Has anyone had a good experience with a rescue dog?

[Twoshoesnewshoes]

I’m having an interview today to discuss adopting a rescue dog.

she is 2, apparently house trained, okay to leave (although she won’t be left often, and then only for 2-3 hours), and good with cats.
Ive spoken to a few people who have ended up with unsociable, needy and anxious dogs and I’m a bit worried.

we have had dogs before and I was brought up with having dogs.

I recommend Here To Stay - Training your rescue dog by Lily Clark. I tried a few books and this one was the most useful. Best of luck!

Thank you!
I hadn’t replied before - we took delivery of our Bulgarian rescue on Saturday morning, she was in the house for ten minutes, incredibly distressed and wild. She pooed on the floor, so I opened the door to the garden.
my DH was holding the slip lead, she snapped at his hand and he dropped it.
she legged it into the garden and scaled at five foot fence!
she’s been awol ever since. We live in a village and there are lots of daily sightings- she comes in our garden too. It’s impossible to catch her though because she just runs if she sees a human.
we’re setting a trap for her tonight- it’s been very very stressful.
i just want her home.
i think she’s having a great time.

Bloody hell @Twoshoesnewshoes!

I wish you luck and I'm so thankful there have been sightings. Do the rescue place know of any favourite foods? Mine would do most things for toast, fresh chicken and sausages.

Apparently a BBQ works well for lost dogs @Twoshoesnewshoes - good luck 🙏

She’s back! Trapped her today in neighbours garden!
I feel neatly hysterical lol
she’s mooching around the kitchen x

Glad she's back! When do we get to see her?

Awwww lol
she’s eating a bagel (bless), I’ll try and get some photos soon xx

Here she is

Hope all goes well, take it one day at a time. My 4 rescues are simply adorable. No regrets at all.

Have you plans to improve the garden security?

Thank you @Twasasurprise
yes fences going up to 7 foot this weekend 😂

Look at her coat ❤💓

What a darling!

We have a rescue dog. She was a bit anxious at first but is now the most wonderful pet for each of us. She is an absolute sweetheart full of personality who keeps us laughing and the endorphins flowing all the time. She originally came from Serbia but was rescued as one of a litter of puppies so was never a street dog. She was in foster care here when we got her.

She's so beautiful @Twoshoesnewshoes.

I expect from now on she will be double leaded, with one of the leads wrapped around the adult's wrist so the idiot can't drop the lead if snapped at.

Is she used to being walked on a lead ? maybe one on the collar and on on a harness as many dogs can get out of their collars in addition to the slip lead.

Poor dog she is clearly very scared.

Aww poor girl, she must have been so scared. She’s gorgeous. I never take my guys out without a double lead attached to a harness (ruffwear webmaster - pretty much escape proof, lol) and their lead. Even in the garden until they are beginning to settle. You could consider a belt to attach her lead to as well.

OP- can I suggest muzzle training if she's nervous and prone to snapping. I have a Bosnian rescue who was exactly as you describe when he first came to us and he would snap if he felt uneasy on the lead/when we tried to put a harness on him etc. I was really worried that he would snap at a child when we went out etc so the muzzle training was really for that but in fact it's been the best thing we ever did. The process itself was actually great for bonding with him and having him muzzle trained means we feel more confident about everything we do with him. The training has to be done very slowly. It was about a week for our dog before the muzzle went anywhere near his nose- to start with it was just a thing that appeared sometimes and he got loads of exciting food when it did. There are lots of really good videos available- the trick is to make the dog associate the muzzle with only good things. Mine now does a happy dance when he sees it, even though it's now years since the inside was smeared with pate to encourage him to choose to put his mouth in it.

With a dog like that everything takes lots of time. We've had ours for about 5 years now and from being a snappy, nervous dog who didn't want to come in t the house and visibly recoiled when touched, he has become a real part of the family who likes nothing more than a cuddle on the sofa. We still have to be careful with him around strangers but with us he is absolutely trusting and a big softie.

I’ve got a triple harness so will use a lead in that along with a slip lead?
she’s had a little cuddle, met the cat, eaten some more salami.
shes so sweet

@Teafortime she hasnt snapped at all since.
it was such a frantic time - she had just got out of a van she’d been in for three days, it was 5.00am…I’ve been stroking her and she licked my hand.

Was she in foster care abroad ?

No, she was ‘feral’, then in the council kennels for a few months, then straight to me.
lots of cuddles this morning, and she’s besties with the cat.

I'm not a fan of slip leads, mine gets stressed with a lead attached to her collar. Harness every time and a good one too because she's very agile.

@Twoshoesnewshoes How is it all going ?

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1K36z68wQ6/?mibextid=wwXIfr

that’s a Facebook group - primarily for Romanian rescues, but I feel like exact geography probably not that important 😂 it has lots of guides and information in it, also recommendations for trainers specialising in foreign rescue dogs.

There are some very common training and behavioural issues that can crop up that are less common in uk rescue dogs partly because of their past experiences and partly because of the difference in common breeds/ mixes.

I have a Romanian rescue - who I got from a rescue here, not direct from Romania and getting him used to general things like being in a house was very very different even to my other dog who came from the uk but had also not lived in a house before.