Newly rehomed dog - anxiety! questions! training!

[florisse]

We have just rehomed a friendly, daft Lab x Collie mix - a 2 yr old boy. First night last night - generally everything is pretty good for day 2. (That is, aside from anxiety caused by my mum freaking out about dogs being dangerous and mauling children and barking all night waking us up 🙄)

Anyway, DD (9) is Autistic and out of school at the moment, waiting for the right kind of EHCP support so our lives are extremely restricted - we dont get to go out much and since the dog has been here she's been out for a couple of long walks in the sun. I'm hoping to do some training with DDog, to help with emotional support and anxiety - public transport and getting out of the house especially.

I've booked him in for neutering first and foremost, but want to work on training too. He does follow some commands - but he gets very excited and wants to play, pulls on the lead etc. It's all very new for him and us - but I don't want bad habits to set in while he's getting used to us.

So - can I ask?
Thoughts on training online or in person? Pros / cons?
Gentle Leader? Useful or cruel? Have found 2 polar views on this!
Has anyone trained their own dog as an Autistic support dog?
Great ways to tire out / stimulate a lively dog when indoors?

Thanks so much from a new (and now unnecessarily anxious) dog owner 😌

It's only day 2, so don't rush!

In person training is definitely recommended over online. What works online may not work exactly for you, better to have someone experienced watch you and your dog in person. A good trainer is really training you, not the dog. Dogs Trust do good in person Dog School classes which are very reasonably priced.

Brain training is good for tiring out dogs as much as long walks - so things like puzzle feeders, or tuning into his Labrador instincts of finding things, you can hide a favourite toy or snack and work with him to hunt it out.

In person training is a must. If you can find a good KC club near you that does the good citizen scheme that is a great starting point.

A lab collie is going to be smart! He is going to need a further job to do unless you want him to cause all manner of trouble. Consider agility, or scentwork, hoopers etc. If you find a good training club they will point you in the right direction.

I would say with a note of caution - day 2 is extremely early days so his true personality won't show yet. As for training as an emotional support animal you will be specialist help for this. I would say it is a big stretch for a rescue with potential baggage to be able to fulfil this role - most are carefully bred and selected for temperament from a very early age.

I would hold off any training for a good couple of weeks and just feed him, play with him and let him decompress as he won't learn anything now anyway as his cortisol and adrenaline will be somewhere up here /gestures at the roof.

He sounds a lovely boy though.

Thanks so much - will definitely follow up on the training suggestions.

He has been rehomed from a family not too far from us, so his history is known to an extent and he's lived with a similarly aged child since a puppy. But totally appreciate he'll be confused and overwhelmed being a new environment. I won't worry or rush! Was worrying I should be doing more from the off... !

Please don't get him neutered yet - he's barely been with you 24 hours. You don't know what his true personality is like and neutering can cause more problems than it solves in some cases. You also can't take it back so I would make sure you're 100% necessary before you commit.

To try and answer the rest of your post.

Thoughts on training online or in person? Pros / cons?
Training should be in person, especially with a rescue. Online training has its' uses for things like trick training or very basics commands, but otherwise it's as much about teaching you as it is about teaching them.

Gentle Leader? Useful or cruel? Have found 2 polar views on this!
Personally I don't agree with any kind of head collar - the only time (IMO) they should be used is when it's physically unsafe to walk a dog without one - but it should only be a temporary measure while you get training put in place.

Has anyone trained their own dog as an Autistic support dog?
You will need professional help for this and it's not something to even think about until the dog is truly settled with you, which could take 6-12 months.

Great ways to tire out / stimulate a lively dog when indoors?
Natural chews, feed him from puzzle feeders/lickmats and kongs, scatter his food around the garden for him to find - something like agility would be good long-term but again, you'll need to wait until he's settled in.

I would also say that the best skill you can teach an energetic dog is "settle'. They need to learn to be quiet and that they won't get attention all the time.

Thanks @coffeecupsandwaxmelts - that's interesting about neutering. I had thought generally that all dogs and cats should be neutered unless you'll be breeding from them. Rescues neuter as a matter of course so I'd presumed owner just didn't because it was an extra expense / procedure.

Is that incorrect? The research I've done doesn't really bring anything up against it, but of course I'll look into it further if I'm missing something!

@florisse rescues neuter to prevent unwanted litters, not necessarily because it's the best thing for the animal.

So, neutering in male dogs eliminates the risk of prostate cancer and obviously prevents unwanted puppies, but it can cause an increase in reactivity and nervousness in dogs who are already displaying those behaviours.

I'm not saying absolutely never neuter him, but wait until he's properly settled in and you know what his personality is like. You can also opt for chemical castration to see whether it causes any issues with his personality before fully committing to neutering :)

Thanks so much - that makes sense and I had read about the chemical implant as a 'try before you buy' option! Let's see how the next few months go... appreciate your replies, thanks for the training / activity recs

I am in a similar position with a new rescue dog. Have a look at the 3/3/3 guidance (3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months) loads about it from Google / most rescue centres.

It is early days, but I would say start gentle training using positive reinforcement immediately as dogs like routine and to know what is expected of them. As previous posters have said, it's very early days and he is still learning to trust you. I am allocating part of the daily food ration as positive training rewards, and will be gradually increasing as we bond. I will also be trying to find a class locally. Mostly to train me (it's usually us that need training 😉)

Good luck.

Thanks @HappiestSleeping that's pretty much what we're doing re positive reinforcement. I've registered interest in dogs trust dog school classes thanks to the PP on here... and I had read about the 3-3-3 rule, maybe I need to print it out and stick it on my mirror to remind me every day

Hope all goes well for you too!

Good luck he sounds like a great dog. What worked best with our rescue was getting some one to one training at home. We worked on attention and calmness and a few basic commands. The trainer included the whole family and explained to the children how to behave around the dog too. We did 5 one to one sessions. Then about 6months after we got him I did classes with him too.
Keep it really calm to start with don't introduce him to loads of people and keep walk's quiet.

@florisse I have been walking a lot with mine and it's really beginning to show results. 10 to 12 miles a day over 2 or 3 walks. Time consuming but a really great way to bond. I am spending a lot of time gradually building up the area we travel in so that I don't immerse him suddenly and constantly in unfamiliar territory but he isn't pulling anywhere near as much.

Keep going and good luck to you too.