taking older dog into family

scamalert

So basically Ive took 4y old lab mixed breed,into our home,person who gave it,had it for 4 years since puppy,and because she is leaving country she agreed to let me have it,shes well trained house dog smaller in size then full grown labs.

Tried to get as much as possible info from previous owner on how dog was fed,treated,has most vaccines done,but will need to get paper work to know for sure,since dog was spending a lot of time at different family homes due to work reasons,also dog is well behaved when is left in car for extended periods of time.

but couple days in now dog is still very anxious,there is family of 4 in the house,3 of which are on full time work,so its a lot of movement around the house to deal for the dog id imagine,even thou it has great traits of love,and showing its passion and love for everyone,but when left alone it just remains sitting in the create head down or on the stairs facing outside,and i sorta feel that dog is still waiting for its former keeper to show up.

now dog doesn't bark,and seems to sleep ok for first few nights,but its very afraid to be left alone or in confined space with closed doors to other rooms.


So first advice im seeking should i pay more attention to the dog and her well entertained,or should i leave her alone and let adjust in time.Since its only couple days in,and i have very little experience with the dogs in general.Owned couple over 30y time,but each breed and dog is different,and this one is different since its well trained in house,but new people seems very distracting and left alone dog seems just depressed.

Any input appreciated.

aonb

HOw very kind of you to take in this dog.
Remember the dog is in a totally strange environment, it is feeling anxious and worried. Its bound to be missing its owner too. You need to give it lots of gentle care and try to get it in to a new routine as soon as possible.

Make sure the dog has its bed in a safe place, where it can go when its worried. It would be nice to put a nice blanket (old sweaters!) there, and that should be its safe place, the bed should stay there and not be moved about. Its water bowl should be always available, and again not moved. If you are leaving the dog at home alone, you could put a radio on, so the house is not totally silent

You need to get it in to a routine. Dogs love their routine. Sounds like its been moved about a good bit amongst its ex-owners family members, so it may be anxious because it doesnt know whats going on.

Before you leave for work in the morning, if possible, you should take the dog for a walk. A walk is a dogs idea of heaven - never underestimate the stimulation etc that a dog gets from going on a walk and scenting and generally being outdoors! Even if its only 20 mins, this will set the dog up for the day! Before you leave, you could give it some kibble or treats (Im a softie!) If you have a butcher nearby, a nice big raw (always raw!) bone is a good diversion - and they're free! Get a few, put them in the freezer. Read some of the threads on here about treats - e.g. frozen peanut butter - as boredom busters. The dog should have another walk at night. If you are giving it new food, its tummy may be bothered by the change, so be aware of that too!

Make sure that the other three full time workers, know that the dog needs to be treated gently while settling in. Get them to make a fuss of the dog when they come home (hopefully they are dog lovers!) a little walk would be a good bonding process for them and the dog. Is there someone at home all day (you said 4 in the house)
will it be indoors all day if there is no-one home - it will need to be taken out to the toilet regularly until it settles in - it will need to be 'shown' where to go to the toilet!

I wish you luck OP, your new dog will settle in soon, just be kind and gentle while that is happening. Remember its probably anxious and stressed - time will help with that.

charlietheminxx

That poor dog sounds like it's suffered an awful lot of upheaval in its life. I am sure he/she will settle in, just be gentle and patient. Talk to him/her in gentle tones when you're around, dogs like to feel they are being communicated with. Aonb has given you some wonderful advice above

scamalert

Yes dog been in another family/parents home most the time,but owner never abused her and gave her all the love she had.

Also yes there are 3 another people in family ,and everyone knows by now not to do anything that irritates dog.

As for me i have few weeks or a month off-out of work currenlty,so will be trying my best to establish daily routine,BELLA knows when to indicate that she wants to go to the bathroom,and does her pooty in the near field/park when taken for a walk,once in the morning and once in the evening,rest is in the back garden

Of course my main worry will be when she will have to be left alone usually 4 hours before someone comes in during afternoon to let her out into garden,even thou she doesnt bark,but rather makes crying noise/whining and using her paws to scrape doors are well established habit.

Ive read about leaving anxiety dogs have,and how to prepare many times as if ones is leaving and just not making any fuss about it,to let dog know that its not a big deal.

But it seems a bit early since its only few days in to start doing it.Also radio is good advice.

So far she sleeps very well in her (den) which is in the corner of the kitchen and well out of sight,plenty blankets as someone mentioned and radiator near by,while the weather is still cold at night.

So next question is for routine establishment,i go to bed usually late-thus resulting in waking up late in the day 10-11,most family start as early as 6 or 7 so letting her out for bathroom for few minutes isn't an issue,but how do i go about establashing routine where she would be expected to go for her main walk of the day at around 10-11,and how should i correlate this time with the night time walk.Since her last owner had routine where she let the dog decide whenever she wants to go out,and given the breed BELLA has a lot of energy,thus walks of 30min at least couple times a day are essential.

Thanks for all the responses,the decision to take dog in was long thought before even this opportunity came in and former owner did know that she is going to a good home.

Thanks for all replies again.

aonb

It sounds like Bella is one of the lucky ones, and has arrived in a good home!
She is probably missing her owner, and worried about this strange new place.
Give her a couple of weeks to settle.
You are strange to her, the house is strange to her. You could not expect her to be anything other than stressed and anxious. This time with her will be very important to set the trend for your future together.
Lots of love, treats, calmness, walks, quiet time, safe bed/crate will help settling in process.

If you are not going to work for a month, that is great - plenty of time for her to bond with you and become familiar with her new surroundings.
She will settle in to her new routine, once you establish it. If she is let outside (secure garden?) to toilet, when the others are leaving in the morning, then you take her for her walk at 10/11, she will soon get used to that. When you go back to work, she will get used to that new routine too.
Four hours alone in the house, is ok - she will sleep and as long as she is let out to the toilet before that, she will have no problems I would imagine.

Spending as much time as possible with her before you go back to work, so that she knows she is in a safe place, with new humans who care for her, will help the transition go smoothly. Making sure that the incoming adults know what to do - her toilet/walk/feeding/whatever routine when they come in will help too.

Vel

aonb wrote: »

If you are not going to work for a month, that is great - plenty of time for her to bond with you and become familiar with her new surroundings.

I would try to make sure that you try to establish the routine she will have when you do go back to work, while you are off work.

I know of a few cases where people adopting dogs took a set period of time off work to settle them in so they were spening a lot of time with them, and then when they did return to work the dog wasn't used to being left alone for so long and there were problems with separation anxiety. So great for bonding but make sure you get them used to being left

scamalert

Thank you for great advises

so far from observing my dog i noticed a pattern,shes very energetic in the morning,after walking and feeding still hyped over everything,but couple hours later She just settles into her create and can remain up to couple hours just lying there and observing.Same happens in the evening time by 9-10 she is basically ready to sleep.

Might be just replenishing energy-since started doing some random running with her,and its impossible to outrun her ,5mins and my lungs are giving up,also plenty belly rubs and massages small treats from other family members during the day.

as for behavior its somewhat reverse,she can access most rooms for now to get used to,but when she sees someone just doing random stuff she remains uninterested and just leaves,yet start making dinner and you have companion that follows every step until dinner is ready and you get those guilty eyes when eating,since appetite is always there for her.
same with the walks if you let her know its walk time then everything else just melts away as priority is to sniff every part of every corner and grass field that she passes only owner is the leash that keeps her safe from running away.

will try suggested implementations and will be sure to update as more time passes,since its very early to make any changes to new family member that just landed in whole new world.

aonb

Yep, sounds like she is settling in
Making dinner = full alert = make humans guilty with begging eyes

Tranceypoo

scamalert wrote: »

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as for behavior its somewhat reverse,she can access most rooms for now to get used to,but when she sees someone just doing random stuff she remains uninterested and just leaves,yet start making dinner and you have companion that follows every step until dinner is ready and you get those guilty eyes when eating,since appetite is always there for her.
same with the walks if you let her know its walk time then everything else just melts away as priority is to sniff every part of every corner and grass field that she passes only owner is the leash that keeps her safe from running away.
.

I think that sums up Labs quite nicely!!
One of mine is a lab mix and he's exactly the same!
Sounds like she fell on her paws when you took her in, any pics?

scamalert

here she is sniffing in the wind sorry for pic size