New dog...

[srburk]

Adopted dog from shelter...has only been here three days. He whines whenever I leave the room today...after a while he barks. This happens even if a family member is in the room with him. I don't want to be the only person he likes....so how do I convince him that the rest of the family has his best interests at heart, too? I've tried letting the kids take him outside and treat him for going potty....letting the kids come in and let him out of the crate and play with him (he's only in the crate when we aren't here....only when I run errands, I don't have an outside job). My ten year old daughter really wanted a dog and wanted a dog that liked HER...I realize I can't pick who/what the dog likes, but surely I can influence it a little, and figure out how to reduce the dog's anxiety? He is treated for walking into the crate, and right now we try to make trips out as short as we can and we treat him when we come in (not me if I can help it), take him outside and play with him. Right now my son runs back and forth with the dog in the living room...he does not like outside much...the grass makes him itchy and the pavement is too hot. He doesn't like toys, and I am still looking for a brick and mortar that provides chewy stuff that wasn't made in China.

Please tell me he will get more relaxed when he realizes that we come back all the time. I already am quite stressed that my cat is mad at me and spends most of her time next to a bookshelf in the room we gated off for her.

Oh, and I forgot...three year old (we think) silky terrier. Has obviously been in a house before.

[emmabeth]

It will take time - but having a bit of a panicky 'oh no' moment is perfectly normal!

I would make it (supervised if necessary) your kids job to put down his food and call him over at meal times, and teach her clicker training too, so taht she can do this with him. Clicker training is an awesome way to build a dogs confidence, in himself and in his handler.

Check out the clicker training thread in the Articles section, and also have a look through www.clickertraining.com, familiarise yourself with the clicker process and get the dog conditioned to the clicker so that he understands that click = a treat is coming.

Then explain the process to your daughter and you both do the clicker training together, start out with easy things and it doesnt really matter WHAT you teach him wtih the clicker, its the act of him learning and figuring things out for himself that does the 'good'. You may need to start off rewarding the slightest move in teh right direction - dont hope for him to get the whole new behaviour right away. Say if you wanted to teach him to turn a circle, you may need to start out clicking just a turn of the head or a look in the direction you want the circle to be in.

For dogs used to punishment based training, they can be reluctant to try new behaviours at first so a lot of patience is required. Once they get the hang of it their confidence improves no end though so it is well worth doing.

[MichelleD]

srburk:

I recently adopted a shelter dog myself, and my 11 y/o son also really wanted the dog to be "his" and to be attached primarily to him. We had our last dog for almost 14 years, had him since before my son was born, and he was very attached to ME in the family -- wouldn't listen to my husband and certainly not my son! I was heartbroken when we had to put him down in November.

Well, the new dog is also attaching more to me. He's too difficult to walk right now, so my son doesn't get to do that activity (the one he looked forward to the most), but I make sure that he's the one who feeds him every day, brushes him, and he definitely helps with all the training. Although the dog tends to favor me, he WILL listen to my son.

So keep your daughter involved in the process and their relationship will develop.

And I've had a few "oh no" moments here as well! It's a huge change, it's an adjustment for the dog and the family. Hang in there!

[Jenna316]

srburk, you've already been given lots of good advice here. I just wanted to chime in and say that I understand what you're going through. My animals tend to bond with me a bit tighter than other family memebers too, probably because as a stay at home mom I get to spend a lot more time with our pets. But I've learned over the years (as Emmabeth has already mentioned) one of the keys is to let the others in the family be the "food givers". That tends to form a strong bond with dogs/humans - providing the good stuff! So when a new dog comes into our home, my husband and daughter share the duty of feeding at meal times. It's really helped.

So good luck with your pup! Keep us posted on how you all are doing.

Oh, and I bet your cat comes around soon. Now mine handle it well almost from the get go, but in the earlier days, I worried about my cat's too when a new dog came into the house. They pouted and glared at me for awhile, then got over themselves and came around. So, there's hope there too!

[troop]

you need time to settle so dont panic ... i would say dont fuss when you leave the room or when you come back in just go about your day as normally as possible... with our dogs any signs of seperation anxiety is treated like so .... its worked for all. leave room close door immediately come back in sit down wait until doggy calm then call him over and treat can be you or whoever else is in the room. then just get up and leave the room close door walk a few steps then return with as little fuss as possible and repeat until your dog gets used to you coming and going sometimes leave the door open so he can follow and try not to leave him so long he starts to wine or bark. he will soon learn you always come back. try leaving a tasty treat filled kong with him when yu need to go out longer.. sounds to me like your doing great with the crate training and im sure in time he will ove all of his new family dont force it it will come eventually ... sorry im babbling

[srburk]

Thanks. Dearest hubby is in living room teaching daughter how to use the clicker with bacon treats. I left the room, as he will look at me if given a command by anyone else if I am nearby.

I feel bad that the dog is anxious....we leave him out as much as we can, but it's not safe for him or the cat to have free reign in the house right now. I think I will try moving the crate into one of the kids' rooms at night to see if it's better for him if he can see someone and he will settle and sleep. First night, he barked all night. Second night, he was quiet. Third night, he barked all night. I cannot find anything he will chase or play with yet. All he is interested in is food. (Which is too bad, because he has terrible tartar, and when he gets used to home , I have to take him back to the vet for teeth cleaning.) Today we are feeding his favorite food next to the crate door....and I may try moving it just inside the door to see if that will build up positive associations with the thing. I have no idea what his history is...he doesn't even really know his name yet. He was obviously an indoor dog before...he is pretty well housetrained already.

It's been a long time since I had a dog--my family had dogs, but they lived outside. This is a big adjustment for everyone, and we want him to be safe and secure.

[jjphoenix]

dont panic, youve only just got him, he'll settle in his own time, lots of dogs display seperation symptoms until their settled which can take any time between 2 weeks and 3 months

[srburk]

Ha! Tried feeding bits of carrot as a treat (don't want to make him a fat doggie), and he mouthed them, spit them on the ground, and looked at me like, "you have GOT to be kidding me."

Can't get him to use the small kong like thing we bought for him...he'll worry it a bit and then just give up. And he won't chew on it. He has a ball...chewy bones....a soft toy....cares for none of it. Any suggestions on something that he might want to play with? The only thing I can guess is that whereever he was before, he didn't have toys.

[troop]

as he i a terrier i would have thought squeaky things would appeal but i wouldnt worry my Harry didnt play with us and toys until we had him for about 2 weeks or so

[jjphoenix]

agin, playin gwith toys will happen gradually as he settles in. Use tasty treats which should be meat based, such as chopped hot dog, chicken, ham, etc. Cheese is aso a good treat. chop treats to about the size of your fingernail

[MichelleD]

Ha! Tried feeding bits of carrot as a treat (don't want to make him a fat doggie), and he mouthed them, spit them on the ground, and looked at me like, "you have GOT to be kidding me."

Can't get him to use the small kong like thing we bought for him...he'll worry it a bit and then just give up. And he won't chew on it. He has a ball...chewy bones....a soft toy....cares for none of it. Any suggestions on something that he might want to play with? The only thing I can guess is that whereever he was before, he didn't have toys.

I was concerned when I first brought my dog home from the shelter, too, about how to occupy him and treat him because it seemed he didn't want a lot of things that dogs should want -- a kong stuffed with treats, rawhide to chew, toys, etc. I was reminded on these boards that because he's in a new environment with new people, he's stressed, and may not be responsive to every treat and toy. They were right! He ignored or refused a lot of the things I offered him in the early days and shocked me several weeks later when he picked up a rawhide and went to town on it. I've had him two months and only in the last two weeks has he taken the kong and enjoyed it.

So ... it may be that while he's not interested in toys right now, in a few weeks or more he may surprise you and love every one of them.

[troop]

talking of treats my Harrys favourite treat is funnily enough raw carrot he goes nuts for them and as he is fussy about food rather than change it i mix grated carrot in and he wolfs it down

[emmabeth]

If his teeth are really bad, he may well not want to chew or bite stuff so I would get him that dental done asap.