Rehabilitating Rover - Don't RETURN...RETRAIN!By Diana Sulewski May 30, 2007, 16:46
Email this article Printer friendly pageOne of the top reasons dogs are relinquished to animal shelters is due to behavioral issues. Rescued animals can occasionally present unique challenges. Bringing home a pet is a lifelong relationship that requires steadfast commitment. Every relationship needs a few simple principles to achieve success, and providing obedience AND/OR behavior training for your dog’s unique personality is a key component to that success.
1) Manage your expectations
The list of dog behaviors and personalities is endless and often unpredictable. Know what you are getting into. Be prepared and flexible, for example:
Puppies chew, explore and have housebreaking needs. This will take months of committed training, so if you’re gone more than 4 hours a day, you don’t have time to train a puppy and training needs will escalate with age.
Large breed dogs need room to run and romp. Leash walking is not enough and a lack of vigorous exercise generally leads to destructive or negative behavior.
Working breeds need a job. The keen intelligence and instinct of working dogs requires task training such as agility, obedience or Frisbee/ball training on an ongoing basis.
Terrier breeds need to spend their natural energy in a positive way such as daily games of fetch or agility training.
By training your dog in the direction of his natural giftedness, you open the door to better behavior.
2) Respect individualism
It is unfair to expect your new dog to behave like your old dog. Just because your old dog was good with cats or fond of fetching, it doesn’t mean your new dog will follow suit. He’s entitled to his own personality and training needs, and will bring you his own breed of joy if you invest the time and energy. Explore ways to make him part of your life.
3) Be clear and consistent
Like humans, dogs respond best to clear instructions. If you let Rover jump on you when you come home, don’t expect him to act differently with guests. This principle is especially important when housebreaking. Barring any health issues, if you’re consistent and patient, all dogs can be housebroken. Take him out first thing in the morning (not after your coffee), and every few hours until you establish a routine. Use the same exit, the same commands and reward words – EVERY time – and walk until he goes potty, then praise him while he does his business. If he’s been left alone for a long time, take him out IMMEDIATELY upon arrival…don’t wait “to change your shoes.” Be clear and consistent, and use common sense in all training matters.
4) Get the right kind of help
Anyone can teach basic obedience and even elaborate tricks because most dogs want to please us. However, BEHAVIOR training and OBEDIENCE training are NOT THE SAME. When seeking professional help be sure to determine what portion of your dog’s training needs are behavioral or if his issues can be remedied with basic obedience training. There are many, many trainers out there…some good, some not so good. Do your homework; get references and/or referrals.
5) Housebreaking status
Ever found yourself in dire need of a rest room in an unfamiliar place? That’s what a dog feels when she’s re-homed. “Where is the ladies room?” is what you must answer repeatedly until she remembers it’s “down the escalator behind Appliances.” Regardless of a rescued dog’s housebreaking status upon adoption, when she is re-homed it’s up to the adopter to re-train. Lots of changes require lots of patience.
It is not necessary to reject and return a wonderful pet if you sincerely commit to retrain.
Sammy the boxer mix was surrendered to Chesed Rescue by an owner who left him in a doghouse with no training or companionship. Sammy was re-homed to a well-meaning man who thought he had the time for a large breed dog but gave into rambunctious playtime instead. Sammy became destructive and was returned. A Chesed foster home worked with Sammy on his training and socialization, eventually placing him with a wonderful family that suited Sammy’s needs perfectly. Sammy became a perfect gentleman.
Two-year-old Benny was adopted by a busy family and left home alone for about 6 hours a day. Upon arriving home from work, Benny’s adopter would take a few minutes to “change her shoes” before walking Benny. He never messed in the house during the long day alone, but he couldn’t contain himself for a costume change. The adopter wanted to return him, but upon hearing about this routine, a Chesed volunteer made it clear that asking him to wait even longer was unfair. The simple fix was to walk him immediately upon arriving, before the shoe change.
Grady was an adult Jack Russell with confidence issues. Chesed rehabilitated his health upon rescue, and re-homed him with a qualified adopter who promised to give him a two-week adjustment period after being warned about his issues. Less than 18 hours later the adopter could not wait to return Grady. What went wrong? The adopter misunderstood BEHAVIOR training for OBEDIENCE training and was ill-advised by a dog trainer who told him to return Grady so he could be placed in a home without dogs or cats. Grady now lives happily in a home with a cat and 2 dogs, and adopters who took the time to mold his behavior.
Diana Sulewski, a former professional horse trainer and currently the Executive Consultant in Math/Sciences for Thomson Higher Education, is a volunteer with Chesed Rescue, a non-profit, all-volunteer organization that rescues, rehabilitates and re-homes companion pets in Boca Raton, Florida. They do not have a shelter and rely solely on a network of foster homes. Diana and her husband Alan have two grown daughters, 6 dogs and 2 horses. This article on:
www.thepetgazette.org
