Hi All, First post here for me. We picked up a new rescue labrador over easter. Our new lab is 18 months old and was voluntarily surrendered to the pound before being rescued by Rescue a Labrador. We got him a week later. He is not our first lab, our last girl was also a rescue lab who passed 18 months ago at the age of 14. Anyway, our new man, Eric, has an issue with separation. I've read this is common with rescue dogs. Does anyone have any tips on how to reduce the issue of Separation Anxiety. Essentially, he ghosts me around the house (inside and out) all day and night. If he is asleep and snoring and I leave a room, he wakes and follows. When we go out, he can be tricky to get outside, although this is now somewhat alleviated using a kong and pigs ears as treats only when we leave the house. When we are home he is generally an inside dog. We have also had reports from neighbours about him howling when we are not around. Its apparently not an offensive volume, but I would prefer that he was comfortable enough alone to settle. Any thoughts on how to achieve this? I'd love to hear any tips and experiences others have had. I'd love to sort this to the extent that he is at least comfortable and quiet when alone. Otherwise he is a great dog. Loves our kids, settles well in the house (although likes to eat lego), tries to do the right thing (still has big issues with impulses). He has been trained a little, but we have gone right back to basics with sit, stay and down. Slowly getting better.
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog Hello , and a warm welcome from me , lovely that you have rescued a dog I have almost four year old Sam and a rescue girl Millie, she came to live with us almost two years ago . I agree , having rescued others too , that often a shelter dog bonds very quickly indeed , Millie followed me everywhere for about six months, even sitting outside the bathroom door . Start by leaving Eric for very short periods of time, not making any fuss about leaving the house , just all very matter of fact . Give him an unwashed item of clothing with your scent on it and maybe leave a radio on and just go, but come back after a couple of minutes and again , no mad fuss when you come in, just ignore him ( hard I know ) for a few mins . Gradually lengthen the time that you leave Eric , you will get there .
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog Hi there to you and Eric! There are several people here who have taken on rescue dogs, and the general consensus is - take it very, very slowly. Don't try and leave him alone for any length of time at first. If he is so scared of being left alone / abandoned that he follows you constantly around the house, then you need first to start getting him used to being alone in another room from you. Does he have a crate or other safe place? Leave him for one minute, then come back and praise him to the skies for being good and quiet. Next time, do 1 and 1/2 minutes, then 2 minutes, and so on. You really have to treat him like a tiny puppy; he is terrified of being abandoned. Once he will lie quietly in one room while you are in the next, then you can start moving outside the house - but do take it one step at a time. What a wonderful thing you are doing, giving a home to a poor dog who was surrendered to the pound. Good luck, and we would love to see some photos!
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog Hi and welcome to the forum from us, Hattie 7 years and our rescue boy Charlie 4 years who was also given to the pound at just 6 months :'( So sorry you lost your girl :'( Good for you rescuing Eric he sounds like a lovely boy Charlie acted pretty much the same as Eric and we did all the things already suggested by Kate and Karen. I still always leave the radio on when I go out, don't say anything just leave and we built up the time he was left and he settled down. Taking it slowly is the key and not expecting too much from Eric as he has had a rough ride and needs to settle into his new home and family and feel he belongs again, but with consistency, love and patience you will get there. I wonder if when you have to go out for any length of time you could ask a neighbour to pop in to let him out etc. it might help to settle him until you return. Karen's suggestion of a crate is good, we put one up for Charlie for a while and it really helped him and we didn't even close the door just having his own space reassured him. Good luck with Eric. Helen xx
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog Thanks for the responses guys. When we go out, Eric is put out int he yard, although the neighbours say he spends most of his time on the elevated deck where he can see the whole world (The same spot our previous girl loved so much). We try not to make a big deal of when we leave and try not to have the same routine when we leave. When we put him out he is given a kong with food and a pigs ear or bone as a treat. At first he would still follow us back tot he door, now he won't leave the food and treats, so thats a good start. I've been trying to spend short periods of time away with varying degrees of success. Even being on the other side of a pool fence where he can see me brings on howls. I won't go back till he is quiet which I also reward him for. Around the house I am the only one he follows from room to room. When the wife or kids go out and I am home it doesn't bother him. If they are home and I go out, he howls for a few minutes before settling. Mind you, as I type this, for the first time in the 2 1/2 weeks we have had him, he has walked away from under my feet into another room and gotten on his bed in the lounge room. He is very trainable, it only took under 2 days to teach him to ignore our chickens. I still can't believe he was under 48 hours from being put down. I really think his past owner did love him as he has been cared for and had ACL surgery. Here is a few pics of Eric.
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog Oh, what a lovely looking boy! It would have been a crime to have him PTS. He looks very benevolent and loving.
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog How gorgeous. I'm biased as to me he looks like my dog, Obi It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job. It might help to chat to the neighbours about the efforts you are making (if you haven't already) so they know that you are onto it and are doing your best and are expecting it to diminish in time.
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog The neighbours are fine and love him. The howling isn't an issue for them, and they know his background. They also know not to rush and give attention when he howls. I'm just hoping to make Eric as happy and comfortable as possible. Obviously whenever you take on a rescue dog, you take on unknown issues as well. We have no idea why he was surrendered, the pound isn't allowed to tell us. But obviously his last few weeks have turned his world upside down. I'll keep working on short periods alone. I work from home so that helps. It would be nice to be in the front yard though, when he is in the back yard, and not listen to him working himself up.
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog He looks super, how lucky you are to have found each other. I can't add to the excellent advice so I will just wish you luck. Look forward to hearing more about your adventures with Eric
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog Why on earth is the shelter not allowed to tell you what happened to him and why he was surrendered? That information might be really useful in working out a strategy on how to deal with his problems.
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog He's lovely I had a rescue dog who howled when we left him. Eventually, after a year or so, he still howled - but it became a sort of ritual with him. We left him - howled for two minutes - then he settled down He was absolutely fine. When we got the next dog, six months later he joined in the short howling sessions, he clearly thought it was the thing to do!
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog He's lovely and he's found the right family - and the right neighbours too!
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog Welcome, and what a lovely boy. If he is in the house when he is with you, can he stay in the house when you leave? If outside is not somewhere that he is normally alone, it seems to make sense that he would have a better chance at settling inside, where he is normally when you are around.
Re: Settling a new Rescue Dog Hi and welcome . Eric looks lovely I'm due to pick up a rescue lab on Saturday so reading this has helped. I have a 20 month old lab already and I'm hoping she will help settle him in a bit
