When you bring a rescue dog into your family, you want your dog to settle in and be home for life. There are five key things you can do to set your new rescue dog up for success. These tips apply to all dogs! Often rescue dogs might have behavior issues, but you can help with good training and by creating clarity and structure for the new member of your family.
In the episode you'll hear:
- The biggest mistake you can make with a rescue dog.
- Why we want to change patterns of behavior rescue dogs might have.
- About the honeymoon period when a new dog enters your family and settles in.
- What our rescue dog Tater Salad was like when he came home.
- The 5 keys to having success when you rescue a dog.
- Why to give your rescue dog a new name for a new life.
- How to prepare for your dog arriving home and what you need.
- About having a daily schedule for your rescue dog.
- Why not to take anything at face value until you get to know your dog.
- How to keep a journal for your rescue dog.
- Why to get real and get honest and to believe your dog.
- About creating daily clarity for an amazing life for a rescue dogs.
- Why playing ItsYerChoice (IYC) will lift a weight from your dog.
- About the importance of focusing on the awesome!
ItsYerChoice Summit:
Join in with Susan’s free online dog training workshop: Click here for the ItsYerChoce Summit
Resources:
- Podcast Episode 6: The Art of Manipulation
- Podcast Episode 27: Do Dogs Need Rules?
- Video Blog: Help! My Dog Hates His Nails Cut … What Do I Do?
- Podcast Episode 70: Critical Info for Your Puppy’s First Day and Night at Home
- Podcast Episode 13: Naming Your Puppy or Dog
- Podcast Episode 30: Why Dog Crates Are Not Dog Cages
- Podcast Episode 40: Using a Head Halter on a Dog, Why My Approach is so Different
- Podcast Episode 58: How to Create Kid Friendly Dogs and Dog Friendly Kids
- Podcast Episode 24: Help for the Dog who Chases Chipmunks, Bicycles, and the Neighbor’s Cat
- Podcast Episode 32: 20 Easy Ways to Exercise Your Dog at Home
- Podcast Episode 71: Pro Dog Trainer’s Secret to Help Your Naughty Dog
- ItsYerChoice Summit
- Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube
Ex-Pen Information:
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Thank you, I just watched your podcast on rescues. Lola, now age 4, is a pure Doberman and very smart. She joined our family a little over a year ago. We had a great honeymoon period before her behavior to explain some of her background. I am a professional who writes for Resource Parents about caring for children who experienced trauma (trauma informed parenting).
The day we picked up Lola (her new name from the get go) from a rescue specializing in rescues about 1,000 miles away and drove her to our property her behavior was telling. She was relaxed and slept in the back seat almost all the way. Since i had to have her on a leash during the stops on the trip, she (wouldn’t) didn’t go poop or pea the entire trip. We arrived at our 18 acres 24 hours later, including a stop in a motel, we let her out of the car and she ran to the field and did her business. At truck stops, she was fearless of big truck sounds like air brakes. this all added up to being around equipment.
She is our 3rd Dobie, the rest were raised as puppies and lived out our companionship. Lola was under weight by 15 pounds after living at the rescue for over a year. No one claimed her because she had a bad leg (previously broken) and was skin and bones. It was unfortunate the rescue was extremely full, she was caged with another dog who ate her food. She has lots of scares, some folks think she was a bait dog.
Now, with all that background, we love her. She is a very loving dog who comes to work with me each day. We have worked with her for a year now; she recently started looking at us; she is learning to self-regulate but has a way to go. We are applying my training in trauma with her, asking “what has happened to you” rather than “what is wrong with you.” With that, we have made great progress, but she seems to hate other dogs, she barks an unfriendly bark at every dog she sees. She is beginning to self-regulate on this and when she escalates (like seeing a deer on our property).
So my question is how can we introduce her to other dogs? We live in the country, there aren’t other dogs around; our friends are worried about their dog over to be with her or we going to them since she is now a healthy 65 pound red Doberman.
hello,
we adopted our rescued dog when she was 2 years old. She was beaten as a puppy when she was a stray dog and she bit somebody by the ankle. She was very fearful when she came in and we had no possibilities to properly socialize her with people. she is very good indoors, walking on a leash, hiking, walking in the park, in a busy city, no problems with dogs or other animals. people are her fear and we worked on desensitizing her to runners, skaters, and bikers. still, we had no people willing to work with us to help her learn how to be confident among people, not all are bad. she was barking at those who approached us to talk but now she is better. still, we have not reached the point of introducing people, to going to a terrace. we always have her with a head holder for her safety and others. we’d like so much to build confidence to be relaxed around strangers. please, can you help us?
Hi Ioana, Susan did a podcast on this topic, here’s the link for you: https://dogsthat.com/podcast/199/
Please let us know how it works for you and your girl 💕
I’d love to hear more about Tater Salad’s journey and all of the steps you took in those early days! We have a 3.5 street dog rescue pup named Missy and a 1.5 year old Australian Shepherd/Border Collie named Peter. Peter has gotten most of my training attention (and probably attention in general) for the past year, and now I’m doing some confidence re-building with Missy. Love all of your Border Collie knowledge — so many things you share are helping me in Peter’s training. And even though Missy didn’t come to us with destructive behaviors, we are on a forever journey to build her confidence.
Thank you so much for these podcasts. I was directed to your site by someone on a short haired border collie Facebook page.
My post was about the frustrations I am having with a rescue dog I adopted 9 weeks ago. I wish I had watched this podcast before I brought him home as I can now see all the mistakes I have made and the resulting bad behaviors. You have given me hope and some great tools to turn things around.
Hi,
I would love the hear a podcast or u tube video on rescue dogs that have anxiety and the vet recommended Fluoextine. This has helped calm our rescue, but still needs training for barking at every one and dog that passes by our house and for aggression when people come over! I don’t know how to train for her reactive behavior and this trained behavior. I don’t know her history so don’t know why she acts this way. Will these dogs ever grow out of this? I just want to have the dog act normal and be happy! I hope you can help!
I would love to hear a podcast on “resurgence” – It can be so frustrating when you think you have overcome a challenge and then it pops back up. I would love to understand more about why this happens and how to approach it .
I LOVE me some Tater Salad and would listen to or watch anything about him! So please post more stories. One particular question, my puppy likes to be a dog anchor too. I would love to hear how you solved that problem with Tater Salad.
I’d love to see some videos of early work with Tater Salad! I am so grateful that I was familiar with Susan’s programs before getting my shelter dog. I had gone through Recallers with my previous dog who was not a rescue. Susan’s book “Ruff Love” was also very helpful with my rescue. He too started as a dog whose goals in life seemed to be escape when you can and take everything you can get. He’s now lying on the couch with me, a wonderful companion who has earned multiple trick titles and several levels of CGC certification. I have no doubt that whoever raised him would be surprised. I maintain my Recallers membership among other Say Yes/Dogs That programs. We are always working on something!
I would love to see a podcast on anxious dogs, how to help them gain confidence. There are so many rescues that are anxious and not socialized.
This was great info for someone adopting a rescue dog wish I had had this advise when adopting mine 2 years ago, but so glad that I found susan’s website now.
Thank you for another great podcast. I would like more info on how to get my 6 aussies, age 11 years to 4 months, to just hang out together without having constant wrestling mania. This wild play behavior makes me very apprehensive so I usually just “manage the behavior” by keeping them separated using kennels, crates, fenced yards, leashes.