Helping her settle

[Growlypup]

Hi, I'm looking for some practical advice, positive stories and a bit of reassurance if possible.

We have recently adopted a 1yr old cavapoo who's previous owner didn't have the time for her. She came home on Saturday so it is still very very early days and we knew this wouldn't be easy.

I'm hoping that if explain some of her behaviours, someone will be able to help us deal with them or reassure us that they are likely just nervous behaviours and not her true self.

Firstly, She seems to have attached herself to me (not a problem), she follows me constantly and will not settle anywhere other than at my feet. The problem is, we have a resident cat (dog lived with cats previously and ignored them) so we initially have a gate up at the kitchen doorway so neither cat nor dog can get to one another. So naturally when I go through this gate and the dog can't follow me she starts barking, whining, getting herself worked up and won't stop until I come back. I can't stay in the kitchen all day every day, so any ideas on how to help her through this?

Secondly she has shown some resource guarding when getting hold of a few items (sock, tissue, paper). We weren't told that she had previously shown this behaviour, so is this likely to settling in nerves or something that we just weren't told about?

She's also very nervous and reactive to alot of things when walking on a lead (dogs, cars, people, the wind! Etc etc) how can we help with this?

We have done alot of research on all of these behaviours and generally training and caring for a dog, and we are trying our best to use the methods we've learned. She does already have some basic training there and when one to one with me, she is very good at listening and responsive to the treats offered and it feels like we are getting somewhere. But when the above behaviours are happing in real life, she will not listen and the treats don't distract her.

I'm prepared to ride it out and hold off on trying to train for these behaviours if we just need to let her settle first, but in the back of my mind, I don't want to ignore the behaviours and they get worse. So what do we do?

We're trying our best so please be kind.

Where did you adopt her from? A proper rescue? Spaniel specific one?

If she had been in a foster situation (which all rescue dogs should really go into - in an ideal world - so they can be properly assessed) which most good rescues would use...these issues (being clingy, resource guarding etc) should have been picked up on by them. So, depending on where you got her from (legitimate, good, rescue; bog-standard RSPCA, or gumtree), you may well have been misled tbh. Either way, any sort of decent rescue should be providing follow up and after-care to support you - so they should be your first port of call for any Behavioural issues you were not made aware of.

That being said...

On resource guarding. It's not unusual for dogs to begin resource guarding in new homes when they've not shown the behaviour before. They're unsettled and look for things to cling to. Some grow out of it. Some get worse. It's a bit like when people have a dog and then have a baby - it's quite common for resource guarding to start after a baby is born because the dog is unsettled. Resource guarding is all about careful management and not giving the dog the opportunity to be put in that situation and being aware of how to handle it when it happened (swap and reward - never take). You absolutely must manage it though, and it has to be a priority. You cannot ignore it.

Personally, I would let the dog and the cat interact under close supervision. Rescue dogs are incredibly fragile and cavapoos are incredibly people orientated. Your girl is probably incredibly stressed and unhappy and wants you. Leaving her to cry, not matter how short, is not going to help build that bond with her - the best thing to help a rescue settle (remember the rule of three) is to be able to bond with their family.

On the nervousness, to really tackle that I think you need to build that bond with her. People will call me stupid, but the best training comes from having a bond with your dog. It's why puppies are so easy - they haven't been damaged (other than if you get a poorly bred one) - because all they know is happiness and joy. They trust implicitly. Rescues are different. Their nature is to be a bit more worried and cautious until proven otherwise. I'd be surprised if in a few months, once you've got that bond, you don't see some improvements in some of her behaviours naturally.

All days are 'early days' with rescues. Even six months in, it's still new to them.

She sounds very poorly socialised and I am sorry but it sounds like you may have gotten more than you bargained for and you were slightly misled! One unfortunate behaviour I'd think 'yes this is a worried dog' but more than one...I'd be more inclined to think dishonesty by the rescue.

I'd recommend a very good trainer/behaviourist (your vet should recommend someone). I'd also recommend a vet check - cavapoos are prone to quite a few health issues (including eye defects, which may explain concerns out and about), so better to get a vet once-over sooner rather than later.

FWIW, my mum has a Cocker who is a rescue. She had all manner of behavioural issues, including resource guarding and nervous behaviour - admittedly we were made very aware before she was adopted - and almost all those issues never show themselves now 5+ years down the road. It just takes time and patience.

Dont ignore it, you need to train or theyll likely get worse

In terms of leaving her in the kitchen.How long are you leaving her for? You need to practise flitting in and out so she learns you'll always come back. And then you can start adding a bit of duration once shes settled when you're only come in and going a very short spaces of time.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks she was from a friend who just didn't have the time for her and we said we would take her on. In all honesty we believe our friend didn't really know what she was taking on when she brought the puppy (we don't know where from) and hasn't really out much effort I to socialising or training. We had seen her in her own home and with the cats she lived with, met with her several times and walked her several other times before bringing her home. We saw none of these behaviours during any of that time. We knew she had a nervous temperament but she wasn't as reactive as she seems to be now.

With the resource guarding we have not attempted to take those items from her, we have held a high value treat in our hand which she has then dropped the item in favour of the treat and when she is fully out the way and distracted we have then taken the item. Do we need to do more than this or carry on as we are and hope for the best?

In terms of the cat, we have scent swapped and they can both see each other through the gate, the cat is confident and will hold her ground but the dog is barking and tried to get to the cat (on both occasions I have been on the dogs side of the gate trying to distract with treats). So we are very wary of letting them get too close as we don't feel the dog is calm enough yet.

And yes, the vet check is already booked in next week and we are planning to ask about behaviourists etc. I just wanted to see what we could do until then.

@21ZIGGY I'm not leaving her for any length of time at all, we're talking about going to answer the door, go upstairs to the toilet, into the lounge (which she can see) to get something or go and do something my child needs. It's really only minutes if that.

When my own ddog went through a very need time she actually came into the bathroom when I went. Soon grew out of it. Has she got her own bed /blanket to retreat to? Only had our dpuppy since last night and she already takes herself off to her bed when she needs a rest.

@Whereismyfleeceblanket toilet is upstairs and we'd have to pass through the cats 'safe space' to get there which is why I haven't let the dog come with me.

We brought all of her stuff from her old home with her, including her beds, she will sleep on the one in our bedroom all night (we shut her in the room with us to protect cat). I can't fault her at night! But during the day she will not go in her other bed, or the one in the bedroom if we bring it down, she wants to be at my feet constantly