I had a conversation with someone just the other day.
And they were telling me about their rescue dog situation and that they'd gotten
a rescue dog for their family.
And they'd had a lot of challenges with the dog and long story short that
ultimately they were lucky that the rescue could take back the dog.
And in this conversation, my brain is a dog trainer. I was like,
I could identify and recognize some things that a lot of people overlook when it
comes to getting a rescue dog.
So it's really important that before you get a rescue dog,
you watch this video in this video, we're going to talk with instructor, Carol,
who has had multiple rescue dogs.
And as a professional dog trainer has helped lots of rescue dog owners through
some of their training challenges.
And we're going to tell you some of the things that you need to prepare for the
things you need to be ready for.
And some of the things that you can do to give your rescue dog the best start
possible. I'm Ken Steepe. This is instructor Carol. Welcome back to McCann Dogs.
Here at McCann dogs,
We've helped more than a hundred thousand dog owners who are just like you to
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behaved for like a family member. Now, Carol,
you've had lots of experience with rescue dogs,
whether it is as a dog trainer training other people to help their dogs through
whatever problems, maybe it's even skill training,
but you've also had lots of personal experience with rescue dogs.
What does someone who's thinking about getting a rescued of what do they need to
know to make sure that that experience is as positive as it can be?
So I got to Burke. He was actually in a home with over 30 dogs.
It was a hoarding situation.
So I took that on with a little bit of caution and he is a
phenomenal dog,
but having had a few rescues I've learned that there can be
issues, but I also feel like I am better able to handle them.
Now with the experience I have.
Let's go,
let's take Burke for a walk and let's chat a little bit about some of the things
you know, that our viewers might want to know if they're picking a,
of a rescue dog or they're trying to decide whether a rescue dog will work for
their family.
What are some of the really important things that you think they'll need to
know?
I think some of it is the expectation. You know, I was pretty lucky.
Burke came with almost no issues, even though he had a very bad start in life,
but some dogs are going to come with some issues and they're not going to
disappear overnight. So if people think, and I was one, well,
I'll get an older dog. That'll be so much easier. And yes,
and human being, I got lots of people had puppies. I got Newman Bing at three.
And you know, after a mere 276 days,
he had learned not to eliminate where he stood.
So I think people need to understand, it may not be easy. You know,
it depends on the dog and there's certainly things we can do to,
to make it easier on us and our rescue dogs. But we need to understand,
it may not be simply, I get this older dog,
that's all trained and doesn't have any issues.
Yeah, that, that actually leads me a little bit to you know,
I mentioned in opening an experience that had talking with someone
leadership in how to be a great leader for your dog.
And that starts the first day that they come home. Talk,
tell me a little bit about what a first day at home with a new rescue dog might
look.
And, and I think a lot of people would be surprised.
I think a lot of people think this dog has come from a bad situation, right?
So we want to erase that and change it immediately.
So a lot of people want to love those dogs up because the dog has been locked in
a kennel or a cage. So I want to cuddle them up and let him know he's loved,
but a dog that's never had that before. It just could be totally overwhelming.
So a lot of times in certainly we'll talk a little bit about separation anxiety,
but when I got Burke, he was very low key. You know,
I used a crate and it was a lot of sitting calmly and just let him get
used to a whole new environment, not overwhelmed, same thing.
A lot of people get a rescue dog.
That's been in a crate and I want to give them lots of freedom,
but it's not something the dogs used to. And one of the reasons dogs,
they want some direction, you know, he came from a hoarding situation.
Imagine living wild with fights around you and no direction in your life.
So our dogs want some leadership, you know, not,
not that we're correcting them, but they need to.
Yeah. You're not ruling with an iron fist.
You're just giving them good information.
Exactly, exactly. They want to understand how they fit.
What's expected of them,
how things work and us being those calm leaders and giving them good information
can make them feel so much more comfortable.
I do want to train my rescue dogs again.
They need the confidence in me as a leader.
They need to understand how they fit. And, you know,
sometimes we luck out and we get a dog that, you know,
someone's already done some training, especially if they're being re held,
but lots of rescue dogs aren't and we sometimes make the mistake because they're
you know, look like an adult that they understand everything.
And yet they may not, even if they come with some training,
I want them to understand how they fit with me.
And that process brings us so much closer together.
To that point. And we do, we often get in classes, we'll get adult dogs,
rehomed dogs, rescue dogs.
And the act of doing the training has so much value for the dog. You know,
whether they notice it,
even if they have great skills going through that process with you is such a
great way to give them information and build confidence in you from them.
The other reason I think training is so important with a rescue dog is that it
may prevent problems that could come up. So many people,
I see get a rescue dog and they say, Oh, they're perfect.
But there's something called a honeymoon period that when a rescue dog, I mean,
you picture the life he came from, he was in a hoarding situation,
running wild. Then he got locked up in a kennel for, I think, about a year.
So then suddenly he's in the,
in this house it's so different.
So dogs often will just be very quiet and calm,
but you may in two or three months find out that they have huge possession
issues or some aggression issues or stimulation issues.
Those may not become apparent for the first little while.
If I can get some training in, I may avoid a lot of those problems.
Yeah. That's the ounce of prevention idea. Yeah.
It's a really great way to it also positions you as a great leader.
Now we talked with leadership so much and when you're setting your dog up to be
successful or being proactive with their training, that you don't have to say,
no, don't do that. No, don't do this.
And you want your dog to know that regardless of the situation that they've come
from, that good things are coming from you. And that includes a little bit.
Guidance. Exactly. And you know, the value in us when we train,
you can see Burke spends a lot of time looking at me, don't you buddy.
So you know,
a lot of people say you don't get that bond when they're not a puppy.
You absolutely do. And once you have a dog that's interested in you,
which we get, when we do some fun training, then it's just so much easier.
Everything else in life falls into place.
Talk really briefly about a schedule for training. Like what sort of,
how often would you be training a year,
new rescue dogs that when you'd bring them home, you know,
I know a lot of people say, Oh, I need to train an hour a day for these skills,
but that's not necessarily the thing.
No,
it's much better with all dogs and rescues included is if I can try and build it
into my regular routine.
So when I get up in the morning I might teach him to walk nicely at my side with
his breakfast kibble.
And then later in the day I'm going to work on his response to
name and learning how to play with me and interact with me in the evening.
After he's had a big run, maybe we work lying down calmly in the house.
Now, Carol.
I want you to talk about your first rescue. These guys aren't gonna believe it,
but let's talk a little bit about the first animal that you rescued.
So my first rescue dog was actually a pig,
a Potbelly pig named Fred and Fred had come from
he came from a breeder who went to a home and they really couldn't handle them.
That wasn't a fit.
And he ended up back at the breeder and the breeder was quite glad when I want
to know, because she said everybody wants a little tiny, cute piglets.
So I got Fred. And again, he,
he taught me a lot about you know,
having an animal and to begin with, he was, he didn't want to be touched,
you know, he's one of those dogs or pigs. I don't want you to,
I don't want to sit in your lap. I haven't had that experience.
That was different for him. So giving him his space and I mean, you know,
not that long after he'd follow me everywhere and he loved to cuddle, but.
I think what was so fascinating is after you built,
you started to establish some of that relationship and put in, you know,
that that's a slower pace of building relationship.
You were able to take him to like all sorts of events, you know,
with all kinds of people around. And he was the focus,
kids would come up and be introduced to him.
And he was okay with that kind of thing.
He was great. And the family that couldn't handle him,
I think they didn't do any training.
They just assumed that this young animal would behave. You know,
I came here,
here's my first dog through McCann and I did the family dog program and
then into agility and the bond, it formed doing those things,
learning those things. And the confidence it built with him was phenomenal.
Then we talked a little bit earlier.
About some nuisance behaviors and some challenges that you might have.
And one common thing is that people don't really understand the
challenges of potty training,
whether the rescue rehomed adult dog comes into new home.
I've struggled with this a little bit with, by sheep, herding dog Mac,
who lived in a barn before,
and it's something that I just kind of expected him to not have accidents in the
house, but let's talk a little bit about, you know,
the common challenges people might have with a rehomed dog.
Absolutely. And I would say three of my rescues came
learning to eliminate wherever they stood. So they've won,
don't understand they should go outside and to,
they haven't physically learned to hold that that's something our,
our puppies learn. And through crate training,
we can teach them going outside is valuable and teach them physically how to
hold. So when you get an older dog that hasn't had that experience,
it can be a bit of a challenge.
So people need to be ready to put some time.
I'm the same as I would with a puppy. So when I get a rescue,
I will use a crate. You know, when he gets up in the morning,
I take him right out when he's finished his breakfast,
I take them right out after we played, you know,
anytime I think he's going to go.
So I build a pattern of going outside because eliminating his self rewarding for
the dogs. So if I can pattern that early, when he's with me,
that may set me up for the rest.
Yeah.
And I think something is really important to remember is that it's not the dog
trying to be defiant. They just don't know, you know, they haven't,
they haven't had to hold their bladder.
They don't know, you know,
Newman being my young Parson terrier was in a kennel.
And he didn't even know he was eliminated.
He would eliminate as he walked because he was in a filthy environment. Right.
He just, he never even learned to, he wasn't being bad at all. Right.
But he just didn't know any other behaviors.
Yeah.
And these are the things that you need to really think about and prepare for.
The other thing that people who get a rescue,
I think need to be prepared for a separation anxiety. Okay.
I really did not understand that, but after several rescues, I get it.
And I was lucky with Earl, my Great Dane.
The separation anxiety was very short lived,
but I used a video camera and I would videotape them.
And for the first while he would be so distressed when I left in circle and
drool. And then over time, it went down to,
he would maybe circle once and then lie down and relax. With Newman Bing,
I lived with that his entire life.
We were never able to totally work through that because he was still much older
when I got here. So it's something people need to be aware of.
So many rescue dogs develop separation anxiety. Again, it comes back to,
I can't change my dog's life overnight.
And a lot of times we have a lot of fun with our dogs,
but I also want my dog to understand it's all just fun and just being calm so
that when I leave,
it's not too bad and I'll do the same preventative measures I'll do with the
puppy. You know for the beginning,
I'm not going to spend every minute with them. I want my dog to understand.
It's okay to be a little, little bit apart when I leave,
I'm going to make sure I give him a Kong with frozen peanut butter or a Kong
with a cookie make sure he's got a bone to chew on.
So I'm gonna make sure he's created. So he doesn't destroy anything.
And he feels secure and safe. Cause most dogs are very comfortable with that.
So I'm going to shut him up. So me leaving is very calm, you know,
before I leave, I give him his Kong. I ignore him for 10 minutes.
I come home you know, maybe go out for half an hour,
come back in and I ignore them again for a little while, just everything's calm.
And then, you know, after about 10 minutes, I can let them out.
So I don't want that huge stress of me leaving the house because SEP rescue
dogs are just so prone to that. You know,
I was really lucky with Burke as it was with all of my rescue dogs,
but I think it's important.
You understand what expectations are and prepared to put a little bit of work
into it,
no different than you would with the puppy and have fun with your rescue dog.
You talked a little bit about leadership and how it's so important in your
rescue dog training. So click that card right there for our leadership playlist,
that will really help you give that dog a great start on that note.
I'm Ken I'm Carol, and this is The Burke, happy training guys.