Is my dog bored?

[CrazyNewDogLady]

I rescued a dog on Saturday. She's lovely. She's nervous because some cunt kept her locked in a cage on a puppy farm but she's getting attached to us and I even got to belly rub this morning.

I just don't want her to be bored.

I take her out about three times a day for 20 minutes round the block, after which she sleeps for a couple of hours.

She's got loads of toys but hasn't shown any interest in any of them at all. She's played with toys before because she was fostered but when she was fostered she had another dog to show her the ropes.

She can't jump up so can't sit on the sofa and look out of the window.

Sometimes she just lies on her blanket (she won't get into her basket, that's maybe another thread!) and looks around at the room and I'm getting so worried that she's bored.

Not just yet because she's only been home for a couple of days but is there anything I can do to make sure she's not bored?

I want to make her life as good as possible.

She's about 3 and is a border terrier cross.

TIA

[Mrscaindingle]

She's gorgeous, I know what you mean about the sad face, I have a border terrier and I'm always thinking he looks sad and fed up but I think it's just his resting face They have big soulful eyes that seem to speak to you.

[mrssmith79]

So pleased you've updated, she sounds adorable - and like she's already got you sussed

[CrazyNewDogLady]

Sorry everyone. Last week was manic at work!

She's called Blossom. We think she's had two or three litters. She's not long come out of season so she'll be neutered in a couple of months. Thankfully she'll be settled and know us well but then so won't hate us too much.

She's been with us just over a week and she's really settled down very well. She spends most of the day in her basket sleeping. She is, however, starting to test the boundaries a little bit as another poster said she might. On walks for example if she decides she wants to go in the opposite direction she'll just stop dead and wait for me to go her way. She definitely didn't do this in the first few days. Cheeky monkey.

Toilet training is going okay-ish. She's semi-toilet trained. She wees and poos overnight but never while we're in the house and up. We're changing some of her routines to try and tackle this but we wanted her to settle in before we went hard with toilet training.

[problembottom]

Oh look at her! She's a beaut.

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

I have an adopted spaniel, he was about eight months old when he came to us and to begin with he didn't know how to play with toys or how to live with humans really as he'd been a stray from a young age and it is felt that before he came to us he lived outside (possibly with other working dogs). It has taken him a good six months to become just a dog, he is no longer scared of every day household items and activities but he is my limpet, wherever I go, he comes too. It's taken months for him to allow us to stroke his belly and he now has a favourite ball that he brings to me in exchange for being allowed to sit on my lap!

I bet that over the coming weeks and months she will come on in leaps and bounds.

[KittyBeans72]

oh she's lovely! I have exactly the same issue with my rescues. I've never owned a dog before and I'm not sure what they're supposed to do. he gets 4 walks a day and he gets fed after each one, always in a Kong (get a couple so you can rotate the washing) so it takes him longer and keeps him occupied. I also freeze the lunchtime kong so it takes him longer to get the food out and he has to lick it a lot. he doesn;t really do much else. I'm not complaining, i'm delighted he just wants to lie around and snooze, but I do worry that he's bored.

[LizzieMacQueen]

As she was rescued from a puppy farm and she's now 3, how many litters do the vets think she's had? Do dogs miss their young, I guess they must do.

I don't think she's bored, just a bit bewildered.

Good luck.

[pigsDOfly]

Yes, this does seem to be accepted by a lot of people that you shouldn't given a frightened dog too much reassurance but I know with my dog that if she's nervous about something - usually walking past something strange, as she not generally a nervous dog - she'll look up at me and I'll say, 'it's okay, you're fine' and she'll accept that as reassurance that I'm in control of the situation.

Obviously I realise that the words I use are irrelevant - dog's english isn't that good:) - and it's my tone of voice, but it's become the way we deal with unknown things. Can't see any harm in making an animal feel it's being protected and is safe.

[LilCamper]

Reassuring her won't make it worse. being anxious is an emotion and not a behaviour, She can't help being a bit scared. Reassure away, you can't reinforce an emotion.

If a child wakes up from a nightmare scared the first thing you do is give them a hug....hugs don't make them more scared.

[MelanieCheeks]

I don't think you need to keep all the doors open. She probably needs a sense of security, rather than freedom to go where she likes. She's a cutie pie, enjoy!

[lukasgrahamfan]

BTW in my experience rescue dogs and rehomed older dogs are angels for about 3-4 weeks....and they gradually start testing the boundaries in a few ways as they get confident and their feet under the table!

It means they feel settled, happy and secure enough with you to try their luck see if you love them in my humble opinion! Just what I have found with mine.

[lukasgrahamfan]

Look at 'thunder jackets' on the net. It may help her in some situations and I think there are good reviews. They also help with fireworks and maybe just good to have one around? She looks lovely, and I wish you many happy times with her.

What is her name?

[CrazyNewDogLady]

I think the trembling might well be because of a change in routine. Whenever we change an activity like go from talking at the dining table to washing up or from watching TV to me being on the phone, she starts to tremble.

I've been giving her some reassurance when she does it but not too much as a friend advised not to reward her for this but just to carry on and let her see everything's okay.

It's only day four so I'm sure everything will come out in the wash.

insan1tly I do love a good dog jumper! I might see how she is with one in the coming weeks.

[pigsDOfly]

She's gorgeous and you're clearly smitten.

Sounds like the shivering could be nervousness. She's had an awful lot of changes in her life so far.

Hopefully once she know she can relax it will stop.

[insan1tyscartching]

Oh lovely dog I wonder if she's trembling rather than shivering? Eric's a trembler when he's worried. A change of routine sets him off. He has a knitted sweater that he wears that seems to calm him down, I wonder if yours would like to wear one?

[CrazyNewDogLady]

She's a star.

I'm worried she's a bit cold though. She seems to be shivering quite a lot. The trouble is we've got all the doors open so she can come and go so it's a bit drafty. It might just be nerves at her new surroundings.

Either way, she's wonderful

[mrssmith79]

Gorgeous

[CrazyNewDogLady]

Here she is in her foster home!

[mrssmith79]

Surely I'm not the only one who needs a pic of this lovely girl . Come on OP

[CrazyNewDogLady]

Thanks pigsDOfly I'll definitely be doing some brain work with her once she's settled. She's got a pretty good vocabulary already so I'm sure she'll learn lots.

[pigsDOfly]

You might find she never plays with toys, some dogs don't. My dog is not big on toys, has one or two that she likes but rarely plays by herself so unless I play with her, when we're in the house, she tends to sit and doze or watches me. I will rub her tummy and have a little chat as I pass her or do a bit of training with her from time to time but otherwise she likes to do her own thing i.e. relaxing.

You're giving her plenty of walks so she's probably not bored, just finding her feet in a new home so is a bit quiet. When she's a bit more settled you could try some brain work with her, just teaching some simple tricks will get her brain working and make her tired and relaxed.

Dogs do spend a lot of time just sitting and staring and as pps have said a bored dog is usually destructive.

She'll be happy enough to be in a loving home, the rest will follow. :)

[CrazyNewDogLady]

Redcherries We've got her a few teddies but no plastic eyes, thanks for the advice. Good to know in future

[CrazyNewDogLady]

Oh thanks ever so much for all the replies. I'm glad to hear that you guys don't think she sounds bored. She was rescued from a puppy farm and she's got such a sad face, I just want to make every single moment good for her

We're taking it really slowly at her pace. We've taken her on a few short walks around the block over the last couple of days which she seems to love. We haven't ventured far yet as she's still nervous and we want to get her confident walking around an area she knows well where nothing much happens, rather than a noisy unpredictable park.

Other than that, we've just left her to her own devices. We've put her toys out but she's not shown any interest.

She's snoring on a blanket at the minute

[mrssmith79]

Probably more bewildered than bored, poor little love. You've done a wonderful thing - I'm sure once she's settled it'll fall into place.

[Redcherries]

If you do consider a teddy bear/soft toy avoid any with plastic eyes. (If she doesn't already have one)