‘Leave your expectations at the door’: tips on how to help a rehomed canine | Pets

The canine coach and behaviourist Lara Shannon says one “unfortunate” factor of canine rescue is that always folks need a rescue canine that matches into their way of life – one they’ll take to cafes, seashores and canine parks. They don’t all the time recognise the “subtle” language of dogs who’re anxious or afraid, and find yourself “imposing” actions on their dogs that enhance their anxiousness. The resultant feeling of incapability to look after the anxious canine can then imply they find yourself returning or rehoming them.

“Dog shelters are full of dogs at the 18- to 24-month mark that have been surrendered by their former owners,” she says. “They’re generally larger breeds whose owners say are ‘totally uncontrollable’, but adolescent dogs have hit the age range where their hormones are surging and where, in the wild, they would generally leave the pack. What’s generally happening with these dogs is that they were not socialised or trained in their younger (months), so their owners are missing an underlying anxiety. And research has shown that adolescent dogs play up more for the person they’re closest to than a complete stranger. It’s a phenomenon like the teenage years when you push back on authority, and it happens so often.”

Shannon says the plain indicators of a reactive or anxious canine embody barking, lunging and growling in direction of different dogs or folks, whereas the much less apparent ones embody yawning whereas out on walks, walking on their hind legs, licking their lips, over-excited greetings, hypervigilance and a problem settling down.

Reactions, she explains, usually come from concern, and house owners ought to restrict exposing them to conditions which are inflicting them to react, whereas additionally taking care to not “reward” them for his or her behaviour.

“When a dog barks or lunges or has a go at what they perceive to be a threat, the dog owner usually removes the dog from the situation,” she explains. “The dog is then getting what they want, so in their brain, they go ‘Oh, that worked, I am going to do that again next time’, and the next time they will react with more intensity.”

She recommends recognising your canine’s threshold for interplay, after which retaining them under it: “Try not to keep putting them in the face of their triggers. We want to encourage and promote calm, so when they’re relaxed, that’s the time to really reward that desired behaviour. We need to be focusing on what our dogs are doing right, so they learn that behaviour gets them what they want.”

Working with a constructive reinforcement coach or a vet behaviourist will be particularly useful, she says. “It’s really important that we don’t punish them when they’re telling us they’re being fearful. Working with a positive reinforcement trainer makes such a difference to the dog – and the owner – in the later years.”

Tom* and his companion discovered themselves with older rescue dogs as a result of they couldn’t abdomen the considered these dogs having nobody by their aspect of their later years. Though the dogs had some points, they each labored persistently on coaching, and located nice enchancment.

“We started with fostering senior dogs that had been surrendered to the rescue late in life,” he says. “It made sense to us to adopt an adult dog that already had some training and was more relaxed than a puppy.” Their first rescue was a 45kg Malamute.

Their most recent canine, which they rescued at simply 10 months old, had been with 4 different house owners by the point they took him on. Tom says he was extraordinarily anxious and couldn’t be left alone.

“It took us a steady training program of four months before we could both leave the house,” he says. “We worked with our vet and a trainer to build a good life for him and we love him to bits, but he’s not going to be the kind of dog you can just take to a cafe or a dog park and expect him to just be chill. It’s (now) been two-and-a-half years of consistent work and he has steadily progressed into a lovely adult dog, (but) I continue to work with him on basic training every day.”

Jo Bates, a canine coach and proprietor of Crazy Canines, says figuring out whether or not the canine is certainly reactive (a time period she says is overused) or anxious is essential.

“Reactivity is an out-of-context reaction or response to a specific environmental context,” she explains. “Aggression is the intent to do harm – it is not the same as the often over-the-top behavioural response that is exhibited in reactive behaviours.

“Dogs can take at least six months to settle in to a new home and different behaviours will be exhibited through this time as they are placed into different lifestyle experiences of the owner,” Bates says. “The bond and relationship between the owner and the dog needs to develop over time and it is best not to overwhelm new dogs by placing them in to every lifestyle expectations too early in the journey together.”

She says a workforce of pros – trainers, nutritionists and vets – may assist set up the fitting strategy, and recommends doing “nose work” video games at home and in quiet environments to higher practice your canine.

Shannon says that relinquishing dogs can generally perpetuate the concern and anxiousness that dogs have and might make it tougher for them to be rehabilitated.

“The shelter environment is incredibly stressful and unfortunately for most dogs their mental health declines in that environment,” she says. “If you’re struggling, try to get that professional help. Not all dogs can be fixed, but it’s manageable. Do enrichment and exercise at home. Leave your expectations at the door and don’t give up.”

Tom encourages folks to look to their rescue amenities for recommendation, and to think about a trial earlier than they decide to a canine.

“Dogs are surrendered to rescues at all stages of their lives and for all different reasons, often it has nothing to do with the temperament or health of the dog, just the circumstance of their previous owner,” he says.

“Do your research on the dog and do some sort of research into how to work with a dog before you get one. There are simple things that people don’t know and if you’ve done the research beforehand you’re more likely to have a successful rehoming.”

*Names modified for privateness