When our first rescue arrived at our home, he was really, really shy. He quickly set up a routine that, if deviated from, caused problems with his potty training and behavior. He’d avoid us, wouldn’t come at all if called, and even have what we called threshold events. In other words, he acted scared of crossing the doorway threshold to go outside or back inside. Getting him out wasn’t bad as we had a small house and we would herd him towards the door upon which he would lose his fear of the threshold and cross it to go outside to take care of business. Getting him back in was much more work. For the longest time, I’d have to go out the front door, climb the back fence and herd him back to the door to cross the threshold back indoors. This routine took a long time before be would follow our first ever dog, we had her since she was a puppy, out and back in willingly.
PTSD – part 1
I keep reading how some families adopt a dog and then return it because of behavioral problems or it doesn’t respond to them as they demand. What I think they fail to realize is that, for a lot of dogs, being moved from one home to another is stressful and it can take them a long time to make the emotional transition. Yes, dogs do suffer from PTSD. This needs to be recognized by adopters and allowances need to be made.
Dealing with adopted rescues
While getting a puppy and raising it from scratch is fun, adopting a rescue is both a chore and a learning process for you and the dog. However, done properly, the end result is rewarding both and also gives the dog a wanted home that understands its needs and shamelessly caters to its needs and wants. Welcome to my blog. It is deliberately unstructured, jumps from topic to topic, and is unorganized but hopefully you will find it interesting and educational.
Hello world!
This is very much the beginnings of a work in progress. Changes will be made in the future as time permits. Please be patient.