Common mistakes

Everyone knows that adopting a dog from a shelter or a rescue saves animals’ lives. Social media feeds are packed with heartwarming stories of shelters and rescues adopting out large numbers of dogs to their forever homes. It’s feel-good central, and we eat it up.

What people don’t talk about as much, however, is what the first few weeks at home with their new dog are like, particularly if it’s difficult. And even less talked about is the fact that many dogs, about 20% according to some statistics, are returned to the rescues and shelters. Not only does this put a strain on the resources of the rescues and the shelters, it puts a strain on the dog being bounced around so much.

When a group of professional dog trainers in Northern California decided to select four dogs from the county animal shelter to foster, train and place in forever homes, they were all reminded how easy it would be to fall prey to the common mistakes many well-meaning adopters make when bringing home a new rescue dog.

These common mistakes are probably the opposite of what you might think.

The four dogs chosen were Olaf, a highly desirable and handsome purebred German Shepherd; Elsa, an eight-month-old, snuggly pit bull; and Crystal and Snow, two adorable little mixed breed dogs that would make great companions. The basic criteria when choosing these dogs were that they appeared to like people as well as other dogs, and that there were no obvious signs of aggression.

When taking our newly adopted dogs home, how we manage them will determine if the integration of these dogs into a family-type setting goes smoothly, or if it goes, well, to the dogs.

A dog coming home from the cooped-up confines of the shelter needs freedom and free rein in order to “get to know” her new home, right? Nope…

Elsa needs boundaries, because too much freedom can be very overwhelming to a new dog. An overwhelmed dog can develop fear and anxiety, and in a new environment, an overwhelmed dog tends to urinate, even if they are housebroken. They may be marking their new territory, or they may urinate just because they are scared and don’t know what else they’re supposed to do.

It is our duty to make sure we’ve set up an environment where our new dog can’t make a mistake by chewing the computer cord or the arm of the couch, for example. When we have inconsistent and unclear boundaries for our dogs, we encourage all kinds of unwanted behaviors and other problems to develop, the kind that help keep us dog trainers employed.

Feeling overwhelmed by the brand new environment, the new sights, sounds and smells can also cause a lot of dogs to behave in a very reserved manner, often leading new adopters to believe they’ve hit the jackpot and brought home the most mellow dog in the shelter. By not providing any structure or boundaries for this mellow and reserved pup, the adopters are setting themselves up to witness a rebirth of their newly adopted dog a few weeks later, when Mr. Mellow turns into the Tasmanian Devil.

The ideal set-up for your newly adopted dog is an area in a centrally located room, like the kitchen or family room. This small area should be blocked off with a gate. A crate is an even better idea, especially if the dog requires remedial house training. Crates are a wonderful training and management tool, and they appeal to a dog’s natural nesting instinct. Most dogs quickly learn that a crate with a nice comfy bed inside is a safe place to rest. Please keep in mind that if your dog has a strong aversion to the crate because she appears extremely stressed at the sight of it, you don’t need to abandon the crate as an option, but you’ll need the help of a dog behavior professional so the aversion doesn’t get worse.

When you have to leave the dog alone for short periods of time, the crate is the safest place. Nobody gets into trouble. When you have to leave for long periods of time, you’ll need to make sure the dog has a reasonably sized space, like an area of a room that doesn’t contain a bunch of tempting-but-forbidden items that might get chewed on. Under no circumstances should your newly adopted dog ever have free run of the house while you are gone. Aside from the destruction and dangerous things they may get into, a dog with free run of the house can develop territorial guarding behaviors due to lack of management and boundaries.

When you are home and supervising your new dog, the dog should be wearing a drag line, which is a leash without a knot or loop at the end to get caught on furniture. This drag line lets you lead your dog outside for potty breaks, remind her to stay off the couch or teach her to come when called, among other things.

You will need to plan on keeping these boundaries in place for several weeks at the very least. Jackie said it was a month before she let Elsa have any free access to the house, and even then Jackie would call Elsa into view when she popped out of sight.

Crystal is an adorable little Chihuahua who went home with trainer Chris. According to Chris, Crystal clearly saw herself as queen of the castle, in charge of everyone. It was obvious that someone had previously made a few common mistakes with Crystal, particularly this one: allowing free access to possessions. In other words, spoiling her with lots of high-value toys and treats without setting any rules about access to them. Big mistake.

Resource or possession guarding is one of the most serious problems we dog trainers deal with in our small-dog clients. Many new adopters feel like the quickest way to their new dog’s heart is through “spoiling.” This also includes giving access to high-value places, such as the couch or your lap, without any access rules.

Chris has other dogs at home, and Crystal immediately went into queen mode, claiming all kinds of possessions around the house. Chris said she hadn’t been home more than 30 minutes when Queen Crystal settled herself on the end of the couch and proceeded to “defend” her space as the other dogs approached to say hello. This problem can become very serious, as dogs will defend spaces and possessions not just from other dogs, but from people as well.

Remedy: Chris set Crystal up in a nice big pen (boundaries) and immediately started “trading” with her. She would approach Crystal with a treat, say “take it” and then give her the treat, establishing herself as the human Pez dispenser of goodness. This got Crystal’s attention. After a few repetitions, Chris gave Crystal a toy, then approached her with a treat and said “take it,” basically trading Crystal her toy for the treat. This reinforced the idea that Chris represented giving things and not just taking them away.

This is a great exercise, but it must be practiced together with boundaries and structure. Crystal cannot have free access to the couch, nor be given a high-value treat like a bone, until it has been established that she will give it up without defending it. This takes time, usually months. Crystal also had to learn that she couldn’t sit like a queen on a lap and be allowed to tell the other dogs to “go away.” Our laps and the personal space around our bodies can be seen as a high-value resource to a dog, and by not controlling access to those areas, we allow our dogs to claim ownership.

That takes us to everybody’s favorite foster dog, Olaf, and our next common mistake.

All of these common mistakes well-meaning adopters make with their new dogs have to do with boundaries and structure. We cannot stress enough the importance of starting your relationship with your new dog with these things in mind. It takes a few months to really get to know a new dog, and if you put in the management up front, you will avoid the pitfalls that lead to so many dogs being unnecessarily returned to the shelter or rescue.