Help - rescue dog problems

[Catzeyess]

We have recently rehomed a gorgeous mongrel dog and he is really hard work. We feel a bit duped by the rescue as they told us he was a sweet boy who's only issue was pulling a bit on the lead and had no special requirements (we made it clear we were novice dog owners and didn't want a dog with too many issues).

Once we had taken him on it transpired he was a Romanian stray who has most definitely never been in a home. He is jumpy and terrified of everything, not used to being in a house and normal home noises are stressing him out. He likes being stroked and is gentle and friendly to everyone he meets but whines if left to sit on his own for a bit. He is not housetrained. He knows absolutely no commands at all. He doesn't understand toys and is not interested in food (tried to bury it) and so we are struggling to teach him anything apart from come.

Help! What do we do! We are close to just sending him back but don't want to let him down. Has anyone else had a dog like this and did they turn into a good family pet with a bit of training! What do we do!

Are you walking him on a harness or collar? Use a harness if you're worried about pulling his neck. He will still pull but it wont hurt his neck. If he is flighty I would use a double lead collar/harness in case he slips his collar.

Keep treats with you when walking (if he'll be distracted by those) or a squeaky ball for distraction/to help him move away quickly from the other dog.

With a new dog for a few weeks I'd avoid walking anywhere near other dogs. Pick a big open space where you have a good view of anyone else approaching, and avoid going near others.

Having said that, the other dogs owner was in the wrong and should have control over her dog.

Also, if he was a stray he was prob used to confrontation, but able to get away. The lead restricts him, he can't flee, and then gets agitated/stressed and defensive.

Until you've bonded and become used to each other I really wouldn't overdo the walks and putting yourselves in risky situations. Let him settle in at home, and do short pavement walks close to home to help him adjust to the surrounding area and to learn where 'home' is. If walking on pavements other dogs will be on-lead - its easier to cross road/avoid a dog on the pavement and lead than a dog loose on a field.

Ok thanks for the tips!

I agree short round the block walks and try and not let him sniff other dogs you will come across arsey dog owners you get a thick skin and will be shouting oiy get your dog a stop pull harness might be better as you have better control

Oh no, some other dog owners are so inconsiderate . Something a friend of mine does is to shout to the owners of out of control approaching dogs that her dog is contagious. It makes them scrabble to get their dogs a lot more effectively than just telling them not to approach. You can also shout to them to control their rude dog (in an imperious tone ), its just not on, if people can't control their dog, keep them on a lead so that they don't bother other poor dogs like your poor chap Catz.
Crikey, if a dog did that to one of my three their head would be off their shoulders within seconds.

If you carry some treats, you could throw them away from you to distract the other dog.

Hope you're both OK after your ordeal x.

Bless him he was doing so well! I think I was more traumatised than him though because as soon as the other dog was out of site he was back to walking nicely and sniffing. I really panicked though and started shouting at the owner which probably didn't help. I think I'm a bit jumpy anyway because this whole situation has put me on edge a bit. I think I need to calm down!! think some is in order tonight!

He was really good with some other dogs though had a sniff and walked on so hopefully was a one off, going to try and avoid other dogs for a bit till he is a bit more settled

Tbh his bits were licked no wonder he went for it just let him settle and wine for you

We gave a crate, door open with his basket and fave toys in there. He retreats there for peace and quiet. And having shepherded us up to bed, retreats to it in the evening. The whole house is his but this he doesn't have to share.

The rescue were very irresponsible.
You have had him such a very, very, very short time though. I used to foster rescue dogs. Give him time. Don't try to do too much, too soon. You sound really tense. The more relaxed you are, the more relaxed he will be.
Try him with a harness so he doesn't hurt his neck.
My lovely extremely dog-friendly rescue dog wouldn't be pleased if another dog hassled him/licked his winky whilst he was on his lead.
At this stage I'd just concentrate on letting him settle into your home/new environment. Allow him to find his paws, so to speak.
All the best, I really hope he finds a lovely new home with you x

Hi OP this lead is great for sending a clear message to other owners
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00BXL66IU/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1436995864&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX200_QL40&keywords=Nervous+lead&dpPl=1&dpID=51c6FkueMRL&ref=plSrch

It'll be useful as there are lots of things you don't know how he'll react to yet.

Agree with keeping treats/toy with you and start by doing 'focus' training in the house. You want him to look to you for guidance when he's unsure and you can start this by teaching him a 'focus' voice command. Make eye contact with him (you can raise a treat to eye level to facilitate this) and when he's looking at you give a voice command and reward him. He'll soon associate the command with looking at you. Then when you're out and about and you see something you think might worry him you can give the command to get his attention away from the potential trigger and on to you and stop his anxiety escalating.

Hi Catz, we took on a Romanian rescue dog a while back and we were not given the full picture by the rescue. It used to upset me so much that our new dog would ignore me or cower when I came into the room. I'd say its only today that he's shown any idea of me being his main carer. He still sleeps under the table and most of the day is disinterested in us, but when he came he was constantly shaking and hiding, as you say didn't know about toys, they don't seem to like the feel of certain things in their mouth - someone said bread above and yes that's right, soft bread they may go for.

Mine has been ill so he's been on chicken and has done really well (not sure it can go on for ever though!) I wish the rescue had been more honest as for a long time they made me feel like it was my fault and that I was "over anxious". You know how some people really undermine you., anyway, maybe he will never be the loving lap dog I wanted, but I hope we can make a good life together.

Please do keep posting, I think we need a rescue dog support thread!

Good to hear from you Burning yes definitely! Feel free to hijack if you have questions for people too! I'm learning lots (crash course in dog psychology over the last few days!)

My DH is still not sure about our little rommie, but I think that's mainly because he cocked his leg and peed on him yesterday when they went out for a walk and he cowers a lot when DH is around and is generally more subdued indoors.

When DH left for work this morning he ran up to me tail and bum wagging in a big circle which he has never done so I nothing he might be beginning to see me as his person. And so far there has been less whining this morning

Aw, it's great to see you've got the waggy bum reaction so quickly :)
Reading your story with interest. I think he'll get used to DH over time and then maybe in a few weeks he could do some simple training to build up a bond (perhaps practicing things you've taught him already rather than learning new things).

Aw that's lovely Catz!

I am going to start another thread as I have a very specific question, our new dog is still ill and there are issues with the charity that gave him to us, so if you'll excuse me I'll be off for now, back later though - hope you have a good day today.

Just marking my place as I would love to know how you get on with your rescue Rommie.

You are doing so well - and agree that you have been badly misled by the rescue.

Good luck.

actually I am back - my details are so specific I reckon someone in our local Rommie dog community will spot and dob me in. I think I'll PM a few Doghouse regulars who supported me when my last dog died and get their opinions - but just as a general query - how successful are Romanian dog charities; do the adoptions generally fail because of lack of honesty and preparation or are the horror stories very few and far between? Had I gone to somewhere like the Dogs Trust I would have expected a lot more help

Just to clarify - my issue that I want to discuss elsewhere is that my dog is ill, but before that, when we got him, I struggled with his behaviour as I was shocked how frightened he was. So I'm empathising with Catz on that ifyswim and asking if there is more of a problem with these dogs than the rescues would have us believe.

Hi OP, sorry I haven't read the whole thread yet, I have a romanian rescue puppy and wanted to let you know that there is a Facebook group for romanian dog rescuers: Support and advice for ex-stray dog owners that you might want to join. There are members who have lots of experience of these dogs and will be able to advise you. Good luck!

Off to read the thread now...

Don't get me wrong he is still really jumpy and is not eating properly, so we have a long way to go, but it was lovely to see a happy tail wag. The rescue did not prepare us at all for the serious anxiety he is displaying.

He is not panting with anxiety as much today though which is good.

Sorry to hear your dog is struggling with health burning as I said we were not even told he was Romanian until we found his passport. I was under the impression he was an unwanted UK pet who was given up and had a few minor issues like lead pulling.

We've had our little Irish stray for just over 6 weeks. The first days were very tough on all of us, he seemed wholly unfamiliar with life inside a home, he would rip your hand off if he thought he might get some food, he had no manners, he had no idea about recall and 'sit' was a word that meant nothing to him but over the last six weeks he has come along in leaps and bounds. Have hope Catz they are well worth the love, our boy is repaying us taking him in ten thousand fold.

GreenMouse I tried to click on your link but it didn't work, could you post it again please?

hungrywoman I've just realised it's a secret group, which might be why the link doesn't work, admin must have recently changed the settings! Let me ask if I can add you.

If any of you would like to be added to the FB group I linked to earlier please PM me your email address.

Try not to clap to stop him doing things you don't want him to do OP.

If he's frighten of loud or sudden noises you're creating the potential for him to become even more nervous.

As pps have said give it more time before you start training. And do it with rewards and lots of praise when he does what you want, rather than making scary noises when he doesn't do what you want.

Ah this is hard work, we have a lovely moment and then something scares him and he goes a bit feral. Now he has decided he is scared of our bedroom bin, he sniffed it and it russled and he jumped back a mile and started pacing and whining again. I'm just not sure what to do with him when he is like that. Do I ignore him? Or try and calm him down.

He is not food motivated in the slightest, although he managed to eat half his dinner tonight (which is good because he must have been starving not having eaten properly in days!)

We are going to have to leave him for a few hours tonight as me and DH have an arrangement we can't miss - any tips! He was seemingly fine when I left him for 20 minutes yesterday so fingers crossed he is ok.

As tempting as it is, don't stroke him when he gets spooked out by something and is fearful, especially if he likes affection and strokes, because as far as he's concerned you're 'rewarding' his fear.

Try talking to him calmly. When my dog is scared by something, usually a cat at the moment, I find if I talk to her and just repeat that she's okay, she accepts that she's okay and then I treat her when she's calm.

Now if something's a bit scary, she'll often look at me as if she wants me to tell her how she should react and once I've told her she's okay, she'll relax and accept that I know best and then she'll get a treat.

We've got over quite a few scary things that way; cats are a work in progress, but we're getting there.