The Pod-cast

[HangingOver]

Hello PodSquad,

Thank you for being on this crazy ride with us.

Here's the OG thread if anyone wants to go back and laugh at how staggeringly naive I was adopting my first rescue pup: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/5177112-oh-my-giddy-god?page=1

Could someone please explain who this dog is in my house and what they've done with Pod? Because he's been absolutely angelic today. Truly a wonderful, wonderful dog and even coped with my DF and DPs pal coming over for Sunday dinner and sitting up getting merry on red wine.

Or perhaps the collective will on MN have given me a SERIOUSLY needed good day. What a star. 🥹

I'm trying not to dwell on it too much but yes they ABSOLUTELY saw us coming. I did wonder why we were selected so fast when so many other people expressed an interest in him. He's basically a housetrained wild animal.

If he is too much for you, you are allowed to give up. Having a dog should be enjoyable. It is okay to say that this is too difficult for you if it is really getting you down. None of us here know exactly your situation so don't feel pressure to keep on going if this isn't working out for you.

The difficulty I have is that you and your partner are obviously very kind and patient and, dare I say it, not too houseproud ( at the minute, at least), and are willing to put in the enormous amount of effort that your gorgeous Pod needs. Also, you must have spent a fortune over the last few weeks on bedding, toys, leads ,etc. Luckily for Pod, he has found his forever human but, all to easily he could have found himself in a succession of homes and being returned as new owners simply could not cope however willing they might have been. A horribly cruel situation not of his own making.
How many other dogs has this rescue centre bundled off to unsuitable homes? Are they taking in animals that they cannot cope with, and deal with the huge input that dogs like Pod need? Some dogs may remain in rescue centres for months simply because the right adopters have not yet appeared. Keeping a dog for months costs a lot of money not to mention a detrimental effect upon the dogs ability to be able to adapt to a home. So....get rid asap and pray they don't come back! Too many red flags have been raised about this rescue centre and it does concern me.

Yes, you are allowed to give up especially when you have really, really tried but , after a manic day, when you flop on the sofa exhausted, and he comes over and falls asleep in your arms, your heart breaks. And your heart breaks at what he may be going back to...a confining cage, limited personal care, and a succession of unsuitable homes. It is so difficult.

Yeah it's mind boggling really. How many of your average starry eyes adopters seduced by Pod's gorgeous looks and weird prancy pony walk would have been in a position to mind him like we've done? Very few I'd bet. Like the home who had him with kids was never going to work. He adores children and has been petted nicely by my friends kids on lead but I'd never let him in the house loose with them. He's knock them over. Ditto the owners who had to leave the house for work shifts. I can't even go upstairs without Pod getting worried.

The not being houseproud thing is an undisputable bullseye 😂 In fact I suspect Overlooked Houseguest is writing about how scummy we are in his little diary he fills out each night. He let slip yesterday that when the architects designed his house, they wanted it to sleep 15+ people "Because we have so many friends". Pod was merrily shredding an Amazon box all over our incredibly average kitchen at the time.

I consider puppy entertainment the primary function of an Amazon box these days @HangingOver

Our rescue dog has had many nicknames over the years we have had him but for quite a long time one of them was "Shredder" as he would shred any paper or cardboard he found. Even now, aged 11, he will sometimes still steal something off the worktop and shred it.

Our old dog was very quiet in rescue kennel, but spent 2 weeks with us unleashing his inner delinquent. He learned to be a best boy, but he wasn't as big as a podboy.
I have a friend with various physical issues who got an ideal rescue dog who needed a calm home. He was a staff type terrier who had been badly treated and hated other dogs but liked cats. He was very strong and walking him was difficult for her. He died a few months ago. She's waiting for ahip replacement.
The nice lad from the rescue rang to offer sympathy and a lovely collie/springer cross. I think enthusiasm to get a dog removed clouds the sensible bigger picture.

@HangingOver Somebody may well have suggested this so apologies if they have but have you talked to your vet about medicating him?
A pp suggested supplements which it would obviously be best to try first but I must admit I never found they did much with my dog.
I try to give mine as little in the way of medicine as possible and you may well be the same but I think it's worth considering.
You can only do so much. You've taken on a huge task. You can't give him a perfect life, you can only do your best and while all medicine has side effects, if I was in your position, I think they would maybe be worth a try just in the short-ish term to help him adjust.
He's always going to be different. You're always going to look at other people with their off-lead, easy-going dogs and think, why didn't I do that?! But I think at this point anything that helps him become the pet he now needs to be is worth considering.
I've no experience of this btw, just a thought.

The 'do I go back and let him out or wait it out' dilemma is a tough one.

In theory, letting him out when he barks = rewarding the barking = do it again.

However..

He needs to know you're listening, he's safe, all is well. He also doesn't need more frustration, he already can't cope with frustration from general life.

So if you don't let him out swiftly should he bark/whine etc... then a/ he learns people aren't listening/he's not safe and b/ he gets more frustrated.. which in turn leads to more unwanted behaviour.

The gold standard is that they don't bark in the first place, rather than that we ignore it....

However when you have a dog you know well, who is secure and confident and so on and so forth, its possible to determine a 'hey did you really piss off, you bastards, oh well ill go to sleep then' bark from a 'omg the sky is falling in, magpies are about to attack, the end is nigh' bark and the 'oh shouting, imma shout, ive shouted myself into frustration, next comes panic... here we goooo' bark..

Then it can be possible to ignore and let them settle, or respond, as necessary.

So i think in this instance I'd have gone and changed the subject asap, and tried again after time to recover... but hindsight is a wonderful thing and in the moment we have to make a call, and there is always the chance it is the wrong one, we just cannot possibly get it right every time.

If you think he is barking at something, or barking to check you're there, you could just try shouting 'Thanks, I know' or 'Thanks, I am here' (its the tone that will really convey the message).

Some dogs just want to know you are still there, particularly if they haven't actually been all around the house, haven't seen you doing boring things (I recommend they do, but if they're big and silly and liable to trash the place I can see why not, yet!)... then they may really not know whats going on and find that rather difficult.

This is especially true for new/young dogs as we tend to take them with us to do fun things. As they cannot imagine anything they haven't directly experienced... what do they think we've gone to do when we walk out of the room without them? Frustrating as hell if you think anyone leaving the room has gone to do AMAZING FUN SHIT without you!

And some dogs just want to know that you know that they saw something.

Keep muddling on! You're actually doing a fantastic job of this!

My dog will bark if someone is at the door, someone walks past or she feels I am being threatened. I say to her, good girl, I'm ok and then she stops. She's not really a barker so it's handy to know when I've not heard the door. So agree with @WiddlinDiddlin about picking a phrase and using the same tone.

Thanks all. I'll try that next time. I do deliberately clear my throat/shuffle my feet so he knows I'm still there at my laptop but acknowledging the magpie is worth a try.

He's having a little sleep for himself now so I'm having a delicious coffee.

The entire floor is covered in ripped up cardboard and newspaper but I genuinely cannot bring myself to give a single shit so Overlooked Houseguest will just have to lump it.

Also... Random aside but is it a bit rude to sit writing in a diary in a different language in front of the people you're writing about. I saw my name when I was sitting next to him and really wanted to ask what he was writing about me 🤣

That sounds really rude! May Pod crap in their shoes!

Definitely rude. Take a photo and use Google to translate it. Feign innocence if Overlooked Houseguest objects.

My ddog liked to chew one shoe of a pair which was more annoying than both being chewed. The diary sounds like a tasty morsel.
Does guest have a nice pen too?

Kate Spicer, the journalist, adopted a Podenco a few years back. I remember reading articles about her trials and tribulations, sorry don't know how to link. She adores him though,

Not outside the realms of possibility

Nylabone tip: boil for 20mins to release flavour. Then spread with marmite.
All my dogs loved it.

Ahh! Remember her when Wolfie went missing! Wonder how she's getting on?

Incredibly rude!

Aww boxes are great! When I had regular appointments (back injury) and pup was too little to leave alone that long my OH used to take all our old envelopes with him to sit and shred together. Now a very happy memory of him.

Re the barking that's definitely a tough one but I also have a "yeah I heard the pheasant too, thanks" voice. Some days it's more successful for than others. Now DDog2 will bark, gets told I heard it too and then grumbles or whines instead... equally annoying but less likely to result in a complaint, so I pick my battles 🤣

Alright, which one of you snuck into my house overnight, body snatched my dickhead puppy and replaced him with a beautiful family pet?

What, all day? Or the last five minutes?😁

You do know it won't last...?

They do this at regular intervals to lull you into a false sense of security. My pup walked beautifully on the lead today and didn't make me look like the world's most incompetent and clueless owner but I know her game. I'm under no illusions. Tomorrow will be back to lead biting lunacy 🙄

The good behaviour is fun while it lasts though 😁

He must have heard you telling us about biting the walls and decided to knock it off for a bit 🤣