You adopted a rescue! That’s awesome! Two of my dogs are from shelters! Adopting can be such a rewarding experience as you get to give a dog a home who didn’t have one and give a dog a best friend! Many times, though, we use this as a reason to baby our pups which more often than not, creates anxiety and fear.

Reginald and Manny

My first two dogs are both shelter dogs! Reginald came from the Harrisonburg SPCA and Manny came from the Augusta County SPCA. Reginald had been at the SPCA for over a year and had scars on his neck from neglect and abuse. Manny came emaciated from a life lived on the streets until scooped up by a Good Samaritan. Both had pitiful backstories and so both “deserved” to be coddled and babied according to my mind at the time. So I did everything wrong, and I created loads of issues in them in regards to other dogs but even more so in regards to their relationship with each other.

Play with them

Many many problem issues (aggression, chasing cars, biting things, stealing socks) come from a dog feeling compelled by their genetics to do certain things and not knowing where those things are acceptable. This is why play is so important. Your new dog may not want to play with you at first because they are anxious, but try anyway. Try consistently. Dogs are experts at human nonverbal communication and even though they may not want to at first, if you try, they know you want to. Eventually they will warm to the thought and when they find out where it’s not only acceptable to be who they are but also quite fulfilling, it becomes a magical experience and an incredible bond between the two of you. Learn more about play here:

https://www.thetrustedcompanion.com/thetrustedcompanionblog/play-why-its-important-and-how-to-do-it

Train the dog in front of you

“Train the dog in front of you”

is an old dog training adage that most apparently applies to rescues. Dogs live a great deal in the present, and don’t think about things in their past as much as we do unless a specific stimulus prompts a memory or an emotion. It is true that they may come with associations and abrupt changes can be stressful. They may fear men. They may not like other dogs, or cats, or kids and events in their past may have created these associations, but that doesn’t mean they can’t learn differently with you. They may need some time to adjust. Too often we let the real or made-up pasts of our beloved shelter dogs influence our expectations for them in our present. This is what I messed up. This is how I created strong issues in my pups which I then had to learn to rehabilitate. Don’t be like me.

Dogs need structure

No matter what may or may not have happened in your dog’s past, the dog in front of you needs structure and a relationship. Dogs thrive when they can be who they are in structure. They blossom when they know you like them and can be themselves with you, when they can trust you to be the leader and when they know they are safe when they are with you. And you can’t accomplish this through coddling, or giving into them when they are being pushy (no matter how cute it may be), or excusing their anxious or aggressive behavior because of what may have happened in their past. They are social creatures for sure. They need play. They need your affection. But they also need rules. They need you to help them figure that you are the leader, that you like them and they can have fun with you, and that listening to you keeps them safe. Developing games (with rules) and obedience training are great ways to start!

Crate training is another great way to give structure to your rescue! If your dog has issues with separation anxiety or any other anxiety that is getting reinforced when you are not home, crate training helps a lot. For advice on crate training your rescue, check out my crate training blog here

Give your dog what they need to be happy and confident

Don’t hold back on the things your dog needs because you don’t think they can handle it or you don’t think they’re ready for it. Quite the contrary, they deserve it! They deserve to have a worthwhile leader who will look out for them and help them feel confident! They deserve to have somebody invested enough in them to do the selfless things to help them grow. And then, with your happy, confident, rescue pup, the sky is the limit to what you can do! You can get involved in dog sports! You can train them off leash for those fun hikes! And they can be a model citizen exemplifying how cool rescue dogs can be!