fostering abandoned old dog - need help!

[nudnikit]

I live in a country with a dire situation for animals. We have a few rescue pets we've picked up along the way (one dog and two cats) as I'm a sucker for a sob story.

Now we just agreed to foster an old boy (at least 9+) who was found by a rescue as he'd been abandoned by the side of the road. He was clearly a pet before and not a street-wise street dog and in a terrible condition so couldn't be left there. He's now being treated for blood parasites from tick bites and he has a very swollen and inflamed paw which is also being treated. He's also underweight.

He came to us today and we now have two problems I need some advice on please!

1. He chases the cats. We do have a babygate so the cats (who are indoor) have a dog free space upstairs (obviously wiht litter, food and water). But one of them insists on coming downstairs and the dog is chasing him (surpisingly fast given his condition!!) and barking at him. From what I read, it's important to give the cats space but the cat is choosing to come down so not sure if this should be a concern. Should I expect this to get worse as the dog settles? Or better as it becomes less of a novelty? And anything I can do with an old boy to get him to change?

2. The previous foster, who only had him a few days, just told me he is destructive at night. VERY destructive. He ruined a couch and a lamp. And that he howls at 4 or 5 in the morning. They didn't tell me this before I agreed to take him on :) Any ideas how to manage this one? Never had a seriously destructive dog before (or even a puppy - always adopted adult dogs).

We're only fostering so we can give the dog back if it doesn't work out but there are way more dogs in need of home than there are fosterers/adopters so our long term plan would be to care for him for as long as we can offer him a good home - so we want this to work out for him!

Have you a small room that you can strip for him to be shut in overnight?

Regarding the cats can you keep him on a long leash and do some training to reduce his reactivity the cats and keep them safe?

I would reconsider fostering him due to the cats tbh

I think if I was in a normal country then, I would definitely reconsider. But I do know that there aren't many options available for old dogs. Not sure where he would go :(
We have a crate for our resident dog - but that's her space and she's crate trained. I think this dog might find it hard.
I'm thinking I might bring him up to our bedroom. We shut the door to the cats at night in our room so they won't be in there.

I admire your compassion in helping this old boy.

I can offer nothing with respect to the cats - my 2 hate the, have always hated them, and apparently always will, despite my early socialisation attempts.

With respect to the destructive tendencies. I would start by getting him as calm as possible - adaptil collars, diffusers, tablets , or Rescue remedy - just while he settles in. Diffusers help the other pets too.
Where does he sleep ? Would a crate be of any help ? I am not a fan but they do have their uses, especially with a cover to block out light.
Can you isolate him somewhere with little to chew and put bitter apple on what remains? Does he like to chew - antlers? YAK chews? Frozen kongs?
Any clue as to the early howling? Is that dawn where you are? Can he hold his bladder - maybe try getting up , as you would with a puppy to let him out briefly and gradually extend the time?
Clearly you are experienced so you may have tried all the above, but with my rescue, we focussed on relieving anxiety and the rest followed.

He literally arrived this morning! We've had him only about 12 hours (evening where we are now). And the previous foster just now texted me that he's destructive and sent me photos (as below). They think the problem is that he is lonely (he was found with another dog who was fostered in a different family). I'm not sure about this theory...
He has a bed that he came with and I was going to leave him downstairs but now thinking twice.
He seems pretty chilled and relaxed although not sure if he's shut down a bit with all the changes in his life (10 days ago discovered after being abandoned > vets > 1st foster --> now us) plus he's on a lot of meds for his poorly infected paw.
Our resident dog isn't a big chewer unless it's something like a bone so we don't have much for him to chew on today - I can get stuff tomorrow. The previous foster didn't mention him chewing on anything.

If he’s big enough to hurt or kill a cat I would reconsider fostering. It would be awful if he hurt them.

If you don’t think cats are in danger I would keep them separate and only let them meet once he’s settled in and when you can supervise him - I think usual advice is to put him on a lead and give treats whenever cats appear to create positive association. Let him smell them through a door, then see them from a distance/through a baby gate, and build up from there.
A tall cat tree or bit of furniture near entrance to room would give bolder cat a chance to have a look from a safe height.

If hes only destructive when alone at night it suggests separation anxiety? Best bet is probably for him to sleep in your bedroom or one of you sleeps on sofa in room with him, at least until you can do some training to get him comfortable with being left or until he’s calmed down a bit.

I'm sure with the cat is that he is just chasing, I don't think he'll do anything. He was already hesitant when the cat stood his ground. I'm hoping that they will get on better as they get used to each other. The thing is i can't stop the cat coming down but we do have the baby gate in place to stop the dog going up.
I'll get some cat trees and place them strategically around downstairs so he can get away if he needs to.

Also not sure how much is genuine separation anxiety or just total confusion on the part of the dog. His paw must also be hurting him a lot, it really doesn't look good

Bless him, poor soul, a bit confused.

Given that he’s just arrived, I would say remove anything precious from his path of destruction, likewise anything likely to harm him. He may appreciate the company of your existing dog and that may help him settle. Cats, as you say, they know how to escape , and he will probably get used to them .
Maybe just regular checks on his first night to reassure yourself, and the dog that all is Ok.

This sounds like a very complex case.

He's underweight, malnourished, full of parasites and injured - that's hard enough without the added issues (the cats and the severe destruction).

I think he needs to be in safe a space on his own where he can't cause any damage until he's back to full (or decent) health. Anything else is just going to be too overwhelming and will potentially set back any recovery time. A crate or pen or a safe room would be ideal - you then go to him to spend time with him rather than have him come to you.

While he's recovering, you can work on gaining his trust and just spending time with him - then work on the destruction and the cat chasing once he's healthy and settled. You may find both behaviours stop (or at least improve) once he's feeling better and has settled in.

Good luck 💐

We tried utility room on his own. He was wailing, couldn't leave him in distress like that. We've brought him up to our bedroom and he's quiet and settled at least

Poor old boy, what he's been through when he should be chilling out in his twilight years 😰

The rescue is sending a behaviourist tomorrow. Hopefully she'll be able to help.
She said to leash the dog now inside to make sure he can't get at the cats or let him roam around outside. It's likely he was an outside pet as that's the default here for local dogs outside of condos in the city so he's very comfortable hanging about in the garden.

She also thinks we should crate train him so the rescue is sending something we can use. Apparently the first couple of nights he spent with one of the rescuers and he was fine at her house. They told me the first foster family had had problems with destructive dogs in the past so it could be something about their set up. Luckily we only have old Ikea furniture for the dog to destroy but would still rather he didn't trash our downstairs!