Rescue Dogs

Over the last few weeks I seem to have spent a lot of my time dealing, in one way or another, with rescue dog related issues.

Two families I'm friendly with in my village have both recently taken on a rescue dog from our local animal shelter. One's a terrier, the other is a lurcher.

At the weekend I met up with someone I've not seen for ages who's just about to take on a rescue greyhound, and she told me she has two friends who are also planning to take in rescue dogs.

Just out of interest I did a bit of research on the internet last night on rescue organisations. I was absolutely staggered at just how many there are out there. Why on earth do so many dogs end up needing to be re-homed? I know there are lots of perfectly understandable reasons (divorce, death of owner, inability of ageing owner to cope, incompatibility with new baby etc), but I find it hard to believe that those 'genuine' reasons account for all the tens of thousands of dogs that at any given moment are looking for a new home.

My fear is that a large majority of those dogs are, for one reason or another, viewed by their owners as 'rejects'. Maybe they were bought on a whim because as pups they just looked so cute and adorable.

Or perhaps they were bought as a present for someone who didn't really want them.

Either way the sad reality is that a lot of these dogs have been mistreated, neglected, abandoned or even violently abused. What kind of uncaring *^#>*!# does that to a dog?

Although some rescue dogs have been well looked after and treated kindly all their lives, the fact is that many more have not. So if you take one on it's quite possible that you'll inherit a whole pile of emotional 'baggage', and the chances are you'll have no idea what any of this baggage is, or how come the dog's carrying it around in the first place.

So you need to take things nice and easy, and not push the dog too soon. Give it time to build up a trusting, loving relationship with you before you expect too much of it.

Both the families I mentioned earlier have learned this the hard way. The terrier quickly decided that whenever he was let out in the garden he'd find a way out and take himself off for a walk around the village. But now he's settling in this is becoming far less of a problem, and the last time I spoke to his owners they were saying he's become far more responsive to them now. It's as if he feels settled and secure and so now he's starting to let his guard down.

The family who took on the lurcher have had a slightly more traumatic time of it. The day after they adopted him I met them out for a walk with him while I was walking my two. We were on the road, so I had mine under close control.

Over the next few days we kept on meeting while we were out, but always on the road. Each time all 3 dogs had got on really well with plenty of excited tail wagging and play-bowing, especially from Tufter and his new found playmate.

This came as no surprise at all as they're both still youngsters; Tufter's now 16 months old and Jay, the adoptee, is 10 months.

Then about a week or so after Jay's 'adoption' I met his owner out in the fields. All 3 dogs were off the lead. Jay spotted us and raced over at speed (he's a *very* fast lurcher, probably nearly as fast as a greyhound). He bounded over to Tufter saying 'let's play'.

Never one to turn down an invitation like that Tufter bounced playfully at Jay, who promptly turned tail and fled in a terrible panic. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him straight out of the field. As he got to the stile, instead of negotiating it in the normal way he just tried to run straight through it. He smacked into it (at probably 30-35 miles per hour), screamed his head off and collapsed on his side.

It turned out he'd broken a back leg.

When I learned the outcome my initial reaction was one of guilt; if Tufter hadn't reacted the way he had it would never have happened.

But then when I reflected on it I realised it was just plain daft to try and pin the blame on Tufter. Jay had been the one to instigate play, then when Tufter had said 'ok' it was Jay who'd had the completely freaked-out reaction.

What on earth had caused Jay to react that way? Who knows. But my guess is that he was either not properly socialised as a youngster, or else at some point in the past he's been attacked by another dog and associated Tufter bounding towards him with the expectation of being attacked again.

But because his background is all a mystery we'll never know. But I have to say that in his new owner's shoes I'm not sure if I'd have had him off the lead quite so soon. I probably would have done, but I must say that I'd want to be reasonably certain of a rescue dog's likely behaviour before letting him run free in the open.

I'm not trying to criticise his owner in any way, merely musing.

But the point is that these two stories of the terrier and the lurcher simply illustrate some of the uncertainties and difficulties you can encounter when you take on a rescue dog. Please don't let that put you off taking one on in the first place. Just remember that if you do take one you need to give the relationship more time to develop than you would with a puppy.

Don't expect too much too soon of your new adoptee. Take it easy and try to gently ease it into new situations as you assess what it's likely reaction's going to be. And although you are obviously going to have to address the whole issue of training, don't be in too much of a hurry and be extra vigilant about just taking things one step at a time.

Recommended reading "Dog Training Blueprint To Success".

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