Oh my giddy god......

[HangingOver]

I can't actually believe I'm finally typing this... I think I'm getting a dog!

I've wanted one of my own my entire life. I had one growing up and look after friends and neighbours at every available opportunity as I adore dogs so much. A rescue came up locally and I thought he looked lovely, he was snapped up immediately, but came up again yesterday! Me and DP are meeting him this afternoon.

Any tips for meeting a rescue for the first time? Other than being gentle and calm? He's 8 months so a bouncy chap.

ARGGGH! So excited. 😁

Relatable 😂

It's much more effective if you use a red glitter pen to note the demonic possession periods.

I don't think we can possibly offer any more advice or support as it's been WEEKS since we last saw a photo of the bat dog.

Ah sounds like he is settling in nicely 🐾

Demonic possession actually lasted 3pm-6pm today I think it will be very unfair if I get a witching hour on top of that. 🤣

That would be unfair. What on earth did he do for 3 hours?

He barked a lot. He put his paws on the counter and tried to get into the sink roughly every 6 minutes. He stared at me in an offended way every time I tried to stop him getting in the sink.

BUT he's been so bloody lovely otherwise. It's such a rollercoaster isn't it! I'm oscillating hourly between "What in the fuck have I done" and "Everything will be fine".

So lovely to follow your posts about your gorgeous dog's first days with you @HangingOver . You sound so caring and loving and, with a little work and time your boy is going to be just fine.

The first few days and weeks are a rollercoaster but I bet you one thing - one day, when your boy is old and grey and following you around the garden on creaky legs, you will say to your husband, 'Ahhh, remember when the dear old fellow was possessed by demons and used to get in the sink, how wonderful that was. I wish we could turn back the clock and see him doing that again.'

Our beloved dog died of old age last year and our memories of her 'going bananas/jumping on the dashboard as we were driving along/stealing our pants from the washing' years are so precious.

It's all going to be worth the ups and downs and your heart will be stolen forever.

OP have you been recommended a behaviourist by the rescue? Most rescues usually have a partner behaviourist, and I honestly think you would benefit from getting some help now before he starts turning these new quirks into habits, as they will get harder to break the longer he gets away with them!

He sounds like a bit more than a handful (my boy was the same) and he will absolutely walk all over you if you let him get away with murder; three hours of chaos is excessive! It all becomes a game for him if he does something ‘naughty’ and you give him attention, whether that is positive or negative.

I would hate for you to end up with a helldog like we did because we left it too late to get proper help as we had absolutely no bloody idea what we were doing. He is better now but he is not a ‘normal’ dog, and never will be because we fucked up and didn’t get the professional help we desperately needed until we were deep in the pits of reactivity, aggression and fear.

Yep @hereismydog we did our first Zoom Sunday and have signed up to his course, he's helped us so much already

Also, it's not even been a week yet so I don't think the sink thing was him being naughty exactly. He's very very sensitive atm. He "hurt" he paw earlier (barely touch it) and he was devastated. He came to my whining earlier because he had a bit of foam from his bed stuck on his lip. DDog has a lot of feelings right now. On the zoom with the trainer we went through 3-3-3 again and he pointed out in his last two homes DDog didn't even get to the second 3. 🥺

Exactly, he isn’t being ‘naughty’ because he hasn’t learnt how to be good yet!

He’s still a little teenager with ALL the feelings and he’s testing them all out at once. He’ll be a wonderful boy with time and patience, just gotta keep hanging in there. At least he’s being a little wanker now rather than waiting a year or so like mine did, after making us fall in love with the beautiful, gentle soul he once was and then turning into a feral beast overnight!

I’m glad you’re working with a trainer, it’s time and money very well spent for a happy dog and happy owners.

You sound such a kind and loving person. He is so lucky, as others have said.

Could you have shut the kitchen door so he couldn’t go in there? Or maybe get a stair gate fitted to the kitchen so he can see you in there but only enter with permission ( & not while counter surfing!)

Does he have access to water at all times? Some rescues we've fostered would take any opportunity to drink, because they weren't used to having water. They would also try to climb into the sink or lick shower walls. Which resulted in them needing to wee every 30 mins or so, but well... It always took about a week for them to relax about it.

Podencos are famous drama queens 😂a bit like Greyhounds, you will think he's being skinned because he bumped his nose on a stone. But will run around without a peep with a ripped out claw...

It's so good that he comes to you for comfort! Means he's starting to trust you, you're "his person".

I’m loving this thread. OP, your dog is such a lucky boy.

What’s his name? I understand if you’re being careful and don’t want to share, but I’d love to know 🙂

Does he have access to water at all times? Some rescues we've fostered would take any opportunity to drink, because they weren't used to having water. They would also try to climb into the sink or lick shower walls. Which resulted in them needing to wee every 30 mins or so, but well... It always took about a week for them to relax about it.

Ours is like this over food. She always seems amazed that we feed her regularly and is overjoyed with anything we give her. I really think that she's had times when she's been starved.

Our rescue much prefers drinking from puddles, containers out in the garden etc. She obviously has fresh water available indoors all the time too.

🎶When you love passers-by but you're still kinda shy, that's podenco
When your features are long but it doesn't look wrong, that'd podenco

When you just like to bark and you chomp like a shark, that's podenco
When you're chewing your Mum and there's smells from your bum THAT'S PODENCOOO🎶

He chewed a big hole in the blanket, got stuck in it, then came to me absolutely devastated 💔

What a happy but very silly boy!

🤣🤣 awwww what a cutie!

And I love the song! We have many different versions of Dogian Rhapsody in our house!

Yeah, you always know if they've had to go hungry at some point. They never grow out of it. It's extremely hard to teach them not to steal food, too. It just makes no sense to them to leave anything edible be if they lived without knowing when their next meal is going to come or where it'll come from.

Hangdog expression! I hope he was grateful to you for sorting him out.

The brilliant bit is that he is coming to you for assistance, to resolve a problem. That is fantastic!