Does that sound a bit silly? We rehomed a 9 year old Staffie from rescue kennels about 6 weeks ago. He is lovely, kind, mild mannered dog who behaves very well indeed, all things considered.
He knows what living in a house is all about and seems to think he should be allowed on the sofa with us and to go into bedrooms and lie on the beds. We had to take the decision not to allow him on the furniture because he is moulting non stop ( white dog, so very noticable) and also claws as he turns round 3 times to settle. He is allowed on the tatty old sofa in our play room - opposite our living room - where he has the advantage of being able to see outside onto the street.
He tends to sit on this sofa rather than come into the sitting room ( where he has a dog bed) with us and generally looks rather miserable a lot of the time. Sometimes he seems pleased and wags his tail when we come in, sometimes he doesn't look very bothered.
The only health problem our vet has found is that his teeth are totally worn down to the gum, and he has to have them all out once he has settled in with us. I am just a bit concerned that although he is very friendly in some ways - likes to sit on your feet, sometimes climbs up and sits on my knee - a lot of the time he sits on his sofa and doesn't get up to greet DH or DS2 and he seems generally to be a bit sad and tired.
He likes a good walk in the afternoon and gets very enthusiastic about this, but doesn't like going out for his early morning walk at 6am - until it is underway when he is quite happy.
We took him to the local farmers market one Saturday and he behaved really well, sat nicely outside cafe, didn't bother other dogs or embarass me by having a poo 
I'm just wondering if, despite having had a pretty poor home in the past, his old owners might have been a lot more fun for him - I imagine him going out in a van with someone, and seing lots of people for example.
Is he sad? just a bit old and tired? still settling in? or worst case scenario in pain from his teeth or something else the vet hasn't spotted?
I suspect this sounds a bit paranoid but I have really fallen in love with this dear dog and want to be sure he is happy.
If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
The doghouse
our new dog seems sad
higgle · 28/02/2011 11:32
It sounds like a number of things. Firstly, it's quite possible those teeth are giving him pain - unless your vet has advised against it for medical reasons you've not mentioned I'd be getting those sorted out sooner rather than later.
We see a lot of greyhounds who come off the track and they often have awful teeth - if they are up to a GA this is one of the first things to be fixed - being in pain is utterly miserable for them and the bacterial issues from teeth problems can also impact on other organs. When they have teeth done they often seem to have a new lease of life - can make a remarkable difference.
Secondly, rescue dogs often take a while to settle in and come out of their shell. I'd expect any rescue dog to gradually "unfold" over a period of about a year. Again, we see this a lot with greyhounds. They start out being quite quiet and withdrawn and eighteen months later they are love sponges who are upside down on the sofa or being my sous-chef in the kitchen. One of ours spent most of the weekend supervising/assisting DH in the garden (actually, mostly getting in the way, but they were both happy). Would have been unthinkable when they first arrived.
We actually took one of ours plus middle nephew to a fun dog show two weekends ago at a local church hall. I don't know who was more pleased when nephew got a rosette, him or me. I was so proud of them both I got a bit teary. This was a dog who just over a year ago was given up to the charity as being anti-social, with multiple behaviour problems.
Dogs do vary in how social they are - and how much entertainment/stimulation they need/like. What might be suitable for a collie or a JRT would turn our greyhounds into nervous wrecks.
The final bit of the jigsaw might be that he misses canine company. Have you made any doggy friends on your walks or at obedience classes? If you don't do obedience classes they are worth doing as they will help strengthen the bond between you amazingly.
It sounds as though he has landed on his feet though - congratulations to you both.
I wonder also if he is a bit stiff in the mornings, since he is initially reluctant about his morning walk? A bit of arthritis perhaps?
He sounds such a lovely dog. All the staffies I've met have been lovely. I am sure it will work out fine. He is a very lucky dog.
My rescue staffie is the same about cars. Loves going in cars, buses, trains. Any car that pulls up, she tries to get in 
orridge!!! I did wonder when you would post something about him
He is SO beautiful, I really do think the best thing is for you to give him to me 
I got my 9 year old Staff last September and it has taken her until now to really find her feet... and in many ways she is still finding them and tries a new thing on me every week. She did seem utterly miserable some days. When I first got her, she walked off lead at heel, so close I used to sometimes catch her with the back of my heel as I walked. I'm lucky to see the little blighter now - I can usually just see all the undergrowth rustling alongside me.
Oh go on.... get a cover for your settee. There's nothing they love better than a snuggle
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Lol!! They seem to have a tendency to get a bit warty as they get older. If he gets the dangly ones, the vet will tie a bit of cotton around them if you ask.
My old boy used to walk for miles upon miles, but he had done so all of his life so was used to it. I can't see old lady staff getting such silly distances - from what we can ascertain our best guess is that she spent most of her previous life asleep with an old man
Aw higgle - he sounds lovely and I bet he really is very happy too.
I volunteer at my local rescue centre as a dog walker and I also have my own rescue dog whom I got from the same place just under 2 years ago. Apparently a lot of dogs go "into themselves" in kennels as a self protection mechanism and it takes a while for this to disappear. Our dog when we first got him was a catankerous, grumbly, moany suspicious bugger which surprised me as he was really waggy tailed in the rescue centre. For the first few months at least he used to slope around the house looking reproachfully at us, would never sleep without one eye open watching us, rarely showed affection and was ball obsessed. It took ages to build his trust but now he adores us and we adore him. He LOVES a cuddle and if we won't cuddle him he makes us by forcing himself on us. He has such a gorgeous personality and really is our sons best friend. He goes to bed with our DS and waits until he is asleep before coming back down. He is such a different dog but it really was worth the wait and your lovely staffy will be too. Staffies often worship their owners and you may soon be posting saying he won't leave you alone . Good luck - it will all be fine in the end
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