Adjustment Period for Older Dogs

Hi kjd,

First of all, all of my current dogs came to us at the age between 1 and 2 so they are disqualified (I was watching Winter Olympics, thus this term) as older dog adoption cases.

The oldest foster dog that I ever had was Yuba and he died unexpectedly after 40 hrs since I got him so I didn't have a chance to see how long it would take him to feel at home in our household. However, I felt he was very relaxed after the first night. I was told he was 6 or 7 yrs old and he had one owner, who died recently, right before she was brought to the shelter.

Now, this is my speculation but the time they need to get to feel at home has more to do with their past experience rather than how old they are. It all depends who took care of them in what environment, if they ever had a chance to establish a strong bond to some humans, or if they were just given basic cares.

> Their problem is they aren't sure of its permanence.

kjd, I don't think dogs have a concept for "permanent" or "temporary". The importance for their feeling at home comes from whether they "trust" their owner and whether they like their "environment" including their buddies.

By the way, my 3 current dogs seem to LOVE their life here at our home. They all came from shelters to foster families to us. That's why I started fostering animals because I appreciated the head start that those foster families provided them. I want to give my foster dogs head start in return so that they will be able to bond to their new owners quickly and get adjusted to their new environments more easily.

I think it's all about the dog's personality. Some dogs just take longer adjusting because they have a more fearful or nervous personality. I don't think age has a whole lot to do with it. I agree that if a dog is comfortable and trusts you they'll warm up to their new home situation faster. I have learned to watch their reactions to new things and slow down or speed up their acclimation accordingly.

When I was a teenager our family adopted a 2+ year old gsd mix. She was jumpy, nervous and a bit snarky with us for at least the first 6 months. After the first year with us she was a normal happy dog (except with my best friend, she never quite trusted her and showed it when she came over, never figured that one out. I think my friend was nervous around her after her first bad impression).

I do think having other well-adjusted dogs in the household helps them adjust quicker. They follow the lead of their other pack members, if they see your are loved and trusted then it is easier for them to follow too.

I don't think there's a perfect solution, just train them, love them and give them what they need to be a well-balanced member of your pack. That's all we can do. Sunna is a lucky girl.

Hi, crazycrayonmom and MaxHollyNoah.

Sunna appears very happy with me. At this point, I think she'd prefer here over her original home. I'd like her to be more confident with others. She WANTS this to be her permanent home, just seems to be afraid it might not be.

Saturday, we went to an indoor doggie park. There weren't too many dogs and Sunna didn't play. She'd sniff them and let them sniff her. Mostly she hung by me. OTOH, the other owners kept calling her and offering a hand to sniff, then a quick pat -- had to be quick as she'd sniff cautiously, then quickly turn away. I'd been hoping it would be a car trip that ended in fun for her. That didn't happen, but, looking back, I think the exposure to lots of other people who seemed to know dogs was good for her.

Sunna has been very good with other dogs in her home. She follows them around, watching. Isn't upset when they take her food. With our 3-day foster, Booj, she played with him in the backyard. I am thinking of adding one more dog to our pack. Hopefully, a more confident dog. However, I am wondering whether it might not be better to wait until Sunna and I have had our first obedience class. . . Of course, that would push a new dog into late spring or summer.

kjd

MaxHollyNoah,

This makes a lot of sense to me. I've been torn between adding a second dog or doing the class first. I think the class is probably better even though she won't be going until the weather is better. OTOH, this also gives her time to get used to a change in living arrangements -- Sam, male human, should be leaving early in April. At that point, it will just be the two of us.

I've been taking your suggestion of treating her for riding in the car. Doesn't stop her from crying and shaking when we first set out, but she has started eating the treat. In the beginning, these were ignored, no matter how good.

After church in the morning, I let her out (on the leash, of course) to say hello to the people. She is getting more relaxed with them. Originally, she would take a quick sniff and turn away. Now she lets them pet her. These are not always people she has met before. I've also put her in the car, treated her, and let her go back in the house.

BTW, she happily returns to the car when we go out somewhere. It is only when leaving our house that she whines and shakes. This is the major reason I think it has to do with fearing a change in owner. Once I've gone in someplace and come back, she shows no more fear of the car.

I wondered whether it might be the garage door opening and closing, but I can do that with her our of the car and she shows no fear. As soon as she is in the car, even if the door is already open, she starts shaking. As we leave the property, she starts the whining.

I've had carsick dogs -- who still wanted to ride in the car. Sunna is the first dog to dislike it. She will get into the car on her own, just doesn't want me to take it out for a spin.

Thanks,
kjd

Ah, Jasmine,

It is hard when your dog doesn't like being touched! One of my brothers "inherited" a doberman bitch who'd been cruelly abused. In the beginning, she sat on a couch in his office and shivered. You could touch her -- there was no aggression, just fear. I saw her several years later, when she'd graduated to a house dog. If you sat on her couch, and were female, she would gradually move over towards you and demand loving. If a man entered the room, even my brother, she would spring up, ready to flee! She'd gradually calm down, but it must have been heartbreaking for him. [Her original owner wanted a vicious doberman. He tied her to a tree and beat her and burned her with cigarettes. She was submissive by nature and couldn't be turned. Finally, he dumped her into the trunk of his car and took her to a rescue woman. Fortunately for him, the woman's husband was not home. She gave this poor animal to my brother.]

kjd

I have rescued dogs from 9 weeks to 5 years old. I think the best plan of action is to maintain alpha dog status, especially for the scared or hesitant dogs; this definitely helps them feel more at ease.
I rescued a 4 year old "Chessy" who had been bounced around for a while because he was a little food aggressive. I had to take him for daily rides in the car, increasing the distance gradually and rewarding him immesely for his participation. It took about 3 months for him to realize he was here to stay..... then, we were buddies and he seemed to settle in.
Unfortunately, I lost him to cancer in 2006.....
I think older dogs can potentially have more baggage than younger ones but the reward is great when you can help them though their issues.

Thanks, MaxHollyNoah.

Yes, it was "hey!" we both used to stop the dogs and they stopped.

I'm only sorry they didn't have nice weather so we could let them out to play. This past weekend would have been perfect.

kjd