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The doghouse

Adopting a dog - tips on settling her in

21 replies

LaFlottes · 26/09/2016 18:51

Hi All - we are adopting a 6 year old dog shortly due to her owner being unwell and elderly and moving into a care home.

The dog is well trained and used to being left home alone for periods of time at the moment.

I wondered if anyone had any tips on how to help her settle into our home?

I realise she may regress a little and we will have to treat her like a puppy, taking her out to the toilet frequently for instance, until we learn to spot when she needs to go.

Any tips would be gratefully received, including for night time when we all go to bed and leave her to sleep - or do we not leave her alone on the first few nights?

Thanks! We are new to this but so excited.

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BertrandRussell · 26/09/2016 18:58

We adopted an adult dog, and she settled in really quickly. She cried a bit the first night so (this is probably all wrong!) we moved her bed into ds's room and she was fine once she had company. Ds was delighted- it was what he wanted all along but I had said no!

She came on a Friday, so we were all around to fuss her over the weekend. Within days we felt as if she'd been ours forever. Make you know what he likes to eat and how much exercise he's used to, and as many details of his routine you can get.

Littlebee76 · 27/09/2016 05:59

Watching this with interest as we are adopting our rescue 10 year old lab this week!! I'm so excited I can't sleep! :)

LaFlottes · 27/09/2016 10:41

Thank you Bertand Russell - that's an encouraging post and I hope we have the same experience as you. Did you let her continue to sleep in DS's room or did you move her once she had settled? I'll ask all those questions about routine, although I don't think she's been getting much exercise so that will soon change!!

Littlebee76 - how exciting for you too!

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Dontyouopenthattrapdoor · 27/09/2016 10:42

Aw bless her, and you!

Fuss and treats I'd say- and wear her out as much as you can the first few days so she sleeps :)

BertrandRussell · 27/09/2016 11:48

Laflottes- I'm afraid she's still in ds's room 3 years later

LaFlottes · 27/09/2016 12:22

Thanks Dontyouopenthattrapdoor!! I have low fat treats at the ready as she's quite overweight! Lots of fuss will be no problem. Good plan re wearing her out!

BertandRussell - that's funny but cute and if dog and DS are happy then I bet you're happy too!

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Littlebee76 · 29/09/2016 07:23

Do you have a date set for when you get your dog Laflottes?
We pick up our lovely dog this afternoon, I've literally hardly slept for the past week in excitement!

BagelGoesWalking · 29/09/2016 10:15

I think it's lovely that you're both adopting older dogs, they are so overlooked and so much easier than puppies!

LaFlottes the only thing that came to mind is that, as your dog has been used to an older owner, she may be slightly nervous of younger children/lots of people at the same time, so it may be wise to keep things "chilled" until she settles. Of course, she may just lap up all the extra attention!

Also, do you know what food she's been on? Usually, it's best to keep to the same food and then gradually change over to a new one, rather than all at once. Otherwise, perhaps some cooked chicken and rice for a few days (bland) and then introduce new food.

Hope we get to see pics from you and Littlebee

Littlebee76 · 29/09/2016 10:43

I will definitely post a photo for you all, can't wait to show her off

hillyhilly · 29/09/2016 13:34

We've had Barry for 10 days now, he's a little over 1 yr old. I've spent practically all my time with him including at night, he doesn't like to be left alone but I'm starting to do that a little and am also making sure the rest of the family feed and spend time with him without me so that he bonds to us all not just me.
Be calm and gentle, fit him into your family life but don't force anything on him - we've seen his confidence grow day by day, he's more bouncy, more playful and a bit more cheeky - re sofas and upstairs which were both supposed to be no-go's!
Good luck, we can't believe how gorgeous this dog is, someone's done all the tough stuff - toilet training, the puppy chewing, recall, dropping toys etc and now we have a gorgeous dog who we hope will be a happy member of our family for many years to come.

Adopting a dog - tips on settling her in

Littlebee76 · 29/09/2016 13:51

Hillyhilly he's absolutely adorable!!

Littlebee76 · 29/09/2016 18:14

Here she is!! Beautiful!

Adopting a dog - tips on settling her in

BagelGoesWalking · 29/09/2016 23:26

Oh, Littlebee she's so lovely! Love her bed too, it looks very posh.

And Barry, great name and great photo

Dontyouopenthattrapdoor · 30/09/2016 07:29

Love this thread and all these doggies getting new forever homes :)

Dontyouopenthattrapdoor · 30/09/2016 07:30

Love this thread and all these doggies getting new forever homes :)

LaFlottes · 30/09/2016 14:53

She's here!! We've had this little lovely for 2 days and it's like she's always been here. We love her!

She's been so good, sleeping on her own and not getting upset at night time. She was so tired last night she didn't even get up when we went upstairs! She is stupidly excited to see us in the morning, in fact any time we go away and come back she is so happy, her whole body wags!

Thanks for the tips - we have her food that she was on before, but, she had been getting loads of human food and isn't really eating her dog food. Vet said not to worry, she will eat if she gets hungry enough! She's 13kg and we're aiming to get to 10kg and then see what she looks like and if she needs to shed any more! She has cute little rolls of fat at the moment!

She's loving her walks and wants to say hi to everyone! Needs to get used to other dogs again a little but that will come.

Currently she's snoring beside me!!

Adopting a dog - tips on settling her in

Adopting a dog - tips on settling her in

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Dontyouopenthattrapdoor · 30/09/2016 16:36

Oh she's lovely :)

You've had me googling rescue centres this afternoon. One more can't hurt, right???

LaFlottes · 30/09/2016 17:06

Of course one more can't hurt!! The more the merrier surely!

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Littlebee76 · 30/09/2016 17:39

She's gorgeous Laflottes, looks like she's got some border terrier in her.
It's so rewarding rescuing a dog isn't It, I normally get my dogs from pups but never again.. my Candy is absolutely perfect and I'm bursting with pride! We've trotted round everywhere today and she's been amazing.

Adopting a dog - tips on settling her in

LaFlottes · 02/10/2016 21:09

Thanks Littlebee - yes you're right, I think she is mainly border terrier with something else in there!!

Your lab is gorgeous! Are you having loads of fun?

Hillyhilly - Barry is fabulous too!

All these lovely doggies!

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Littlebee76 · 02/10/2016 21:51

Thanks laflottes, we are biased but think she's beautiful! She snores louder than my DH and is currently getting more kisses than him!

We had a border terrier when I was about 5 and he was an amazing dog. It's a lovely breed. He lived to 16 years old!

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