Rescue Dog very clingy.

[JJ2210]

8 days ago we took in a Romanian rescue dog to foster. He's 8 years old and was rescued from a kill shelter then was in a Romanian foster shelter for a while.

When he arrived last week he formed an attachment to me and wouldn't leave my side for anything. We put a crate up for him our dining room and made that room his room. He slept in his crate the first night but hasn't touched barely after that.

I have to leave him home alone to take the kids to school and to various after school clubs but if I go out he scratches and whines at the door and has recently tried to get up onto the windowsill of our living room. Once he's calmed down a bit, usually 2/3 minutes he lays down by the door I closed and just waits. However trying to leave means trying to push him away from the door enough for me to close it and trying to not let him see me putting shoes on and getting keys. I'm trying to desensitize him to me leaving but this will take time.

Ideally I'd feel better with him in crate but when I tried it before he got so upset so I don't really know what to do. Worried one day I'm going to come back and find he's hurt himself.

 

[CorvusCorax]

With the best will in the world, a busy young family does not sound like the best fit for a dog like this - can you get back in touch with the charity to discuss your concerns?

Dogs like this will have gone through a great deal of stress and will take weeks and months to decompress at their own pace. Certainly not in a week.

Make a good association with the crate the same as you would with any other dog, all food in there, yummy treats, sit nearby at the beginning, cover it to make it feel safer.
He's probably been transported to the UK in a rattly crate for hours on end, so bear that in mind.

 

[Sandstone1]

Its very early days for him. Poor dog. He is probably traumatised. You need to take things very slowly. Start by picking up your keys and putting them down again. Then pick them up and go outside but just for a few seconds, very slowly increase the time you are out but do it very very slowly. Its going to be a long process. Personally I wouldnt crate him but I am not a fan of crates. Does he like food? A stuffed kong or a smoked bone may help when you have to leave him. I would look in to getting a good behaviourist who uses positive reinforcement. Baby gates can also be a big help in keeping dogs seperate without them feeling alone.

 

[JJ2210]

Honestly I feel the same way and am a bit frustrated that the rescue asked in the first place knowing our situation. They actually asked if we would consider adopting him before they advertised him for adoption but I declined as it's not fair on him.

I actually think we will end up keeping him and he'll end up as a long term foster but I honestly think he'd do better in a home where people are at home more often than not.

I've been giving him treats in his crate and feeding him his meals right next to it. I'm going to keep going but the conflicting advice from so many people makes my head spin.

 

[JJ2210]

Its very early days for him. Poor dog. He is probably traumatised. You need to take things very slowly. Start by picking up your keys and putting them down again. Then pick them up and go outside but just for a few seconds, very slowly increase the time you are out but do it very very slowly. Its going to be a long process. Personally I wouldnt crate him but I am not a fan of crates. Does he like food? A stuffed kong or a smoked bone may help when you have to leave him. I would look in to getting a good behaviourist who uses positive reinforcement. Baby gates can also be a big help in keeping dogs seperate without them feeling alone.

I feel so guilty whenever I have to leave him and I wish i didn't have to. The rescue have annoyed me a bit because they knew our situation when they asked me to take him on and are now telling me now he's with us that I can't leave him for very long at all. It's so tricky!

I've tried a stuffed Kong but he didn't touch it. He loves treats but only when I'm around. We've done we today and yesterday when everyone was home. We've been practicing the "wait" command with him and he's slowly starting to understand it. We do have baby gates but he can jump both of them which is why we had to start closing the door. We have been keeping the same routine with him since day 1 including night time routine too. My husband thought by having a consistent routine he'd soon adjust but I'm not so sure to be honest.

 

[Sandstone1]

Its very early days for him. It sounds like the rescue are not being fair on you. Does leaving a radio on help? Adaptil spray or collar? Bach flower rescue remerdy.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Honestly I feel the same way and am a bit frustrated that the rescue asked in the first place knowing our situation. They actually asked if we would consider adopting him before they advertised him for adoption but I declined as it's not fair on him.

I actually think we will end up keeping him and he'll end up as a long term foster but I honestly think he'd do better in a home where people are at home more often than not.

I've been giving him treats in his crate and feeding him his meals right next to it. I'm going to keep going but the conflicting advice from so many people makes my head spin.

Thank goodness you are doing right by him but it's luck on their part. But foreign rescue is another rant for another day...

I personally prefer airline crates (mostly plastic) as they are more cosy and the metal ones are very noisy (and as I say, he'll probably have had a very stressful journey in one).
If he was a street dog he won't really understand being contained in a kennel/crate/house. If he's eight he will have had years of doing his own thing so it may take a long time to recondition him.

 

[JJ2210]

Its very early days for him. It sounds like the rescue are not being fair on you. Does leaving a radio on help? Adaptil spray or collar? Bach flower rescue remerdy.[/QUOTE

I don't feel they are either unfortunately they don't have anywhere else for him to go and he's a great dog.

We leave the TV on whenever we go out and it's always on the same channel, same programmes.

I have heard of the spray or collar but will look into them. We can't afford a behaviourist unfortunately. It's one of the reasons we would t adopt him even if he was the perfect dog as financially we can't afford him in the long run between insurance, adoption fee ect x

 

[Sandstone1]

The rescue need to be helping you out here. Do they have a behaviourist?

 

[meleeka]

Try an Adaptil collar and/or Adaptil Express. I’ve found they work on my clingy rescue. If you can, walk the dog before you need to go out, so you have a tired dog. I always leave the radio on and have a dog gate so I can shut my dog in the lounge away from the door. We’ve made a full length one because she’ll clear a normal one and tries to open the front door ?

 

[JJ2210]

I don't think they do. They have a lady who they tag in every question I ask so I think she's their go to on everything to do with their dogs but to be honest she isn't very helpful. Just says I need to start leaving him in 5 minute increments then coming back and rewarding him, then 5 minutes again then build up the time. Which as I said is unrealistic for us as a family. They are also unlikely to pay for a behaviourist as they are completely self funded.

 

[JJ2210]

Try an Adaptil collar and/or Adaptil Express. I’ve found they work on my clingy rescue. If you can, walk the dog before you need to go out, so you have a tired dog. I always leave the radio on and have a dog gate so I can shut my dog in the lounge away from the door. We’ve made a full length one because she’ll clear a normal one and tries to open the front door ?

Thank you il get some ordered. Il definitely try walking him before I have to go out. Yes our rescue can clear a stair gate too so we are going to have to double gate but until then we are having to close all door to the living room. He has free roam of the living room and dining room though.

 

[JJ2210]

The rescue need to be helping you out here. Do they have a behaviourist?

I don't think they do. They have a lady who they tag in every question I ask so I think she's their go to on everything to do with their dogs but to be honest she isn't very helpful. Just says I need to start leaving him in 5 minute increments then coming back and rewarding him, then 5 minutes again then build up the time. Which as I said is unrealistic for us as a family. They are also unlikely to pay for a behaviourist as they are completely self funded.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Is it a registered charity or just a group of well-meaning people?

 

[JJ2210]

It's a registered charity with a full rescue back up.

 

[planete]

It is very early days. The dog has literally just landed and things should settle down soon if you stick to your routine. In the meantime just manage the situation by getting a few extra tall dog gates (not stair gates) and making sure the dog is unable to escape which can be difficult with young children around. I used to foster for a well run lurcher rescue. Unless you are extremely lucky, the settling in period can be a little bit hair raising at times especially with dogs who have been feral but dogs are amazingly adaptable. Try to act very cool whenever you are leaving and also when you come back, the less fuss the better. In fact, it is a good rule to treat the foster as a lodger for the first few days, feed, walk, toilet, basic training, petting for a few seconds only as a reward. When the dog starts behaving in a more relaxed manner, then you can relax as well and give him all the love he needs. Otherwise you will end up like me, a twice failed fosterer and now owned by four dogs!

 

[JJ2210]

It is very early days. The dog has literally just landed and things should settle down soon if you stick to your routine. In the meantime just manage the situation by getting a few extra tall dog gates (not stair gates) and making sure the dog is unable to escape which can be difficult with young children around. I used to foster for a well run lurcher rescue. Unless you are extremely lucky, the settling in period can be a little bit hair raising at times especially with dogs who have been feral but dogs are amazingly adaptable. Try to act very cool whenever you are leaving and also when you come back, the less fuss the better. In fact, it is a good rule to treat the foster as a lodger for the first few days, feed, walk, toilet, basic training, petting for a few seconds only as a reward. When the dog starts behaving in a more relaxed manner, then you can relax as well and give him all the love he needs. Otherwise you will end up like me, a twice failed fosterer and now owned by four dogs!

Thank you. We are sticking to our routine but that does mean we have to leave him, usually only for half an hour but one day a week for a couple of hours.

I try not to make a big deal but he's so tuned in. Just knows and then makes all attempts to leave the room he knows I'm going to shut him in.

In all other ways he's a fantastic dog. He walks well, is great with other dogs, no issue with cats, brilliant with kids not issues with noise.

We would adopt him but we can't afford it and I'm not sure it's really fair on him to be honest with our lifestyle ??‍

 

[JJ2210]

It is very early days. The dog has literally just landed and things should settle down soon if you stick to your routine. In the meantime just manage the situation by getting a few extra tall dog gates (not stair gates) and making sure the dog is unable to escape which can be difficult with young children around. I used to foster for a well run lurcher rescue. Unless you are extremely lucky, the settling in period can be a little bit hair raising at times especially with dogs who have been feral but dogs are amazingly adaptable. Try to act very cool whenever you are leaving and also when you come back, the less fuss the better. In fact, it is a good rule to treat the foster as a lodger for the first few days, feed, walk, toilet, basic training, petting for a few seconds only as a reward. When the dog starts behaving in a more relaxed manner, then you can relax as well and give him all the love he needs. Otherwise you will end up like me, a twice failed fosterer and now owned by four dogs!

See our night time routine he seems to have picked up very quickly. First few nights of being left down stairs he'd try and follow us and scratch, whine, pace to for a minute or so then settle down. Now he gets up, we tell him to wait, we put the TV on the usual channel and shut the door then he jumps back on the sofa and goes to sleep.

 

[gallopingby]

IF they are a properly registered charity they SHOULD be able to offer you appropriate support, that means having a behaviourist on board or agreeing to pay reasonable costs. Sadly many of these ‘charities’ are not adequately funded and quite honestly should not be being supported. Some are money making ventures, not all, but it’s surprising how many people are prepared to pay there charges.
Adaptil collars and diffusers usually provide some relief and can work well. Some of the doggy relaxing music / videos you can find on YouTube may also be helpful.