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2007, 2008

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Caring For Your Adopted Dog

Essential Care Items

 Special Care - Most dogs that are adopted from shelters or rescue organizations may suffer from some form of behavioral problem due to the stress of these situations.  Some of these behavioral problems include separation anxiety, barking, digging, chewing, and inappropriate elimination.  With lots of love, patience and training most dogs can overcome these problems.  Please see below for the tip sheets on how to correct these behavioral problems.

Feeding – Adoptive dogs may have trouble transferring to a new food at first and may experience bouts with diarrhea.  Be sure to find out what food your pet has been fed in the shelter.  Mix the shelter food with the food you plan to feed for about one week to help your pet's digestive system adjust to the change. 

Feed your dog the best quality food you can afford. Poorly balanced diets can result in obesity and a shortened life span. High quality food is more easily digestible.  Therefore, you use less and it also helps to decrease the amount of times your pet goes to the bathroom. Young dogs should be feed a growth formula until they are at least a year old. Growth formulas have more protein than the maintenance formulas, essential for growing puppies.  Mature dogs should be fed a maintenance formula to maintain a healthy weight.

Young puppies should be feed three times per day until they are at least six months old and then feed twice daily thereafter.  Vitamins are great for growing puppies and adult dogs.  They are a good way to treat your dog instead of giving table scraps.  Your pet should always have access to clean, fresh water.

Grooming – Grooming is a great way for you to bond with your adoptive dog.  Your dog should be brushed frequently (at least once daily). This helps distribute the oils in your dog's skin making his coat shiny and healthy. Bathing should be done as needed with a mild dog (baby shampoo works great!). Your pet's nails should be trimmed monthly, taking just the sharp tips off. Be careful not to trim to short or bleeding will occur. If this happens, apply pressure to the nail tip until bleeding stops. 

Collars - There are many types of collars on the market, making decisions difficult. We do not recommend training collars. They can injure your dog unless you are properly trained to use them.  A collar is necessary to identify your pet with tags and for walking on a leash. Therefore, a simple nylon or leather collar is sufficient. A collar should be no tighter than to allow two fingers between neck and collar.  If you need more control for walking your dog, we recommend a harness style collar. This prevents choking and gives you better control of your dog's body.                                                                                

Potty Training – Most shelter dogs may require a short retraining period for potty training.  The following is what we recommend for potty training:  Puppies are like children... as soon as they wake, eat or are done playing they have to go to the bathroom. Therefore, put them outside as soon as they have done any of these three things. It is also a good idea to have your puppy on a schedule so they can learn when they will be going out for potty time.  Watch for circling and sniffing as this is a sign they are looking for the right spot. Praise them as soon they have done it correctly. Never punish them for doing it wrong. Try not to leave your puppy outside to play while on a potty mission.  If your puppy does not potty within a few minutes take him back inside.  This will help him associate outside time as potty time.  If they have an accident, be sure to show them the accident and with a stern no put them directly outside (do not rub their nose in it). Clean up any accidents thoroughly to get rid of the smell. If the smell lingers this can attract them for more accidents.

Crate Training - Crate training is good for a variety of training problems such as potty training, chewing and anxiety.   The premise behind crate training is to keep your dog in its' crate whenever you are unable to supervise its' activities.  This teaches your dog that he is safe and can count on you to come back and take care of his needs. 

Toys - Toys allow your dog to exercise, play and entertain itself.   Use a “toy box” to hold you dogs toys and allow your dog to play with the toys on special occasions such as play time, when you leave the house, etc.  This teaches your dog that he gets a special treat when you leave, toys are for playing (not shoes) and that you are the controller of the toys (boss).  You will find that your dog has more interest in his toys when he doesn’t have constant access to them.  Puppies like children go through a teething stage where they loose their baby teeth and get their adult teeth.  The chewing stage will get better after six months but can last until they are over a year old.   Be sure that you provide a chew toy such as rawhide bones and hard rubber teethers during the teething stage.   A rope toy soaked in chicken broth and then frozen makes a great treat for sore gums!  

Enjoy your new bundle of energy, happiness and love!

Barking Problems

A dog that barks continuously and for prolonged periods of time has a behavioral problem that can be corrected with time and patience.  Generally, barking problems start from loneliness and can become an obsessive condition.  When barking develops into an obsession, the barking is harder to stop because it has become a way for the dog to soothe itself.  Dogs that are prone to obsessive barking are also experiencing separation anxiety.   

The first step towards stopping barking is to understand separation anxiety.  Dogs that have been in shelters or abused are more apt to suffer from separation anxiety or a fear of being left alone.  Obviously, our dogs would like to be around us all day, therefore, when we are gone for prolonged periods of time, they get lonely and can develop bad behaviors.   To combat separation anxiety do not make a big deal about leaving or arriving home.  This means no excited hellos or goodbyes.  Ignore your dog for about 5-10 minutes before leaving or arriving.  Prolonged goodbyes only signal the dog that you are leaving and heightens their anxiety.    Below is a link with more information about separation anxiety associated with barking.

The next step is to break the cycle of obsessive barking and soothing.  Get a soda can, fill it with some rocks or pennies.  Plan a training session by letting your dog know you are leaving.    Sneak back into the house and stay hidden.  When your dog starts the barking, shake the can vigorously to distract him.  Distract him every time he barks, until you are ready to "return" (return when not barking).  You can even have a neighbor participate with another can, or noise maker.   When you are home, use the terms "no bark" when training.   Give this command when leaving the house.   Leave for short periods at first, slowly extending the time away.   Try leaving a radio on or tape with soothing sounds of your voice.

The third step is to keep your dog occupied when you are gone for long periods of time.  Give them something to do when you leave such as a special toy and special treats that are only given when you leave.  Treats should be something that occupies their time.  Try a game such as hide-n-seek with toys and treats or have a surprise visit scheduled from a neighbor or friend (a walk) to break-up the day.   Exercise is also a great way to keep your dog from barking.  A tired dog is a sleepy dog.  Go for an extended walk or run prior to leaving the house.  

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/separationanxiety.html

Digging

Dogs dig for coolness, boredom, anxiety and smells.  If your dog only digs during the hot months of summer, try supplying a shaded area or a child sized pool to cool off in.  Try making sure there are no odors attracting your dog such as animal odors (gophers, cat feces, etc.) or gas lines.   To deter your dog from a favorite spot, you can purchase dog and cat repellent spray at your local pet store.  We have also heard of putting dog poop in the favorite hole.   Exercise is a great deterrent because a tired dog does not have the energy to dig holes.  If you would like to try distracting your dog from bad behavior, shake a soda can filled with rocks to get his attention and then redirect his attention elsewhere.  

If you have a breed that is a natural digger, try building a sandbox or mudbox for playtime!  Hide various treasures such as bones, chew toys, balls, and treats.  Be sure to use a specific word for the approved digging box such as “dig”.  This creates an "approved" digging spot for your dog and keeps him challenged and exercised.    This can also help dogs with "separation anxiety" problems giving your pet something to do when you are not available.  Be sure to monitor his digging so he is aware that this is the acceptable play area and not to dig in some other place in the yard. 

http://www.hsus.org/video_clips/digging.html

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/digging.html

New Pet Introductions

When introducing a new pet, slowly make the introductions through a door, kennel, etc.  Let the new pet sleep or play in the other pets sleeping area (when they are not around) prior to bringing them together.  Another good idea is to let the new pet play or sleep on some of your dirty clothes to make the new pet smell like you.  This will help the established pets understand the new pet is part of the family.  Dogs are pack animals and if you are the leader and make it clear that they are not to harm the new pet, they will understand and respect your rules.  This means when introducing them, you hold the new pet and set the rules about when they can come over to visit and for how long.  Try making them sit and stay far enough away to see and smell each other and then ask them to come when you are ready.  Be in control of their play by making them back off when play becomes rough or excited.  Keep pets separated whenever they are not closely supervised for about two weeks. 

Most pets will work out their pecking order.  Generally, older pets won't attack younger pets and different sexes will get along better than same sexes.  It will probably only take a couple of days to a week to work out who is boss.