Anyone interested in a rescue dog owners thread?

[MrTumblesBavarianFanbase]

Our new rescue dog came home on Thursday, and although she's a lovely gentle dog there are lots of little things I'd like to chat about. Anyone else got a newish rescue dog/ thinking of adopting a rescue dog - or have had a rescue dog/ dogs for a long time/ work with rescue dogs or have lots of experience and feel willing to give new owners advice?

I'd like a "support" thread to discuss the good and bad of bringing a rescue dog/ puppy specifically into the family - who's up for it?

I'll introduce my situation to kick off any maybe some others will join in?

Our new rescue dog has been with us only 5 days. Her name is Sandy, she's a mixed breed but clearly at least partly Cocker Spaniel, and around 2 years old (pics on my profile). She was found by a German charity who rescue street dogs, starving on the streets in Greece but had probably been a failed hunting dog (docked tail) before being thrown out onto the streets, and may not have been there long. She had been in foster here with a family with children for 8 weeks before we met her. We live in Germany and I have 3 children (8, 6 and 2) which to me is significant to the thread as meeting the needs of all 4 of them (3 kids and 1 dog) is a juggling act, although there is also lots and lots that is positive for the children in having a dog in the family, otherwise I wouldn't have gone for it while they are still so young.

Anyone else?

Hope to be joining you soon! Just waiting to hear from the rescue place. We have young DDs (almost 5yo and 2.6yo), cats and will be first time owners. In our favour we are home all day, there are loads of great places to go walking nearby and I'm looking for a dog to do canicross with so exercise will not be a problem. I've been obsessing researching and preparing for a while, so really hoping to find our 4 legged buddy soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Your girl is lovely. She has a look of a [http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.dogsindepth.com/sporting_dog_breeds/images/brittany_spaniel_h02.jpg&imgrefurl=www.dogsindepth.com/sporting_dog_breeds/brittany_spaniel.html&h=224&w=225&sz=1&tbnid=E6-WtJvZ1kPJgM:&tbnh=186&tbnw=186&zoom=1&usg=__-LIRbaj_Fz_MIdRIsGIw67xQwjE=&docid=iZ3i-lVaukeFeM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=wbAtUqPZA4aThQe604GICw&sqi=2&ved=0CIgBEPwdMAo Brittany Spaniel]].

I have a rescue Lurcher puppy. We've had him four weeks last Friday and he's 14 weeks old. (Pics on profile.)

He was found dumped in the gutter at the side of the road at less than 24 hours old. Then he didn't gain any weight and by the time he came to us was emaciated.

We decided to get a pup over the summer, instead of waiting for September - although we were aware of at least two litters of rescue lurchers we could have waited for until mid-September - partly because I wanted him to be a family responsiblity, rather than just 'my dog', iyswim and partly because house training is so much easier when the weather is good.

He was 10 weeks when we brought him home and due his second vax and we had visions of carrying him out and about for socialisation for a couple of weeks, then the dcs and I walking him and our other dog daily and spending plenty of time in the park and fields together once he was fully covered. I had also pre-booked and paid for a course of puppy classes to start the week the dcs went back to school (last week).

Unfortunately, after his first vet visit we found out the reason for his lack of weight was because he has campylobacter infections, which is transmissable to humans, so not only could he not be vaccinated, we ended up spending weeks constantly hand washing and disinfecting everything in sight instead. This was made even harder as my eldest dc (ds1, 11) has AS and OCD, so we had to be as low-key about it as possible, without letting hygiene slip or he wouldn't have been able to cope.

He also had to be on a total exclusion diet of just cooked chicken, plus probiotic paste and had to have 8 meals a day. Which is quite time consuming, not to mention expensive (and we're a family of vegetarian, so cooking meat isn't something that comes naturally to us).

He was very needy when he first arrived and couldn't stand me being out of his sight for a second. He also ate anything he could pick up in the garden, probably because he was so nutrient starved.

He now has the all-clear from the infection, but due to the delay has had to restart his vaccinations, so despite being 14 weeks old and weighing a tonne, we are still having to carry him out and about and he won't be able to go down outside for another 3 1/2 weeks!

Despite everything I wouldn't change him for the world. He's a lovely boy. Has his mad half hours, but generally isn't as nippy or loopy as many pups of his age. He also responds really well to the clicker, seems to enjoy training and after 4 weeks we are now able to leave him scoffing a kong for half an hour while I do the school run.

Good luck EauRouge hope you find your perfect CaniCross partner soon.

Oh wow moosemama, your poor pup had a rocky start! He's gorgeous though, as is MrTumble's cocker cross.

We have Esther, a boxer x border terrier!!! She just looks like a border on long legs, can't see boxer in her at all, but mum was very obviously a boxer cross apparently.

We got her at 14 weeks, the whole litter was handed in to Many Tears. She has the best temperament ever, couldn't fault it, but my god is she naughty! She's got the boxer bounciness with the border digging and stubborness. She's very very clever (much more clever than my lovely but dim pug!) and responds very well to training, until she decides she can't be arsed and then you might as well be talking to a brick wall . Pics on profile.

Thank you kitsmummy.

Just realised I fluffed that link up <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.dogsindepth.com/sporting_dog_breeds/images/brittany_spaniel_h02.jpg&imgrefurl=www.dogsindepth.com/sporting_dog_breeds/brittany_spaniel.html&h=224&w=225&sz=1&tbnid=E6-WtJvZ1kPJgM:&tbnh=186&tbnw=186&zoom=1&usg=__-LIRbaj_Fz_MIdRIsGIw67xQwjE=&docid=iZ3i-lVaukeFeM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=wbAtUqPZA4aThQe604GICw&sqi=2&ved=0CIgBEPwdMAo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brittany Spaniel.

Wow, boxer x border - what an unusual mix. She is gorgeous, such a cute face!

I had a rescue boxer x gsd lad years ago. He looked like a ridgeback without a ridge and was absolutely enormous and was the most beautiful, sweet natured boy. We lost him in 2002 and he still holds my heart.

We've had ours for 10 months now... She was 2+, a probable failed worker, and hadn't been in a house (and wasn't housetrained) when we got her. She can also jump onto the kitchen table with no effort at all.

She has learned that beds are not where she should be and doesn't go on them 99% of the time (apart from this morning when DS had to get her out of his bed).

We can let her off despite her background - and she can tell the difference between small dogs and rabbits.

Hello Eau moose kits and mistle !

Eau good luck finding your perfect canicross dog! DH wanted to try agility with our girl, but then when we got her home she was scared of him :( (At the foster home she wasn't :( ) I think its being off what she saw as her turf plus the fact she was already here and he came in hours later from work - maybe if he'd been here when she arrived it would have been different. Anyway we are working on it with him now being the only one who gives her "random" treats (rather than ones for training, which we aren't really doing yet but will start next weekend with a class).

Moose isn't your pup gorgeous! Lurcherboy too! Sandy is ever so skinny - I don't know how I'd cope if she had that infection transmittable to humans - the 2 year old is always letting her lick his hands and no matter how much I enforce hand washing it definitely isn't enough if she does have some horrible transmittable bug :( It must have been really hard getting through that with your son, for different reasons! I hope Sandy will fatten up - her skinnyness has an obvious explanation in her background, and I really hope she fattens up a nicely without there being any additional reasons for it!

You might be on to something with the Brittany spaniel - I'd never heard of them and she does look just like that - same size as in the description too (she's about 50cm tall). DH said you can pay for a genetic test to find out for certain what breed/s a dog is :o But as its €100 and it doesn't actually make any difference what breed she is I think we'll leave that for now! :) Brittanys sound like lovely dogs, although possibly we aren'twalking her enough - she's getting 2 walks a day which take about 40 mins each at 2 year old pace but would only take 20 mins or less done "briskly" and she can't be off the lead yet. She is outside in the garden a lot of the day, but not really exercising.

Kits your boarder cross is lovely (and your little pug) :) We wanted a boarder terrier initially - we first looked into getting a puppy when our eldest was a toddler, about 6 years ago, and were then thinking of buying a King Charles spaniel puppy from a breeder, til we found out how many health problems they are prone to, and then we researched boarder terriers and thought they were the dog for us - but money was tighter then and I was child minding so we left getting a puppy then, and our thinking changed a bit over the intervening years. Still think boarder terriers sound ideal family dogs, but yours has that added crazyness fun from the boxer side I guess to keep you on your toes!

Mistle what big eyes your little girl has in the picture you have up! Must be hard to say no to! :) Sandy can also jump onto high surfaces without trouble - the second day here she rushed up the stairs and was found sitting on DS2's changing table! We are having to be very strict to keep her out of the kitchen sink if anything is left to soak, in fact she can't be in the kitchen at all unless I am in there, and I have to put her on a lead if the kids want to make themselves food! Early days yet though and I hope we'll be able to be more relaxed with her in time!

Looking forward to chatting with you all, and some more people with/ knowledgeable about/ interested in rescue dogs too maybe!

This morning has been hard :( DDog and my boys (6 and 2) were a bit stir crazy by 8.30am so we went for the morning walk, and walked a bit further than usual. After a lovely summer it was drizzling when we set off, but just as we set off down the route that leads to a longer walk than we have been doing it started raining hard. DS2 got upset that his trousers were wet and randomly took them off! He then refused to ride his balance bike on the way home, luckily I had the buggy as I knew this might happen but then had to carry balance bike, push buggy and hold lead in the pouring rain. Was a bit tricky and exhausting but DDog was well behaved til we got home.

When we got home though DDog went absolutely, completely nuts - rushing around the house like a wet tornado til I caught and dried her but then she was off again - 100mph in circuits, over the sofa and under the table and round and round, barking like a mad thing and not stopping. Eventually I caught her and have had to keep her on a lead in the house ever since

She has also been sick twice since getting home, with no warning and pretty much her whole undigested breakfast

She's curled up next to me on the sofa asleep now, but I've got up a couple of times, and each time I get up has resulted in another 15 mins of maddness - on the lead now but barking and trying to rush and climb etc.

This makes no sense as she had a proper long walk today - the longest yet - and it seems to have sent her mad. She's been much calmer on days with shorter walks. In fact her calmest day was a day we spent with her at an outdoor cafe and children's play place, when she happily lay under the table for about 4 hours and was calm at home

Today DDog makes no sense to me - anyone know why she might be madder and more manic after a long walk than a short one or even than before any walk at all???

The manic behaviour sounds just like my dogs (lots of different dogs over the years) have acted after having a bath and being put outside to shake some of the excess water off. It's as though a switch has been flicked and they go into hyper-overdrive, dashing round, tight circles at high speed, bum tucked under acceleration etc. I wonder whether she felt like that coming in when she was wet and just didn't get it out of her system?

I know that some people will tie their dog lead to a tree or a bench if their dog is acting up whilst out - and sit a short distance away.

I wonder whether you might get her something to chew (filled kong?) and if she might settle down to have a go at that next to you - so that you could then put her lead down without it being a big issue?

She's probably just finding her feet and testing her boundaries.

Actually, taking her somewhere like a cafe and watching the world go by is probably more exhausting than physical exercise for a dog that's had limited socialisation. It's because they need to process all the new information they've taken in.

Pip is always much more sleepy after a trip out for socialisation than he is after charging about chasing Lurcherboy up and down and round and round the garden.

Was the longer walk somewhere she would be probably prefer to be off-lead, perhaps playing with other dogs? It could be that she got a bit over-stimulated by the long walk, as opposed to just sitting quietly and drinking in everything at the cafe and she's just burning off excess energy.

Do you have something you could play with her in the garden to burn off some excess energy until she can go off-lead? We use a ball flinger like this with Lurcherboy on days when he doesn't get the opportunity to have lots of off-lead play. A frisbee would be another option.

Doing some short clicker-training sessions would also help, as it's far more exhausting using their brains, than it is charging around.

Check-out Kikopup's clicker training videos either on her website or YouTube to help get you started.

It's called doing zoomies and lots of dogs do it - completely normal. Also given various nicknames such as "wall of death" etc. Usually lasts for no more than 4 or 5 minutes or so and is just one of those highly entertaining things they do. Usually followed by collapsing into a happy, panting heap.

Please, also, don't overthink how she is each day, at this stage - even though it's so tempting. She has been with you an incredibly short time, and at the moment she is going through an exhausting and stressful period of adjustment. Everything is new to her - having an exciting run around for five minutes is likely her way of just blowing off some steam.

Agree with giving her a Kong and also at this stage, help her by making each day as routine filled as possible (obviously not to extremes - real life gets in the way). This will help her adjust and settle in quickly.

You didn't mention if she is being served her breakfast before or after her walk? You might find it easier if she is served it after her morning walk - this also reduces the risk of bloat.

Occasional vomiting for no reason (and usually on a day and in a place that is most inconvenient) is just one of those dog things they do. Quite often (TMI) either the vomiter or a passing other dog will then eat it, which at least helps to reduce the cleaning up operation.

Sorry, should have re-read the op. Thought you'd had her a few weeks for some reason, not just a few days.

In that case I'm with Mistle and Scuttle, she's just had and is still going through a lot of change and stress and she's just probably letting off steam.

Still think starting clicker training would be a good idea, as it's a great way of having fun together and bonding, whilst helping her understand what you expect of her.

Thanks everyone, glad to hear her behaviour sounds "normal". I haven't owned a dog as an adult but grew up with them and never remember one behaving like she did this morning! Scheduling in more days in outdoor cafes if it stops raining :o

Happily she can be left alone fine - she barks when I leave but is then quiet if we return without talking - she starts barking when we speak on the drive or open the door. I took the kids out for lunch to give all of us a break, including her! :)

A kong is one of those pencil case shaped treat containers is it? We ordered one but it arrived damaged so have sent it back. She does have those chewy bones made of pigs ear or something like that... She demolishes them very fast!

She doesn't "get" playing fetch yet :( We wanted the treat containing throw toy to teach her. So as yet it isn't a form of exercise in the garden that works - she doesn't run for things we throw at all.

Yes the walk was down a cycle path that swings a long way from the road, so there was a wide open expanse of grass, probably 200 meters wide and 1km long, on one side, and long grass then deep forest on the other. No other dogs - in fact we didn't see another soul - but my boys were being wild with each other, riding bike and running bike up and down ahead of me on that stretch (it was one reason I wanted to go that way - boys needed the walk as much as dog) and playing monsters, like puppies off the lead! She didn't show any desire to chase them but maybe their mood was infectious in the wide open space! She certainly can't be let off the lead yet though or she would most likely never be seen again! :(

This is a kong. Loads of kong stuffing recipes online to try out, if you Google.

Thanks Moose - what I was thinking of is a Dummy of course - all this new vocab! :)

I'm sure the foster "parents" would happily talk to you as well if there are any issues like this that you want advice on - they looked after her for 8 weeks so should know any quirks quite well - and it's reassuring to get advice from loads of different people!

Lady you are right, in fact the fosterer made that offer herself before leaving her with us. Tbh if everyone involved were English speaking I would have rung by now, but although my German works fine face to face, my telephone German is up to booking apts and making simple arrangements but when out of my comfort zone I struggle on the phone. Which is why I've held off making a call for advice, as I forsee not fully understanding what I am told and bluffing just to get to the point where I can put the phone back down! I have a vet apt booked on Thusday and a training class place on Sat and will go from there.

It really sounds like you are doing fantastically after such a short time, tbh. It's bound to take time for everyone to settle down.

I'm sure the training classes will be useful. And I know what you mean with the language, it's much easier face to face, somehow you can make yourself understood (and understand), much more difficult on the phone. Good luck

We're going to meet a dog on Saturday! She's a collie cross, around 8-10 months old. I've spoken to the rescue coordinator and the foster mum today and rambled like an idiot to both of them and they've both been singing her praises. I've asked lots of questions about her and she sounds brilliant. Any other tips? I'm guessing I should take some treats or a present maybe? This is the first rescue dog we've visited so not sure how it works. Thanks :)

I've had two collie crosses in the past. We decided to avoid them when we were looking for a dog this time because they are so high energy. The first one we got you could take for 3 walks (inc a 90min one) and also stand in the garden and throw balls until you got tired twice and she was still wanting to play at 9.30pm. We thought she was hyperactive until we got the 2nd one. Both would have had the potential to get quite good at agility though if we had worked at it. Both lovely dogs (in their own way) but we're much better off with our rescued lurcher who is happy to snooze for much of the day.

Oh - and the first collie cross we had chewed. Anything and everything - worth asking about this so that you're prepared with plenty of the right things to encourage her to chew her things not yours!

Right, will add chewing to the list of questions- thanks! I'm trying to keep an open mind and be honest about whether or not we think she would suit us.

Does it have a 'thing' about balls or sticks?
Will it go and join a football match and loose all knowledge of recall if it sees a ballgame in progress?
Is it food aggressive?
Does it have any issues wrt any particular group in the population (our first one was terrified of children, teenagers - particularly if they had sports bags or equipment, people with sticks, and men.

Is it socialised - are there any types of dogs it doesn't like?
Will it dash off to round up the nearby farm animals/children?
Can it be left alone at home for 2 hrs without accidents / damage?
Is it used to being an only-dog?
Does it travel well (we had one that was dreadfully car sick - solved eventually with the car sick medicine I was getting at the time)
How much more growing it anticipated
How long does it need to be exercised every day.

There are a few of mine if you're new to this sort of thing...

Brilliant, thank you. I've asked a few of those already but will make sure I note down the rest.

Which ones had you missed?

Oh - preferred bedding is also helpful.

Harness / head collar or just collar?

Flexi lead or off lead or short lead all the time?

Chase rabbits or not interested?