Rescuing a stray dog from dogs trust
Discussion
So have seen a nice dog at the dogs trust who we have spent a bit of time with and generally she seems very good but there is no background as she was a stray from Scotland. My last dog was a rescue dog but came from a home where couple changed their mind so we knew a bit about her. Anyone who has rescued a stray I would be grateful for some feedback or advice.
Our Irish Terrier was a stray from... Ireland.
Went through all the tests they do with them at the DT and essentially was said to be OK with kids, other dogs, cats etc. She's OK on the whole but she hates old people, especially old people with little dogs.
I can't have her off the lead when there is an old person about, she despises my grandmother and whenever she is around she tries to go for her. It's causing a few problems and we've got all sorts of dog trainers involved.
So just be aware that even if they say the dog is 'good as gold' there's a chance of underlying issues that just can't be picked up by the methods they use to vet the dog.
I couldn't let her be around a child, not worth the risk.
But you'll face the same risks with any dog you haven't had from the very beginning.
Went through all the tests they do with them at the DT and essentially was said to be OK with kids, other dogs, cats etc. She's OK on the whole but she hates old people, especially old people with little dogs.
I can't have her off the lead when there is an old person about, she despises my grandmother and whenever she is around she tries to go for her. It's causing a few problems and we've got all sorts of dog trainers involved.
So just be aware that even if they say the dog is 'good as gold' there's a chance of underlying issues that just can't be picked up by the methods they use to vet the dog.
I couldn't let her be around a child, not worth the risk.
But you'll face the same risks with any dog you haven't had from the very beginning.
Dogs trust are usually very thorough re: assessment of their dogs so I don't think you should worry that it has been a stray, only the trusts assessment results.
It will be neutered so the urge to roam should be reduced; probably toilet training would be a thing to know.
I hope it works out, will love pics once you have him
PS your username 'Funbobby'- a friends reference?
It will be neutered so the urge to roam should be reduced; probably toilet training would be a thing to know.
I hope it works out, will love pics once you have him
PS your username 'Funbobby'- a friends reference?
Our dog was a stray who had never lived in a house before. Glass doors caused her a few problems at the start as did noises on the TV. When we first got her she would rush around the house looking for a dog if she heard a dog on the TV and she also hated the sound of car horns, which as our favourite TV programmes are either animal related or car related was interesting.
I think it very much depends on the dog though and what they have experienced. Lola was terrified of people with sticks in the early days having clearly been beaten and still struggles if another dog runs straight up to her. Luckily as a stray she's very food orientated and can be distracted with liver cake.
I think it very much depends on the dog though and what they have experienced. Lola was terrified of people with sticks in the early days having clearly been beaten and still struggles if another dog runs straight up to her. Luckily as a stray she's very food orientated and can be distracted with liver cake.
funbobby said:
He seems to be fine with other dogs cats unknown but not fussed about that. I doubt they will let me have her for a week as could be quite stressful for dog. Just wondering what I should be aware of with a stray
I mean really to have a "trial period" with the dog, just in case it goes wrong. But then again, you might be quite happy to seek to rectify any minor issues. At which point, go for it!We have a rescue springer that was an irish stray and have fostered others. The rescue came to us for a week but never left, she has a brilliant personality. I won't say it's all been plain sailing though, it's been tough. She has a few health issues (arthritis in front legs at 5 and teeth dying one by one despite being in perfect condition) which we are managing but not convinced she will last as long as the others.
All we were told when we picked her up to foster was that she was great off the lead and had one rubber ball as her worldly possession. What that meant was let the lead off and watch her run freely in the opposite direction to you with absolutely zero recall.
After being here 4 years now we are sure she suffers doggy autism. She struggles with simple stuff like sits/lie downs, failed her good citizen bronze test 5 times and took over a year to house train but she can open doors and taught herself to turn my wife's phone alarm off with her nose as it was annoying her sleep patterns..... We wonder if she is the thickest or absolutely cleverest dog we have ever had. Won't let her off the lead unless we know where we are and have huge rewards/stuff to keep her interested in us. She doesn't seem to mind too much as she gets to walk with "her people" while the others run around generally being spaniels. We didn't know anything about her background when we took her on but out of the three we have at the moment, the other two brought up from pups she is the only one we would trust 100% around any other people/children/dogs/cats etc etc. Around the house she is the most loving and attentive dog and has the most character out of any we have had.
I suppose what I'm saying is they are all different and the good times outweigh the struggles early on and its rewarding to rescue. Good luck!
IMG_5864 by Chrisga, on Flickr
All we were told when we picked her up to foster was that she was great off the lead and had one rubber ball as her worldly possession. What that meant was let the lead off and watch her run freely in the opposite direction to you with absolutely zero recall.
After being here 4 years now we are sure she suffers doggy autism. She struggles with simple stuff like sits/lie downs, failed her good citizen bronze test 5 times and took over a year to house train but she can open doors and taught herself to turn my wife's phone alarm off with her nose as it was annoying her sleep patterns..... We wonder if she is the thickest or absolutely cleverest dog we have ever had. Won't let her off the lead unless we know where we are and have huge rewards/stuff to keep her interested in us. She doesn't seem to mind too much as she gets to walk with "her people" while the others run around generally being spaniels. We didn't know anything about her background when we took her on but out of the three we have at the moment, the other two brought up from pups she is the only one we would trust 100% around any other people/children/dogs/cats etc etc. Around the house she is the most loving and attentive dog and has the most character out of any we have had.
I suppose what I'm saying is they are all different and the good times outweigh the struggles early on and its rewarding to rescue. Good luck!
IMG_5864 by Chrisga, on FlickrEdited by chrisga on Wednesday 3rd June 11:44
We rescued a Lhasa Apso Terrier Mix (We think) from a rescue shelter, they had received him the same day we visited, dog warden found him about fairly local and bought him in. Definitely wasn't our fist choice of breed but he was lovely. We said yes that day, on the condition he wasn't claimed in 7 days as is standard I think.
We knew nothing about him, no history or name, we're not even sure of his age. We picked him up a week later and it was always our intention to crate train him during the night, he hated it, really distressed and wouldn't settle. After knocking that on the head he showed his true self and he's brilliant, such a "personality". He now sleeps where he likes, quite often that's underneath the duvet, in our bed by my partners feet, don't ask me why!! If he's not there he buries himself under his own duvet he has.
He'll play all day with my mums dogs, he'll cuddle up with my nephew when he's a sleep, he's always been great with other peoples dogs and children. BUT....he doesn't like other dogs when he is on the lead. When there's no dogs around he's brilliant on or off the lead, unfortunately the Terrier side means we have to keep a watchful eye on surroundings.
You'll get to learn what they like/don't like. Quite often ours stops eating, we worried at first but he started doing it every few months, spoke to a vet about it and they think he fasts for a couple of days because he wants to.
If you want to change habits you have to be really committed, although we gave up on the crate training (we were renting hence the reason we wanted to try it) we spent a lot of time trying to teach him and he is good at recall, unless he spots a rabbit, he'll sit when told to, he eats/pee's/poo's when we've trained him to do so, he'll tell us when he wants to go in the garden, he did this from the start so going by his condition when we first saw him he was either kept in a garden or spent most his time in one, he's a bit of a barker when somethings annoying him but that can be controlled, overall he's a really great dog.
Anyway fast forward 4 years and he's still with us, wouldn't change him. If you get the chance and you feel it's the right dog for you go for it.
My one bit of advice to myself if we did it again would be, be patient, your way of "talking" to them will be new so it will take them a while for them to come round, I reckon it took ours 18months to really settle. If we'd had borrowed him for a week we would have taken him back, I'm not sure that's long enough for a dog to start adjusting, the first couple of months we're pretty bad.
We knew nothing about him, no history or name, we're not even sure of his age. We picked him up a week later and it was always our intention to crate train him during the night, he hated it, really distressed and wouldn't settle. After knocking that on the head he showed his true self and he's brilliant, such a "personality". He now sleeps where he likes, quite often that's underneath the duvet, in our bed by my partners feet, don't ask me why!! If he's not there he buries himself under his own duvet he has.
He'll play all day with my mums dogs, he'll cuddle up with my nephew when he's a sleep, he's always been great with other peoples dogs and children. BUT....he doesn't like other dogs when he is on the lead. When there's no dogs around he's brilliant on or off the lead, unfortunately the Terrier side means we have to keep a watchful eye on surroundings.
You'll get to learn what they like/don't like. Quite often ours stops eating, we worried at first but he started doing it every few months, spoke to a vet about it and they think he fasts for a couple of days because he wants to.
If you want to change habits you have to be really committed, although we gave up on the crate training (we were renting hence the reason we wanted to try it) we spent a lot of time trying to teach him and he is good at recall, unless he spots a rabbit, he'll sit when told to, he eats/pee's/poo's when we've trained him to do so, he'll tell us when he wants to go in the garden, he did this from the start so going by his condition when we first saw him he was either kept in a garden or spent most his time in one, he's a bit of a barker when somethings annoying him but that can be controlled, overall he's a really great dog.
Anyway fast forward 4 years and he's still with us, wouldn't change him. If you get the chance and you feel it's the right dog for you go for it.
My one bit of advice to myself if we did it again would be, be patient, your way of "talking" to them will be new so it will take them a while for them to come round, I reckon it took ours 18months to really settle. If we'd had borrowed him for a week we would have taken him back, I'm not sure that's long enough for a dog to start adjusting, the first couple of months we're pretty bad.
Our most recent dog was from a rescue home, they couldn't even really guess his age, he's some kind of Jack Russel/Alsatian cross we think. He's very good with other dogs but for the first year or so he was very wary of me and would cower down and pee on the floor if I approached him or called him in any other way than with my arms open and a happy face (possibly partly my fault as I always played a bit rough with the other dogs with their tug toys and such like).
He also jumped at a few men when he was on the lead with my wife, quite what he has against men I don't know but he's getting better. We were very wary with him around the kids and it's taken a year or so for us to be confident with him around them after a few initial mishaps where he just got a bit over friendly with our 3 year old.
All in all he's a good dog but it's not the same as buying a puppy from a known breeder, it takes much longer to really get to know the dog and him to get to know you.
He also jumped at a few men when he was on the lead with my wife, quite what he has against men I don't know but he's getting better. We were very wary with him around the kids and it's taken a year or so for us to be confident with him around them after a few initial mishaps where he just got a bit over friendly with our 3 year old.
All in all he's a good dog but it's not the same as buying a puppy from a known breeder, it takes much longer to really get to know the dog and him to get to know you.
A lot depends on the age and breed, far more than where it is from
I have two rescue dogs, didn't know anything about their past. One is a mixed terrier, was 6 months old when we got him . He knew lots of commands and was fine in a house, obvs he had an owner. He is an aggressive s
t, but he is all talk.
Other rescue dog is a collie cross, rescue centre were desperate for us to take him, they were struggling. We were told he was 10 months old, but in hindsight he must have been 6 months old if that. We were told he lived rough on a farm abandoned with his brothers and sisters. He is very pack orientated and fixated on food, he eats every meal as if it was his last! He had also never seen the inside of a house and he wouldn't walk on concrete, as if he had never seen it before! A few years on he is a lovely family pet.
I often meet people when out who justify their dogs/behaviour/attitude with "oh he's from a rescue" or I see spoilt dogs and the owners go "oh he had such a tough life" justifying them spoiling it. Whilst you need to be aware of a dogs background , I don't let it dictate how I am with the dog or use it to excuse bad behaviour. If they have bad traits, then it can take months or years for them to be subtly trained out. Our collie used to cower and pie if I told him off/looked at him funny, we managed to sort this over a year or so with clear boundaries and attention
I'd probably only ever get a rescue dog, unless I had a specific requirement that couldn't be met.
I have two rescue dogs, didn't know anything about their past. One is a mixed terrier, was 6 months old when we got him . He knew lots of commands and was fine in a house, obvs he had an owner. He is an aggressive s
t, but he is all talk.Other rescue dog is a collie cross, rescue centre were desperate for us to take him, they were struggling. We were told he was 10 months old, but in hindsight he must have been 6 months old if that. We were told he lived rough on a farm abandoned with his brothers and sisters. He is very pack orientated and fixated on food, he eats every meal as if it was his last! He had also never seen the inside of a house and he wouldn't walk on concrete, as if he had never seen it before! A few years on he is a lovely family pet.
I often meet people when out who justify their dogs/behaviour/attitude with "oh he's from a rescue" or I see spoilt dogs and the owners go "oh he had such a tough life" justifying them spoiling it. Whilst you need to be aware of a dogs background , I don't let it dictate how I am with the dog or use it to excuse bad behaviour. If they have bad traits, then it can take months or years for them to be subtly trained out. Our collie used to cower and pie if I told him off/looked at him funny, we managed to sort this over a year or so with clear boundaries and attention
I'd probably only ever get a rescue dog, unless I had a specific requirement that couldn't be met.
Edited by TwistingMyMelon on Wednesday 3rd June 13:03
chrisga said:
We have a rescue springer that was an irish stray and have fostered others. The rescue came to us for a week but never left, she has a brilliant personality. I won't say it's all been plain sailing though, it's been tough. She has a few health issues (arthritis in front legs at 5 and teeth dying one by one despite being in perfect condition) which we are managing but not convinced she will last as long as the others.
All we were told when we picked her up to foster was that she was great off the lead and had one rubber ball as her worldly possession. What that meant was let the lead off and watch her run freely in the opposite direction to you with absolutely zero recall.
After being here 4 years now we are sure she suffers doggy autism. She struggles with simple stuff like sits/lie downs, failed her good citizen bronze test 5 times and took over a year to house train but she can open doors and taught herself to turn my wife's phone alarm off with her nose as it was annoying her sleep patterns..... We wonder if she is the thickest or absolutely cleverest dog we have ever had. Won't let her off the lead unless we know where we are and have huge rewards/stuff to keep her interested in us. She doesn't seem to mind too much as she gets to walk with "her people" while the others run around generally being spaniels. We didn't know anything about her background when we took her on but out of the three we have at the moment, the other two brought up from pups she is the only one we would trust 100% around any other people/children/dogs/cats etc etc. Around the house she is the most loving and attentive dog and has the most character out of any we have had.
I suppose what I'm saying is they are all different and the good times outweigh the struggles early on and its rewarding to rescue. Good luck!
IMG_5864 by Chrisga, on Flickr
Sorry, no input, but thanks for the update Chris, I often wonder about her All we were told when we picked her up to foster was that she was great off the lead and had one rubber ball as her worldly possession. What that meant was let the lead off and watch her run freely in the opposite direction to you with absolutely zero recall.
After being here 4 years now we are sure she suffers doggy autism. She struggles with simple stuff like sits/lie downs, failed her good citizen bronze test 5 times and took over a year to house train but she can open doors and taught herself to turn my wife's phone alarm off with her nose as it was annoying her sleep patterns..... We wonder if she is the thickest or absolutely cleverest dog we have ever had. Won't let her off the lead unless we know where we are and have huge rewards/stuff to keep her interested in us. She doesn't seem to mind too much as she gets to walk with "her people" while the others run around generally being spaniels. We didn't know anything about her background when we took her on but out of the three we have at the moment, the other two brought up from pups she is the only one we would trust 100% around any other people/children/dogs/cats etc etc. Around the house she is the most loving and attentive dog and has the most character out of any we have had.
I suppose what I'm saying is they are all different and the good times outweigh the struggles early on and its rewarding to rescue. Good luck!
IMG_5864 by Chrisga, on FlickrEdited by chrisga on Wednesday 3rd June 11:44
great thanks for all the stories, advice. she is approx 1 year old breed hard to say(small golden retriever?) and def motivated by treats which is a good way to distract her. they said she is friendly with dogs which from limted exposure she was but does seem quite dominant even though she is only a medium size dog guessing 18kg?? this is my main worry as the last rescue gsd i had was quite dog aggresive but amazing with people but it did make life v difficult at times as my garden backs onto a large field used a lot by dog walkers so that will be very important to me.
Our dog is a rescue from Dogs Trust and they were brilliant for us when we needed a bit of help. Cindy was probably born deaf, although nobody really knows as she was picked up as a stray when she was a few months old. She was probably born deaf and they did a great job of teaching her sign language.
But we found that on a walk we had a hard time trying to get her attention focused on us when she spotted a cat/squirrel/crisp packet etc... and with Cindy being a 32Kg bull terrier whose attention was now firmly fixed on whatever piqued her interest often meant we ended up dragging her in the opposite direction till she forgot all about it. But the DT were great, we had one to one training with their behaviour specialist who improved what we do and introduced us to some techniques we could use. I believe they will do this at anytime, free of charge for any of their dogs.
The only downside, I say lightheartedly, is their proclivity to give some dogs twee names
But we found that on a walk we had a hard time trying to get her attention focused on us when she spotted a cat/squirrel/crisp packet etc... and with Cindy being a 32Kg bull terrier whose attention was now firmly fixed on whatever piqued her interest often meant we ended up dragging her in the opposite direction till she forgot all about it. But the DT were great, we had one to one training with their behaviour specialist who improved what we do and introduced us to some techniques we could use. I believe they will do this at anytime, free of charge for any of their dogs.
The only downside, I say lightheartedly, is their proclivity to give some dogs twee names
well spoke to the dog trainer there yesterday and it turns out this dog is not really that dog friendly apparently. its difficult as their behavior in kennels is bound to be different too the real world but dog friendly..ish is very important too me so the hunt continues. going to another rehoming place today so fingers crossed.
We rescued an American Bulldog from the RSPCA 2.5 weeks ago, he is just under a year old & they were given his history which they passed on to us, we were advised to take it with a pinch of salt (which we would have anyway) as the stories they are told are often lies.
We are still learning him but as it takes a month or two for them to settle in & really show their real personalities it will be a while yet.
The shelter should appraise them as far as they can so you should get a good idea of how they are, I've always worked on gut instinct, you know if a dogs a good un or not.
We are still learning him but as it takes a month or two for them to settle in & really show their real personalities it will be a while yet.
The shelter should appraise them as far as they can so you should get a good idea of how they are, I've always worked on gut instinct, you know if a dogs a good un or not.
I have had two rescue dogs.
Bonnie,
Sadly departed last year she was a collie/lab cross we had her 12 years she wouldn't go near anybody but the Mrs to start with as she used to get beaten that's why she had been taken into the kennels. She had serious problems with her back end and ended her days on lots of tablets loved her to bits. She was a real struggle to start with because of trust issues she would flinch at her own shadow I wish I could do the same to the people that beat her before we got her.
Harry,
A patterdale terrier (crossed with something) that looks about 100 years old and always has. We got him 13 years ago now he is brilliant with kids and other people but never let him off the lead unless you fancy doing a marathon. I wouldn't swap him for anything in the world he will eat anything and loves a good fart and I'm sure he sniggers when it stinks.
These dogs weren't from Dogs trust but from a local rescue place Jerry Greens.
http://www.jerrygreendogs.org.uk/
I would recommend re-homing a dog.
Edited to add we knew nothing of them before we got them.
Bonnie,
Sadly departed last year she was a collie/lab cross we had her 12 years she wouldn't go near anybody but the Mrs to start with as she used to get beaten that's why she had been taken into the kennels. She had serious problems with her back end and ended her days on lots of tablets loved her to bits. She was a real struggle to start with because of trust issues she would flinch at her own shadow I wish I could do the same to the people that beat her before we got her.
Harry,
A patterdale terrier (crossed with something) that looks about 100 years old and always has. We got him 13 years ago now he is brilliant with kids and other people but never let him off the lead unless you fancy doing a marathon. I wouldn't swap him for anything in the world he will eat anything and loves a good fart and I'm sure he sniggers when it stinks.
These dogs weren't from Dogs trust but from a local rescue place Jerry Greens.
http://www.jerrygreendogs.org.uk/
I would recommend re-homing a dog.
Edited to add we knew nothing of them before we got them.
Edited by myvision on Thursday 4th June 14:55
Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff