to point out that most dogs love crates when they are shown to use them properly. They are not "cages".

minipink

Have to agree with shashabear, without the crate my dog would have found it very difficult. She loves her crate and goes in with the door open by choice. It's a scary thing coming to a new place with new sounds and experiences so the crate is their sanctuary. Also really helps with toilet training.
That said. My other dog despised her crate from day one but she was a puppy. We had howling lasting the night so I gave in. She's now a spoilt rotten baby who sleeps in my bed.
Thanks for adopting an older dog. There are too many out there that have become cast offs after they're not cute puppies anymore

Mince Pie

Loads of good advice from aonb. On a practical side note, do NOT leave any shoes unattended lying around or you could end up weeping over your favourite pair like myself. Found one pair chewed out in the back garden and then another pair got the heel chewed as well.
Also, we went out and spent an absolute fortune on toys etc. She wasn't interested in any of them. Discovered the quacky duck was her thing so just buy another one of them when quackers gives up the ghost. So let your rescue get settled first before you start buying stuff for them. A tennis ball will most likely do the trick for starters while you get to know each other.
Good luck and congrats on your new furry friend. Please post pics when you take them home.

daheff

ShaShaBear wrote: »

All the advice from aonb is sound, but I would just like to point out that most dogs love crates when they are shown to use them properly. They are not "cages".

Hi ShaShabear...sorry I couldnt think of the correct term when I was posting. Of Course I meant a crate!

Aonb -many thanks for your suggestions. The dog is a Border terrier cross. Shes about 7-10 mths old.

Mince Pie - I'll post some pics once I get her settled in


thanks all

aonb

daheff wrote: »

Hi ShaShabear...sorry I couldnt think of the correct term when I was posting. Of Course I meant a crate!

Aonb -many thanks for your suggestions. The dog is a Border terrier cross. Shes about 7-10 mths old.

Mince Pie - I'll post some pics once I get her settled in


thanks all

so how goes life with your new puppy? I love border terriers! I hope she is doing ok. You have saved your dogs life - I hope that she gives you years of love and happiness and friendship. Post some pics asap!

daheff

well...shes left 2 little parcels of sh*t, 1 tapeworm and a trail of destruction in the house/garden....and shes only been there for about 20 hours.:mad:


got her home on sunday about 5. showed her the bed, where her drink/food was. Brought her to the garden to relieve herself. All good. Brought her back inside....played a bit with her. Gave her a chew toy.

Kids played with her for a while. Oldest loves her...youngest can take it or leave it. She did a bit of jumping up..I taught the oldest to turn her back and say "down" & then ignore the dog until she stops. Seems to be working reasonably so far.

Then brought the dog for a walk in the evening (for about 25 mins). Brought her home and gave her some food ....which she didnt eat.

So put her in the kitchen for 5/10 mins while we got the kids ready for bed (in sitting room). She had a little whine/ bark..but not too bad.

Put kids to bed and the dog flaked out in her bed. Was ok during the night...but ran up the stairs once or twice (we are only letting her stay downstairs)...but couldnt get all the way up because of stair gate at the top. She went back to sleep and slept most of the night ok!

This morning had a couple of 'presents' on the floor, but not too bad...and all in the same area...so metro herald will be lining that part of the floor tonight :P

I left her food out overnight as she didnt eat it...wont do that regularily though. When I came down this morning she was eating it away happily.

Wife brought the kids to school and left her at home alone. was alright. She was then put out in the garden for toilet time, and dug up a flower bed & destroyed a football in about 5 mins!!!

they went for a walk and came back...dog was left alone downstairs for 5 mins and chewed up some of the kids toys.


So all in all...a reasonable start

Pros -so far not a barker. Seems very friendly. a little house trained (but could do some work). Small bit of training done with her. She kind of gets sit.

Cons- Seems to be a very active terrier (more so than we expected). Chases the smallest child around when she runs. A little destructive:(

Not sure if the best time to walk the dog is then in the morning (and wear her out for the day) or in the evening? Wife will prob (kids & weather permitting) walk her a little during the day too.

Tranceypoo

daheff wrote: »

Not sure if the best time to walk the dog is then in the morning (and wear her out for the day) or in the evening? Wife will prob (kids & weather permitting) walk her a little during the day too.

I hate to tell you, but it's both!

She sounds a right little character already, pictures please?

ZiabR

I would call that a normal start to be honest. She is still only a pup so it will take awhile for her to settle down. My 3 year old Lab is still nuts, but they do mature slower. She sounds like a right personality, all the best with her!

Edit - Did you worm her or was there a worm in her poo? If so, worm her asap as you can be sure there are alot more inside still. Have the kids wash their hands regularly.

daheff

I was told that they wormed her in the animal sanctuary...but not taking any chances so I got some worm dose (liquid) at lunchtime. All I could find at short notice. Will worm her tonight and again in about 10 days and again a month later...hopefully she'll be ok and not get too upset by that.

Kids will be washing hands like no tomorrow (they already hate doing it!).

Mince Pie

Aaawwww, what a cutie.

Tranceypoo

Cheeky!

anniehoo

Was it definitely a tapeworm segment that she passed? You won't see the whole worm as they only pass segments intermittently rather than the worm itself (until it's dewormed and most/all of it passes then). If it's roundworm it will physically look like a worm (spaghetti like).

I'd personally advise Drontal to deworm her rather than Parazole (is this the liquid you got?) While Parazole is gentle on puppies, I hear mixed reviews about it and Drontal or Milbemax seems to be the wormer of choice for both round and tapeworm.

She's gorgeous btw!

coathanger

I could probably forgive that little one anything!!When I got my new little rescue chap,I bought a KONG which you stuff with food & it was money well spent, he knows when I produce it that I am going out, & we have no little surprises or desctructiveness ,but they do get to long walks a day regardless of weather etc & if I am in the garden they can potter about with me too.
Great times ahead for you all.Congratulations on picking a rescue dog, they have so much love to give.;)

daheff

anniehoo wrote: »

Was it definitely a tapeworm segment that she passed? You won't see the whole worm as they only pass segments intermittently rather than the worm itself (until it's dewormed and most/all of it passes then). If it's roundworm it will physically look like a worm (spaghetti like).

I'd personally advise Drontal to deworm her rather than Parazole (is this the liquid you got?) While Parazole is gentle on puppies, I hear mixed reviews about it and Drontal or Milbemax seems to be the wormer of choice for both round and tapeworm.

She's gorgeous btw!

sorry i got my dog worms mixed up. was a roundworm.

I got parazole (liquid) as shes still quite young (and mainly because it was the only thing i could find at short notice!!). I reckon next time around I'll give her Drontal or something like that.

Toulouse

I find Parazole great.

Also I think it does no harm to mix it up a bit when it comes to worming. My Border x was dosed religiously every 3 months with Drontal but started losing weight. Wormed him with Parazole and he passed loads of roundworms and started gaining weight again so then I switched to 3 x Drontal and 1 x Parazole per year.

daheff

Anyway...just to update people


She was fine last night. Brought her for a 30 min walk and did a little bit of sit & stay training. I think she got it...either that or she sat and ignored me for a bit!!!

Slept ok...no whinging...no presents on the floor (mustn't have like the metro!)

She woke us up though about 6.30 barking at the neighbour leaving his house.

She was fine and relaxed in the house today. Missus sent her out into the garden for a while (toilet time)...but she went a bit nuts again. Dug a flower bed up and chewed a flower pot to pieces. Seems she has a bit of a destructive side when she gets outside. I need to find a way to stop this quick. The Missus hasnt got time to be running out to her every 5 mins if shes wrecking the garden (cos shes looking after a toddler too)....but we need to be able to leave her in the garden where she doesnt destroy it (eg going to shops or out for an hour or 2).

SillyMangoX

Have you thought about setting up a run in the garden? That was you can limit access to any areas in the garden that you don't want destroyed but the dog can still enjoy outdoor time!

daheff

SillyMangoX wrote: »

Have you thought about setting up a run in the garden? That was you can limit access to any areas in the garden that you don't want destroyed but the dog can still enjoy outdoor time!

Not really. Theres not really enough room to have a dog run in it. With patio, shed, kids swing...anything else goes in and theres no garden. She'll just have to learn not to thrash the place.

fiacha

Congrats on the new arrival. I'd love a BT or two myself, so hopefully there will be one available when I start looking at rescues.

She is a working breed with a very strong hunting drive. They are bred to go underground, dig and flush game so she's doing what comes natural to her.

The more exercise and stimulation you can give her the better, and hopefully she'll be less likely to amuse herself by trashing the house / garden and hunting the kids
I believe Knine is the resident expert on BT's here, so maybe drop them a PM for some training tips.

Also, we need pictures !

A.

DBB

You can also get rolls of fencing for reasonably small money in hardware stores, and use them to fence off areas of the garden/patio etc that you don't want the dog going into... it's a fact of life with a young dog, something, somewhere is going to get thrashed unless you (a) fence it off, or (b) lift it out of reach.
You could also make a little sand-pit for her, even get a kid's plastic sandpit, and bury some goodies in it for her, so that she can dig, but in an appropriate place. Combine this with some cheap fencing, and you're away on a hack!

cocker5

daheff wrote: »

Not really. Theres not really enough room to have a dog run in it. With patio, shed, kids swing...anything else goes in and theres no garden. She'll just have to learn not to thrash the place.

Just on the above point, I have a cocker (as the name suggests) and again a strong working breed, he destroyed the garden up until he was 2, even though i tried every thing to stop him, once they are left alone in a garden, they will dig.... dig .... and dig more, its in their nature.

Even now (he's nearly 9) if he's left out in my MIL garden (over an acre) he cant help himself but dig.

In my garden what i did was, we laid cobble locking, decking and around all the bottom of my shrubs (not delicate plant will ever stand a chance with a working dog) i put loads of pebbles at the roots etc and this has helped a bit.

with that said... all in all in your a dog owner now, TBH your garden will never be the same again :P if your dog is left alone in the garden, you can nearly be 100% she will dig! all thre scents etc, its too tempting and too much for for her not to

But like what i did above you can try and put in place some measures to reduce the damage

cocker5

opps double post