Settling a rescue dog

[LaCerbiatta]

We just got a rescue dog. She came from abroad, was a stray and is ~6 years old.

We created a safe space for her under the stairs, closed with a canvas type of gate, and she stayed there for the first 24h, just out to the garden for wees. 24h in, which was yesterday at 4am, she got really unsettled, managed to get out through under the gate and rushed downstairs, thrashing against the garden door to get out. We thought she was desperate for a wee and took her out, but she really just needed to get out. Probably not used to being indoors.

Last night we decided to put her bed downstairs, to avoid the mad running down the stairs in the middle of the night, but again she did the same thing, completely desperate to get out, pushing against the blinds :-(

Now in hindsight I really wish we had got a crate, we just thought the safe space under the stairs would work better, but is it too late now? We really want to get one but don't want to cause any additional stress...

Any other suggestions or ideas? I have experience of dogs but maybe underestimated what it would be like bringing a 6 year old stray into a small house :-)

Just to add, she's a fairly large dog. Maybe height of a border collie, but much wider :-)

It takes a while for a rescue to adjust. Did you find her full background from the rescue. When I got my rescue he just cowered in the corner for 3 days in the same spot. It takes a couple of months to settle in so don't expect to much. Everyday they build up a bit more confidence. It's a slow process. Mine was crated and I think he was just left locked in on no training not even basic commands. I suspect your dog is terrified like mine was. Personally I have never used a crate and never will. I've let my dogs find their own spot to sleep. Months down the line my rescue is now a different dog. It takes time.

I doubt you can crate train a dog of that age.

With our rescue the only thing that helped was time. It takes a lot of time for them to feel 'at home'. All you can do is be gentle, lots of love and no getting annoyed with her. She's probably so confused still.

As a side note, while she is still this flighty, be soooooooo careful about taking her on a walk. With my boy we took him on a walk in the first week and he slipped his lead. He didn't know us well enough to come back when we called for him and bolted. We managed to get him back but could have been so much worse.

Speak to the rescue to see if she is familiar & comfortable with crates, she will have had to be in one most probably to be transported, so hopefully they will have done some crate training & can tell you how she coped.
But with potentially traumatised rescues, you've got a few days of decompression whilst they adjust to the massive upheaval, a few weeks of acclimatisation to their new circumstances & then months of training & bonding, so don't expect anything to happen quickly!
If you can establish a safe space, give her the resources she needs & a solid routine, hopefully she will settle v soon & stop feeling she is trapped & needs to escape.
What is her history?

@Ihaventgottimeforthis

Speak to the rescue to see if she is familiar & comfortable with crates, she will have had to be in one most probably to be transported, so hopefully they will have done some crate training & can tell you how she coped. But with potentially traumatised rescues, you've got a few days of decompression whilst they adjust to the massive upheaval, a few weeks of acclimatisation to their new circumstances & then months of training & bonding, so don't expect anything to happen quickly! If you can establish a safe space, give her the resources she needs & a solid routine, hopefully she will settle v soon & stop feeling she is trapped & needs to escape. What is her history?

That pretty much...

Also I’d have her on a longline even in the garden just now, ones you think are fairly secure can have weak spots for a scared determined dog.

And there’s absolutely no way you need to be worrying about walks yet, they recommend leaving it at least a week even with dogs with a known background of living in a house with people.

She came from Romania, was a stray dog living on the street, so no crate training whatsoever from the rescue. She was transported in a crate in a van (for 4 days ☹) but I doubt that would count as crate training!

We found a crate and will try it tonight, see if she settles in it. We want to use it just for these first few days, while she's waking up in the middle of the night anxious and disorientated.

I know the advice is not to worry about walks, but she's loving them and comes back so much more relaxed and settled. I think for a dog living on the streets being confined all-day is also causing some anxiety.

Transporting her for four DAYS in a crate when she's never been crate trained is highly irresponsible on behalf of the rescue. Are they a reputable organisation? No wonder the poor thing is terrified and desperate to escape.

Does she have to be put in a crate? Would it not be better to put her in a regular bed in your room for a while?

Our rescuer, not a 'rescue' is a kind generous woman who does her best for stray, starving dogs she finds on the street. I would imagine crate training would be a luxury she couldn't possibly afford or have the conditions to do. She's doing what she can to find nice homes to these poor dogs with incredibly limited resources.

Sadly that means that they may struggle a bit more to adjust, but we'll get there with patience and a crate (or not! 😀)

I really didn't want to use a crate and that's why we didn't use one from the start, but the middle of the night anxiety attacks are making us reconsider 🙂

Aww bless, poor wee thing.

If they are saying the other dog was a 'stray' bit yours is a rescue, I wonder what background they have for her, I'd start by seeing if anymore info is available.

With the crate, I'd out a blanket over the back half of it, a bed and some water/snacks & let her go in it if she wants to - more as a 'safe space' than somewhere she's put.

I'd out another bed in the lounge and I'd sleep on the sofa.

Leave the kitchen blind up/remove it if you're worried about her destroying it.

It's a S l o W process with traumatised rescues 🐾

Oh bless her. When we first brough Ddog home she was a bit like this, not so much in the night but if anything upset or startled her she would race round the house at top speed, panting, banging into things, knocking things over, rucking up the rugs, I once had to physically prevent her from throwing herself down the stairs. It was sheer panic and fear and it was horrible to watch. It took a few weeks for her to calm down, and I'd say a few months before it totally stopped happening.

Poor girl probably has absolutely no idea what's going on, isn't used to being in a house and wakes up panicked and disoriented. Could one of you sleep downstairs with her for a few nights so she has easier access to the door, but isn't alone? Given her background of being on the streets it may be that she actually needs not to be in a confined space to feel comfortable, even though for most dogs its the other way round.

An Adaptil collar/diffuser might help calm her slightly as well, they are not a miracle cure but they can help.

Thanks!

Sorry I don't think I explained well. There's only one dog! She was a stray (living on the street) that was rescued by this lady who sent her over. She was in a shelter for 2 weeks just before travelling. So that's all the background there is to know. 🙂

Our girl had been kept in a whelping box for most of her life, so we put a couple of beds around the house. Kitchen / hall / living room and she can roam around freely. I don’t think she likes being shut in and wouldn’t like a crate.
Maybe let yours pick her own favourite spot? It will take a while...I had a few weeks of coming down in the middle of the night to comfort her as she was afraid of the dark, but she’s a lot more secure now.

Bless her.
I think it's a case of be led by her then with the crate - pop it down somewhere casually and see how she reacts, if she investigates it confidently it might be a goer, if she hates it then it might be too much trouble & stress for her.
Hopefully in a few days she will start to get the idea, just be really really careful to not let her escape from her lead etc whilst she's still a flight risk.
Good luck OP

I think it’s the fact your dog isn’t used to being inside and gets scared so wants to be outside. It’s a strange place for a rescue dog to be. Also just a thought but she hadn’t just had puppies when they found her had she? I wonder if she wants to find them and that’s why she panics.

No puppies recently, no. Don't think she was ever pregnant

I am just wondering if, as both these incidents seem to have happened when she is alone at night in an enclosed/semi-enclosed space, that she woke out of sleep and didn't know where she was except that she was "trapped" and alone, so then got into a panicky state. I definitely would not try to put her in a crate (being a very enclosed space for her, especially after her nightmare journey to UK) and, if you can, I would try putting her bed in your room so she knows she is not entirely alone and you can quickly reassure her with soothing words if you hear her waking up.

As others have said, it takes rescues a long time to gain confidence and feel settled. My (UK) rescue is quite a brave girl but it took her at least 2 months, if not 3, to relax and become a confident dog. Even now, she has fears that definitely stem from her time on the London streets (certain noises and children too close by make her very scared). It may take more time than that for an overseas rescue to settle in, especially one who has had to live a long time on its wits until it was (scarily) trapped and caged to get it off the streets.