May 7, 2021 • 33 mins
Newly adopted dogs don't go to their new home and immediately adapt. It takes time for them to learn where they are, who the people are, what the rules, are and so much more. Plus, the dog's behavior is going to change as they adapt to the new home. Join Liz, Petra, and Kate as they explain what the stages of adjustment are, what to expect, and how to react.
EPISODE NOTES: The Honeymoon Period
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EPISODE NOTES: The Honeymoon Period
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Pet Life Radio. Let's talk pets.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hi, Welcome to it. It's a doggy dog World. I'm your
Hostless Polaikah and with may or my good friends Peter
Burn and Kate Abbitt. And if you hear some dogs
in the background as we're talking, Hero seven and Willow
are playing and we'll try to keep it to a
dull roar. But they haven't seen each other in a
few days, so they're very happy. Today we want to
(00:45):
talk to you about the adjustment periods that newly adopted
dogs go through. It's often called the honeymoon period for
the same reason, but it's an adjustment period. It's very
typical for newly adopted the dogs, not baby puppies, but
from adolescents on, so say from six seven, eight months
(01:08):
up through even older dogs that are adopted. So that's
going to be our discussion today. So hang on, take
a listen to our sponsors and we'll be right.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
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Speaker 4 (01:55):
Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
First, let's talk about how long this adjustment period lasts.
Many people get a dog and think, oh, in a
couple of days, he's so right in.
Speaker 5 (02:18):
Oh, he's just a perfect dog. It's been a week,
he's so well man, he's so quiet.
Speaker 6 (02:26):
That will change.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Words. Generally, we look at it as about a four
month period, three to four months. Three at a minimum
four months is probably average. A few take a little
bit longer. The dog that you saw today in one
on one training that came from Russia, that dog's been
(02:51):
going through a lot of changes and he's still at
a honeymoon period.
Speaker 6 (02:55):
So came from Russia about near as we can figure,
almost a year ago, but then was with one, was
with the rescue, then was with a family, and then
given back to the rescue. And then this woman has
had him for the past three months. So every time
he has nine months exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Now, how old dog.
Speaker 6 (03:16):
Is he They think he's a year and a half.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
All this has been going on from adolescens.
Speaker 6 (03:23):
Yeah, yeah, plus a change in culture, change in language,
and not to mention just the long trip. Yeah, I know.
You know, we've talked about We've known some dogs that
were transported domestically that had a hard time recovering from that.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Poor dogs that came from the Korea meat market. California
saw a few shams of those.
Speaker 6 (03:44):
Yeah. So he's been through a lot, and I think
he's doing amazingly well. The other thing is he's not
one of those dogs that snarls and carries on. He
gets tighter and and closer to himself, but just so
wound up. I mean I was starting everywhere, but not snarling,
(04:06):
but just like no touch yet.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Well, who knows what's happened to him in the process either,
what happened to him in his homeland for lack of
a better term. Was he a street dog in Russia?
Speaker 6 (04:20):
How did he get here?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
And if anybody at all has been rough with him,
his protection is probably to withdraw into himself, only betraying
his anxiety with his eyes.
Speaker 7 (04:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:35):
I mean bet a lot of people go, oh, look,
how calm he is and not see the tension right
during the hour that I met with them, that first
half hour, he just could not sit still. He was
just pacing at the end of the leash. Not we
get up a walk him a little bit, but he
must have done forty two shakeoffs and just that getting
(04:55):
rid of tension each time until he finally, like in
the last ten fifteen minutes, relaxed enough to come over
and ask me to touch him.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
The thing that I'm sure you talked to her about
is that the honeymoon period restarts with each major change, and.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
I think it even backs up a bit when you've
had that many. Yeah, so what might have taken, say
four months now may take five or six months each
time that there's a new change.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Yeah, poor boy.
Speaker 6 (05:27):
Very similar to another training I did with the couple. Again,
they had they took in a rescue to foster, and
because it had been the third time, returned to the
rescue and they're trying to figure out what was going
on because there were no obvious signs that this dog
was a troubled dog. But again, he was just a
(05:47):
shut down, holding it all inside until he saw another dog,
and then he would go ballistic. That was his outlet,
and that's what was happening with this dog book dogs
we just live kigs holding everything in until they exploded,
and then they were labeled aggressive to other dogs.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
And that brings up a good point. Every dog is
going to and we'll talk about the individual stages in
just a minute, but when they have a for lack
of a better term, a release, every dog is going
to potentially show it differently. When my husband and I
adopted Archer, we were his fourth home and he was
(06:29):
only five months old, and his means of coping was
he just gave up on the bonding process. He wouldn't
bond with anyone, and never having gone through that with
a personal dog before, Paul and I were a little Okay,
he's here, he's happy, he's playing, he's playing with the
(06:50):
other dogs, he's going to the training yard, he's cooperating
with the training. But there wasn't that connection that you
feel with your own dog. He was just as happy
to see anybody else, and there was no sense of
loyalty to either Paul Ori or dog. Yeah, so I'm
(07:11):
not gonna I'm not gonna stay here.
Speaker 6 (07:14):
So you know, you guys are very nice hotel people
better yea, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Thanks for the bed and breakfast. And it wasn't until
about four months later that Paul and I looked at
each other and went he's ours. We finally started seeing
the bonding process. And then because Paul had wanted to
train him as a service dog and did train him
as a service dog, Paul spent more time with him,
(07:42):
to the point that when Paul passed away, Archer was
suddenly devastated and couldn't stay in the house. So he
did live out the rest of his life with my
cousin and her husband and bonded very well with them,
And the difference being is having bonded with us, then
when he met my cousin's husband, he bonded with him
(08:05):
immediately like super glue, like within hours. It was like, okay,
I need each other. I've had that bond and we
need each other. Your mine. And even when I was close,
my cousin's husband spent the night at my house and
Archer was with him all night, not with me, and
(08:26):
that's when I knew, Okay, this is it. It's just work.
And he lived out his life with them, and in
that case, he didn't go through an adjustment period because
he had bonded to Dean so quickly and so hard
and so tight. It was he was immediately his and.
Speaker 6 (08:43):
He'd had his training, he'd had his training, and they
continued on with He turned him into a therapy dog,
but he was still working together.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
He didn't have him certified as a service dog, but
he was working with Dean as his personal dog, and
Dean got involved in therapy dog work with Archer and
they did that for the rest of his life. So
very very happy dog. But that was the case of
moving so many times that the bond didn't happen because
(09:16):
he didn't care. The adjustment period never ended until he
went to Dean.
Speaker 6 (09:23):
So expectations that people have. So last month, a couple
came to me. They had just adopted a Border Collie mix,
I'm going to say, and they were saying they had
problems with the com and with house training. I'm like, oh, well, okay,
and we sat down to talk about it. One of
my first questions is how long have you had this dog?
(09:45):
Four days? Oh? Okay, well that kind of because I
had asked how old was the dollar? Four or five
years old? And I said, have you had a medical
checkup to make sure there's not a reason that he's
having house training accidents. Oh yeah, he's all clear. All right, Well,
let's come on in. I forgot to ask how long
have you had the dog? And it got here and
(10:07):
it kept We sat down to talk, and the dog
kept going to the end of the leash, you know,
and just pulling on the perimeter. So just for giggles,
I put it on a long line and sir, enough
he went out to the end of the fifteen foot
and he just kept going back and forth trying to
find the hole in the barrier. And that's what had
happened in their their house. They took him out to
(10:27):
the backyard, which had about a five foot fence then
not nearly enough for a border. Callig, no, not when
on the other side is a golf course.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Oh no, and balls and lots of balls.
Speaker 6 (10:41):
And room to run yep. And she said it kind
of took two grounds keepers with their carts and her
and all of the above and shaking tree bags before
and about forty five minutes.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
So when he got tired before they.
Speaker 6 (10:57):
Finally rounded him up. Wow, So you know, we had
quite a discussion about expectations. I mean, do you know
that he knows his name? Well, he turns his head.
That's not the same thing.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
It just means he hears something and make a noise.
What are you doing?
Speaker 6 (11:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Did they change his name?
Speaker 6 (11:16):
Nobody knew what his name was. Oh, so yes, obviously
they did change his name. I take that back. They
foster had changed his name because they didn't know. Okay,
but they'd had him about three months and then these
people had now taken adopted him, so they had changed
the name that the foster gave them as well. Talk
about all the different changes this dog had been through
(11:36):
in his life.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (11:38):
Now, one of the questions the woman asked me was
very sweet people, but she said, now, what words should
I use when he goes to the bathroom in the house?
I said, but what do you explain what you mean
by that? Well, to let him know that he did
wrong and he should go outside. You want one word
(11:59):
to explain all of that. Does he know that he's
supposed to go outside? Well? Uh, well, the foster family
they just kept him outside all the time. Has he
ever been in a house? Does he have any idea
how to tell you he needs to go.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Woo.
Speaker 6 (12:15):
Don't do all dogs? Okay, so you know, yeah, they're expectations.
They had had a series of adult dogs.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Has an adult dogs that should know.
Speaker 6 (12:28):
Golden retrievers who you know were easy and they had
the same expectations for.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
A very intense, hurting hug. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (12:38):
Yeah, with years old.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
You should know the rules of the house. We just
have to have that conversation with him.
Speaker 6 (12:43):
Well, he must be going in the house to say
that he's mad at us. Why would you go to
that explanation as opposed to the one that he doesn't
know how to say open the door please? Well I
don't know, okay, So let's work on teaching him how
to let you know.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Let's talk about the first month after dog is adopted,
because that leads that explanation leads into it right away.
So you do some searching, either online or you go
to the shelter, You contact a rescue, you take in
grandma's dog whatever, just not a puppy. We're talking adolescents
and on. So you bring home a new dogs. Well,
(13:27):
he's never been in your house.
Speaker 6 (13:30):
He's so quiet.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
He may or may not have lived with kids.
Speaker 6 (13:33):
He just sits there and waits for his food.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah, he may or may not live with cats, So
how do we help him adjust to this household? First
thing I know that I often tell people, and I
know you too to also is put a leasha on him.
Speaker 6 (13:51):
Believe me, After the forty five minute run around the
golf course, she's now keeping Alisha remember time they go outside.
But that's why she has to get up to open
the door. The previous dogs they had a hobby door anyway.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Yes, but yeah, it's not.
Speaker 6 (14:05):
Just for a walk.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
It's just not just for a walk. And it gives
you a means of interrupting behavior or showing him new
behaviors without reaching and grabbing for his head. Yes, because
so many people grab for the collar. And we hear
that a lot from people too. Oh he must have
been hit, he ducks his head. Not that many people
(14:29):
actually hit a dog in the head. Some do, but
not that many. But lots of people grab for the
collar and dogs learned to duck.
Speaker 6 (14:39):
I'll add one more. Okay, I seem to have had
an epidemic of people that grab their dogs by the
ears and kiss them on the forehead.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
Oh, for Peene's sakes, I'm not Some dogs are okay
with it.
Speaker 6 (14:52):
But most of them, I see them duck in their head.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
You know how offended bones would be if I did
that to him. U, people, how did you ever have
one of those great ants that would come over and
pinch it hard, Because that's how they showed you they
loved you. They'd hide behind your mom. I don't think
they did love you. It tormenting the child. Ahi, I
don't have the little kids that I'm so happy I
(15:17):
don't squeeze.
Speaker 6 (15:20):
But that's when I see the dog yet, like the
little kids hiding behind the God no not and hellen no.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
So put the leash on the dog, and if he's
not already crate trained, start introducing him slowly to a
crate fetus. Meals in there, toss some treats in there,
both of them.
Speaker 6 (15:38):
You might be surprised how many of the dogs go, oh,
thank you my own place.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Yes, that gives you two means of controlling managing his
behavior in the beginning, so that he's not going potty
in the house, so he's not chasing the cat, so
he's not jumping on the kids. And you don't have
to exile him to the backyard. So introducing him slowly
to a crate and letting him drag a leash.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
One client was so anti crates for her newly adopted dog. Well,
I'm sure that he's been mistreated. I don't want to
throw him in jail too.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
Why always everybody, like ninety five percent of the people
always think they adopted this dog and it's had a
bad history.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
It's been abused.
Speaker 6 (16:22):
Because they're being polite when they first come to your home.
The dog is and being polite means not being pushy
and demanding stuff.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Yet it'll come.
Speaker 6 (16:33):
It'll come. Because I asked this woman, I said, well,
where's he sleeping right now?
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (16:37):
Whenever, whenever the house is quiet, he goes under my vanity.
Oh is there room under there for a crate? Well, yes,
I guess there is. We'll put it under there with
the door open. She's like, he loves it, she wrote back.
A couple of days, he's trying to he's trying to
find it, Ina, And that was the closest he could do.
When she gave him another third wall and the ability
(16:58):
to close the door, it was great for both of them.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Yeah, so we love all right, Well we need to
take a break for our sponsors, So hold on We've
got a lot more to talk about when we get back.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Ship Stay. It's a doggy dog world will be right
back after a short pause, well for to be exactly.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
So, what's your reaction, Kate when you hear Ben and
Jerry's now has dog treats.
Speaker 6 (17:28):
Now, I won't have to share my ice cream with
them anymore, because you know, anybody comes near me when
I'm meeting my Ben and Jerry's, They're likely to get
growled at.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Now.
Speaker 6 (17:38):
I think it's a cool idea. I've sometimes made my
dog's frozen treats or gotten some that are commercially available,
but considering how much I love Ben and Jerry's, it's
about time my puppy dog's got to enjoy that as well.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
Of my favorite one is the Cherry Garcia.
Speaker 6 (17:54):
Oh my god, yeah, I'll growl anybody comes near me,
I'll meet that chunky monkey freak.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
I like that that way.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
But also I love peanut butter.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
And did you know that one of the doug You
dog flavors is paunch. It has peanut butter and pretzels.
Speaker 8 (18:10):
Ooh, and Rosie has pumpkin and many cookies. That's am
I ni, I'm sure it has lots of cookies too,
but they're a little small cookies and they're many cookies
and pumpkin, which I do give my boy pumpkin in
his dinner, so this would actually been a nicer way
for him.
Speaker 6 (18:27):
To get it.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
Yeah, so I think I would qualify mine in the
freezer is my ice cream.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
And then I have to label.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
Like the dog's version of Ben and Jerry's as the
frozen Treat doggy dessert.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
And one way you can tell is instead of the
black and white cow on the front of the little container,
it's a black and white dog for the dog trees,
so you can tell which one is which because it's
their dog. Frozen treats are are not designed for humans,
made with human quality ingredients, but not designed for humans.
(19:00):
You do want to keep them separate. And I can
only give my boy a little bit, my dear of
my own ice cream, my Ben and Jerry's ice cream,
because yeah, it doesn't always set well with him, but
now he has his own, He's gonna have.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
His own, all right.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
So go out there, buy some for your furry little
friend there, and then enjoy together.
Speaker 6 (19:17):
Enjoy.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Let's talk past, Let's headline Radio Petlight Radio dot com.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
We know you're begging for more, so back to It's
a Doggy Dog World with your fetching hosts Liz Polaika
and this week's co hosts, Kate Abbitt and Patri Burke.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Welcome back to It's a Doggy Dog World. This is
your host Liz Polika with my good friends Patri Burke
and Kate Abbot. Number three, teach you miss name, teaching
miss new name, hand handful of treats or chopped chicken
or bits of hot dog or half a hamburger. Say
(20:03):
his name in a happy tone of voice. It's not Hero.
It's Hero. Good boy treat, Hero, good boy treat. Now
initially he's gonna think the name of the treats as Hero,
but that's okay because it's a good sound. It's coming
from you, and the treats are coming from your hand.
And don't use his name to scold him if he
(20:25):
jumps on the kid. It's not Hero, it's sweety pie.
Let me have you leash. Thank you very much. Let's talk,
but teach him his name and do several sessions over
a couple of weeks. Even when you think he knows it,
reinforce it, make it positive, make him like his name.
(20:47):
If I say one of my three dogs names, I
want them to look at me and their ears perk out,
no matter what they're doing. If I go seven and
she goes doing Hi Bob, that's exactly what.
Speaker 6 (20:58):
I want gendeed me want me.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Yeah, So teach him his name. Start a routine.
Speaker 5 (21:04):
You're gonna bring a dog in, get him into the
routine of what the household is. Don't just be like, oh,
he's been abused in the past, but does have a
freedom of the house.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
No, teaching a routine.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
Didn't take him for a walk or just you know,
potty training like you say in the house training and
the great training, sit for food.
Speaker 6 (21:23):
Give them some time to decompress. Don't take them to
every relative and neighbor.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Show them off.
Speaker 6 (21:29):
Yeah, everybody want to meet the new dog.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, and I mean, we're all for training, But you
don't necessarily need to start training right now either. Wait
until the dog's bonded to you when comfortable. Maybe play
with them also for a few weeks. And how many
times it start training?
Speaker 5 (21:47):
No, how many times we've heard I got this dog,
he doesn't know how to play well?
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Teach him right well, he may know how to play.
It just may be that his former owners played differently
than you, who cool.
Speaker 6 (21:59):
Didn't know how to play. He did not know how
to problem solve.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
But now the behavior that you're most likely going to
see during this month is quiet. You might think calm.
He's thinking self contained. He doesn't know these people, he
doesn't know this house, he doesn't know this routine. He
might not know the vocabulary as in the Russian dog.
He may not know the language.
Speaker 6 (22:28):
Is the dog able to take naps during the day?
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Will he relax with you around, with the family around?
Are you protecting him from the family cat who might
be stalking him? As the as the owner of a
big orange cat who controls the dogs quite well, who
now has his possible with a little nine week old
kitten who he adores, who is tormenting him and I'm laughing, Yeah, karma.
(23:00):
So the first month you're not going to see the
real personality of the dog. You're not going to see
who he really is and.
Speaker 5 (23:07):
Which might mislead you. Is he's different such a good dog?
Speaker 8 (23:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (23:13):
So when we first got this dog, you know, he
was great. He could go out in the backyard and
we could play and so forth. But lately, anytime anybody
walks by, he just runs the fence line. Bark black, bark,
back bark, Mark goes crazy.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
And that's the second month. The second month he's going
to start to claim a little bit of ownership. He's
still not going to be completely relaxed, but he's claiming
a little bit of ownership. He'll probably cooperate with you
on a lot of things still because he's not completely relaxed.
(23:48):
He's not truly at home yet. So if you start
some training, it'll probably go relatively well. He's probably responding
to his.
Speaker 6 (23:58):
Name, unless he's over the top with excitement.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah, unless he's not been able to calm yet. If
he's left the self containment, he's probably not yet controlled himself.
When he's active to define those two things. Month one
is self containment. Week two starting to relax a little
more cooperative and hopefully he's learned his name. When he's calm,
(24:26):
he's learning hopefully the vocabulary at home. Go outside, go potty,
don't jump on the kids, don't chase the cat, it's
dinner time, go to your bed. So the basic vocabulary
that you're building with him. He knock on wood. Should
be starting to understand. The month three and that's when
(24:49):
most new most owners are newly adopted dogs called the
dog trainer because how was it? You explained it, Kate.
It was the brother in law s on this couch scratching.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
I've used that so many times trying to describe adopted dogs.
Speaker 6 (25:07):
When you first have a house guest over and they're like, oh,
you know, I use the special soaps and the guest towels.
I'm so sorry. Is that okay? And then after you've
had a house guest for a while, yeah, then they
start coming downstairs in their boxer shorts and going, hey,
you gotta be here, and where's the remote? I want
to watch the game.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
And this is when you're more apt to see the
quote unquote the real dog who knows he's well loved
in his new home, and he's pushing every button and
pushing every boundary to see what you're.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
Gonna do, even to give him some benefit of the doubt.
This is a wonderful home. What can I do to
put you guys back? I'll be your guardian. I will
let you know when the leaf falls, yeh, or the
ant crosses, will scare those those people walked in front
of the house and I scared them off. I saved
you from death once again.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
And the FedEx driver. Yeah yeah. By the way, seven
is going to be two years old in May, and
she's figured out she can scare the FedEx and UPS
driver well, and the Amazon driver. So we're working on that.
Nip it in the bud before it takes off. Now,
(26:29):
this stage we say three months. It can happen at three,
four or five months, depending on how quickly your dog
is moving through the stages. But this is the point
where you need to use that leash, use some obedience training.
You set crepe for a time out now, and then
if you need to do not let these new behaviors,
(26:54):
no matter how well intentioned, he might be turn into habits,
because if you don't interrupt them, they will turn into habits.
Speaker 6 (27:02):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Now, he may not have behaved like that in his
previous home. In fact, his previous home might have given
him up saying he was very very well trained, very
well behaved. We couldn't keep him because and there's always reasons.
I mean, I don't like to automatically assume that somebody's
bad because they gave up a dog. Life does happen
(27:27):
but in your home because he's not hearing the same words,
the same routine, the same schedule, perhaps the same level
of enforcement of the rules. And he's happy now because
he's very well loved and he wants to help you
so much. Or not, he may be pushing it.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
And I think with the one dog I'm thinking of it,
just the he just started getting an adrenaline high every
time he chased somebody off.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Addictive.
Speaker 6 (27:54):
Yeah, self rewarding and addictive.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Well did we see it here? I mean, people will
take the dog if.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
They're having issues and then just run them through some
obedient skills and we're like, he's had training. What, oh,
thank you to me correctly.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
We see it all the time.
Speaker 6 (28:17):
And adopters are wonderful, you know, big hearts.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
But sometimes dogs take advantage of that.
Speaker 6 (28:25):
That's true that the dogs will feel better too once
they have, once they know for sure what they need
to do.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Unlike cats.
Speaker 6 (28:34):
You oh, forget cats.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Dogs dogs We live with cats.
Speaker 6 (28:39):
Yeah. Servants.
Speaker 7 (28:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Dogs like a routine. They like to be able to
count on things happening. They like to know what the
rules of the house are, of the yard, of social
manners of a walk. And yes, they'll take advantage of
things if they don't know better, or if it's not
(29:04):
being enforced. Because adrenaline. If you pull on the leash
and leap and bark at everybody, you're getting that adrenaline rush.
If you chase away the FedEx driver, it's an adrenaline rush.
If you chase the kids in the backyard when their
friends come over, big adrenaline rush. That doesn't mean it's
good behavior, but it's adrenaline rush.
Speaker 6 (29:26):
The one dog was at the point where he'd lay
in the backyard and wait for a bird to fly
over and chase it off.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, I protected you again. Yeah, that's.
Speaker 6 (29:39):
Thirteen times I've saved you from death.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
From flying birds. That's not even talking about all.
Speaker 6 (29:48):
Yesterday.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
So if you've adopted a dog and you think your
dog's going through these stages, or if you're planning on
adopting a dog, be prepared. The first month will lead
you into complacency, and it often does. That's not the
real dog.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
Don't see the true dog quite a while.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Yeah, and I talked to If you've listened to us before,
you know, Patron and I Foster kittens. And I talked
to a kitten foster that came by my house today
to pick up some supplies, and she said, we just
adopted a new dog in February. We're recording this in April.
And she says, how do I introduce the new cat
(30:37):
to the dog? I said, don't.
Speaker 7 (30:40):
What?
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Don't introduce them? Well? Why? Because you have a cat
who's in a new house, who's incredibly stressed, incredibly stressed,
you should limit her to one room of the house.
And then you've got a dog who's only a couple
months into the honeymoon period, and you don't know the
real dog yet. This dog could be a cat killer
(31:03):
and you don't know. Oh no, he's a very nice dog.
Uh huh. He may he may well be a very
nice dog, but you don't know that yet.
Speaker 6 (31:14):
That's another The way a dog responds to people is
not an indication of how you will respond to other
dogs or other animals.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Especially small animals, especially a small scared animal. Yep, because
if he chased that cat, that cat's already frightened. Anyway,
that cat could go through a screen window and be
com on.
Speaker 6 (31:35):
My terrier is sitting on my lap. He's been a
therapy dog. He loves to meet people, but.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
He's not safe with little critics. I used to invite
Kate and her old boy Walter over to my house.
They came on a regular basis. I've never invited Walter
quill well quill us are three.
Speaker 6 (31:58):
Doors locked between us and the kittens. Yes, I mean
he is on and even other dogs he just pretty
much ignores unless they're good friends.
Speaker 7 (32:09):
But anything cossom size or smaller yep is game. Yep
has nothing to do with how sweeties people. He says
that he rubs his chi.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
On that note, we'll let you go. Hopefully we've given
you some things to think about and hopefully your next
adoption will go easier with a little bit of knowledge.
So that's it.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
By having a rough day, longing for the dog days
of summer, I think your fun very friend lives a
dog's life. Well, find out everything you're begging to know,
as Pet Life Radio presents It's a Doggy dog World
with pet expert and award winning author Liz Polaika. Every
(32:54):
dog has his day, and you'll find out how to
make your dog's day fun and rewarding every week on
demand only on petlifradio dot com, MHM,
Pet Life Radio. Let's talk pets.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hi, Welcome to it. It's a doggy dog World. I'm your
Hostless Polaikah and with may or my good friends Peter
Burn and Kate Abbitt. And if you hear some dogs
in the background as we're talking, Hero seven and Willow
are playing and we'll try to keep it to a
dull roar. But they haven't seen each other in a
few days, so they're very happy. Today we want to
(00:45):
talk to you about the adjustment periods that newly adopted
dogs go through. It's often called the honeymoon period for
the same reason, but it's an adjustment period. It's very
typical for newly adopted the dogs, not baby puppies, but
from adolescents on, so say from six seven, eight months
(01:08):
up through even older dogs that are adopted. So that's
going to be our discussion today. So hang on, take
a listen to our sponsors and we'll be right.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
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Speaker 4 (01:55):
Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
First, let's talk about how long this adjustment period lasts.
Many people get a dog and think, oh, in a
couple of days, he's so right in.
Speaker 5 (02:18):
Oh, he's just a perfect dog. It's been a week,
he's so well man, he's so quiet.
Speaker 6 (02:26):
That will change.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Words. Generally, we look at it as about a four
month period, three to four months. Three at a minimum
four months is probably average. A few take a little
bit longer. The dog that you saw today in one
on one training that came from Russia, that dog's been
(02:51):
going through a lot of changes and he's still at
a honeymoon period.
Speaker 6 (02:55):
So came from Russia about near as we can figure,
almost a year ago, but then was with one, was
with the rescue, then was with a family, and then
given back to the rescue. And then this woman has
had him for the past three months. So every time
he has nine months exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Now, how old dog.
Speaker 6 (03:16):
Is he They think he's a year and a half.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
All this has been going on from adolescens.
Speaker 6 (03:23):
Yeah, yeah, plus a change in culture, change in language,
and not to mention just the long trip. Yeah, I know.
You know, we've talked about We've known some dogs that
were transported domestically that had a hard time recovering from that.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Poor dogs that came from the Korea meat market. California
saw a few shams of those.
Speaker 6 (03:44):
Yeah. So he's been through a lot, and I think
he's doing amazingly well. The other thing is he's not
one of those dogs that snarls and carries on. He
gets tighter and and closer to himself, but just so
wound up. I mean I was starting everywhere, but not snarling,
(04:06):
but just like no touch yet.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Well, who knows what's happened to him in the process either,
what happened to him in his homeland for lack of
a better term. Was he a street dog in Russia?
Speaker 6 (04:20):
How did he get here?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
And if anybody at all has been rough with him,
his protection is probably to withdraw into himself, only betraying
his anxiety with his eyes.
Speaker 7 (04:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:35):
I mean bet a lot of people go, oh, look,
how calm he is and not see the tension right
during the hour that I met with them, that first
half hour, he just could not sit still. He was
just pacing at the end of the leash. Not we
get up a walk him a little bit, but he
must have done forty two shakeoffs and just that getting
(04:55):
rid of tension each time until he finally, like in
the last ten fifteen minutes, relaxed enough to come over
and ask me to touch him.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
The thing that I'm sure you talked to her about
is that the honeymoon period restarts with each major change, and.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
I think it even backs up a bit when you've
had that many. Yeah, so what might have taken, say
four months now may take five or six months each
time that there's a new change.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Yeah, poor boy.
Speaker 6 (05:27):
Very similar to another training I did with the couple. Again,
they had they took in a rescue to foster, and
because it had been the third time, returned to the
rescue and they're trying to figure out what was going
on because there were no obvious signs that this dog
was a troubled dog. But again, he was just a
(05:47):
shut down, holding it all inside until he saw another dog,
and then he would go ballistic. That was his outlet,
and that's what was happening with this dog book dogs
we just live kigs holding everything in until they exploded,
and then they were labeled aggressive to other dogs.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
And that brings up a good point. Every dog is
going to and we'll talk about the individual stages in
just a minute, but when they have a for lack
of a better term, a release, every dog is going
to potentially show it differently. When my husband and I
adopted Archer, we were his fourth home and he was
(06:29):
only five months old, and his means of coping was
he just gave up on the bonding process. He wouldn't
bond with anyone, and never having gone through that with
a personal dog before, Paul and I were a little Okay,
he's here, he's happy, he's playing, he's playing with the
(06:50):
other dogs, he's going to the training yard, he's cooperating
with the training. But there wasn't that connection that you
feel with your own dog. He was just as happy
to see anybody else, and there was no sense of
loyalty to either Paul Ori or dog. Yeah, so I'm
(07:11):
not gonna I'm not gonna stay here.
Speaker 6 (07:14):
So you know, you guys are very nice hotel people
better yea, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Thanks for the bed and breakfast. And it wasn't until
about four months later that Paul and I looked at
each other and went he's ours. We finally started seeing
the bonding process. And then because Paul had wanted to
train him as a service dog and did train him
as a service dog, Paul spent more time with him,
(07:42):
to the point that when Paul passed away, Archer was
suddenly devastated and couldn't stay in the house. So he
did live out the rest of his life with my
cousin and her husband and bonded very well with them,
And the difference being is having bonded with us, then
when he met my cousin's husband, he bonded with him
(08:05):
immediately like super glue, like within hours. It was like, okay,
I need each other. I've had that bond and we
need each other. Your mine. And even when I was close,
my cousin's husband spent the night at my house and
Archer was with him all night, not with me, and
(08:26):
that's when I knew, Okay, this is it. It's just work.
And he lived out his life with them, and in
that case, he didn't go through an adjustment period because
he had bonded to Dean so quickly and so hard
and so tight. It was he was immediately his and.
Speaker 6 (08:43):
He'd had his training, he'd had his training, and they
continued on with He turned him into a therapy dog,
but he was still working together.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
He didn't have him certified as a service dog, but
he was working with Dean as his personal dog, and
Dean got involved in therapy dog work with Archer and
they did that for the rest of his life. So
very very happy dog. But that was the case of
moving so many times that the bond didn't happen because
(09:16):
he didn't care. The adjustment period never ended until he
went to Dean.
Speaker 6 (09:23):
So expectations that people have. So last month, a couple
came to me. They had just adopted a Border Collie mix,
I'm going to say, and they were saying they had
problems with the com and with house training. I'm like, oh, well, okay,
and we sat down to talk about it. One of
my first questions is how long have you had this dog?
(09:45):
Four days? Oh? Okay, well that kind of because I
had asked how old was the dollar? Four or five
years old? And I said, have you had a medical
checkup to make sure there's not a reason that he's
having house training accidents. Oh yeah, he's all clear. All right, Well,
let's come on in. I forgot to ask how long
have you had the dog? And it got here and
(10:07):
it kept We sat down to talk, and the dog
kept going to the end of the leash, you know,
and just pulling on the perimeter. So just for giggles,
I put it on a long line and sir, enough
he went out to the end of the fifteen foot
and he just kept going back and forth trying to
find the hole in the barrier. And that's what had
happened in their their house. They took him out to
(10:27):
the backyard, which had about a five foot fence then
not nearly enough for a border. Callig, no, not when
on the other side is a golf course.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Oh no, and balls and lots of balls.
Speaker 6 (10:41):
And room to run yep. And she said it kind
of took two grounds keepers with their carts and her
and all of the above and shaking tree bags before
and about forty five minutes.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
So when he got tired before they.
Speaker 6 (10:57):
Finally rounded him up. Wow, So you know, we had
quite a discussion about expectations. I mean, do you know
that he knows his name? Well, he turns his head.
That's not the same thing.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
It just means he hears something and make a noise.
What are you doing?
Speaker 6 (11:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Did they change his name?
Speaker 6 (11:16):
Nobody knew what his name was. Oh, so yes, obviously
they did change his name. I take that back. They
foster had changed his name because they didn't know. Okay,
but they'd had him about three months and then these
people had now taken adopted him, so they had changed
the name that the foster gave them as well. Talk
about all the different changes this dog had been through
(11:36):
in his life.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (11:38):
Now, one of the questions the woman asked me was
very sweet people, but she said, now, what words should
I use when he goes to the bathroom in the house?
I said, but what do you explain what you mean
by that? Well, to let him know that he did
wrong and he should go outside. You want one word
(11:59):
to explain all of that. Does he know that he's
supposed to go outside? Well? Uh, well, the foster family
they just kept him outside all the time. Has he
ever been in a house? Does he have any idea
how to tell you he needs to go.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Woo.
Speaker 6 (12:15):
Don't do all dogs? Okay, so you know, yeah, they're expectations.
They had had a series of adult dogs.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Has an adult dogs that should know.
Speaker 6 (12:28):
Golden retrievers who you know were easy and they had
the same expectations for.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
A very intense, hurting hug. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (12:38):
Yeah, with years old.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
You should know the rules of the house. We just
have to have that conversation with him.
Speaker 6 (12:43):
Well, he must be going in the house to say
that he's mad at us. Why would you go to
that explanation as opposed to the one that he doesn't
know how to say open the door please? Well I
don't know, okay, So let's work on teaching him how
to let you know.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Let's talk about the first month after dog is adopted,
because that leads that explanation leads into it right away.
So you do some searching, either online or you go
to the shelter, You contact a rescue, you take in
grandma's dog whatever, just not a puppy. We're talking adolescents
and on. So you bring home a new dogs. Well,
(13:27):
he's never been in your house.
Speaker 6 (13:30):
He's so quiet.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
He may or may not have lived with kids.
Speaker 6 (13:33):
He just sits there and waits for his food.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah, he may or may not live with cats, So
how do we help him adjust to this household? First
thing I know that I often tell people, and I
know you too to also is put a leasha on him.
Speaker 6 (13:51):
Believe me, After the forty five minute run around the
golf course, she's now keeping Alisha remember time they go outside.
But that's why she has to get up to open
the door. The previous dogs they had a hobby door anyway.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Yes, but yeah, it's not.
Speaker 6 (14:05):
Just for a walk.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
It's just not just for a walk. And it gives
you a means of interrupting behavior or showing him new
behaviors without reaching and grabbing for his head. Yes, because
so many people grab for the collar. And we hear
that a lot from people too. Oh he must have
been hit, he ducks his head. Not that many people
(14:29):
actually hit a dog in the head. Some do, but
not that many. But lots of people grab for the
collar and dogs learned to duck.
Speaker 6 (14:39):
I'll add one more. Okay, I seem to have had
an epidemic of people that grab their dogs by the
ears and kiss them on the forehead.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
Oh, for Peene's sakes, I'm not Some dogs are okay
with it.
Speaker 6 (14:52):
But most of them, I see them duck in their head.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
You know how offended bones would be if I did
that to him. U, people, how did you ever have
one of those great ants that would come over and
pinch it hard, Because that's how they showed you they
loved you. They'd hide behind your mom. I don't think
they did love you. It tormenting the child. Ahi, I
don't have the little kids that I'm so happy I
(15:17):
don't squeeze.
Speaker 6 (15:20):
But that's when I see the dog yet, like the
little kids hiding behind the God no not and hellen no.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
So put the leash on the dog, and if he's
not already crate trained, start introducing him slowly to a
crate fetus. Meals in there, toss some treats in there,
both of them.
Speaker 6 (15:38):
You might be surprised how many of the dogs go, oh,
thank you my own place.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Yes, that gives you two means of controlling managing his
behavior in the beginning, so that he's not going potty
in the house, so he's not chasing the cat, so
he's not jumping on the kids. And you don't have
to exile him to the backyard. So introducing him slowly
to a crate and letting him drag a leash.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
One client was so anti crates for her newly adopted dog. Well,
I'm sure that he's been mistreated. I don't want to
throw him in jail too.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
Why always everybody, like ninety five percent of the people
always think they adopted this dog and it's had a
bad history.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
It's been abused.
Speaker 6 (16:22):
Because they're being polite when they first come to your home.
The dog is and being polite means not being pushy
and demanding stuff.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Yet it'll come.
Speaker 6 (16:33):
It'll come. Because I asked this woman, I said, well,
where's he sleeping right now?
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (16:37):
Whenever, whenever the house is quiet, he goes under my vanity.
Oh is there room under there for a crate? Well, yes,
I guess there is. We'll put it under there with
the door open. She's like, he loves it, she wrote back.
A couple of days, he's trying to he's trying to
find it, Ina, And that was the closest he could do.
When she gave him another third wall and the ability
(16:58):
to close the door, it was great for both of them.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Yeah, so we love all right, Well we need to
take a break for our sponsors, So hold on We've
got a lot more to talk about when we get back.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Ship Stay. It's a doggy dog world will be right
back after a short pause, well for to be exactly.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
So, what's your reaction, Kate when you hear Ben and
Jerry's now has dog treats.
Speaker 6 (17:28):
Now, I won't have to share my ice cream with
them anymore, because you know, anybody comes near me when
I'm meeting my Ben and Jerry's, They're likely to get
growled at.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Now.
Speaker 6 (17:38):
I think it's a cool idea. I've sometimes made my
dog's frozen treats or gotten some that are commercially available,
but considering how much I love Ben and Jerry's, it's
about time my puppy dog's got to enjoy that as well.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
Of my favorite one is the Cherry Garcia.
Speaker 6 (17:54):
Oh my god, yeah, I'll growl anybody comes near me,
I'll meet that chunky monkey freak.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
I like that that way.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
But also I love peanut butter.
Speaker 5 (18:05):
And did you know that one of the doug You
dog flavors is paunch. It has peanut butter and pretzels.
Speaker 8 (18:10):
Ooh, and Rosie has pumpkin and many cookies. That's am
I ni, I'm sure it has lots of cookies too,
but they're a little small cookies and they're many cookies
and pumpkin, which I do give my boy pumpkin in
his dinner, so this would actually been a nicer way
for him.
Speaker 6 (18:27):
To get it.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
Yeah, so I think I would qualify mine in the
freezer is my ice cream.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
And then I have to label.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
Like the dog's version of Ben and Jerry's as the
frozen Treat doggy dessert.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
And one way you can tell is instead of the
black and white cow on the front of the little container,
it's a black and white dog for the dog trees,
so you can tell which one is which because it's
their dog. Frozen treats are are not designed for humans,
made with human quality ingredients, but not designed for humans.
(19:00):
You do want to keep them separate. And I can
only give my boy a little bit, my dear of
my own ice cream, my Ben and Jerry's ice cream,
because yeah, it doesn't always set well with him, but
now he has his own, He's gonna have.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
His own, all right.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
So go out there, buy some for your furry little
friend there, and then enjoy together.
Speaker 6 (19:17):
Enjoy.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Let's talk past, Let's headline Radio Petlight Radio dot com.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
We know you're begging for more, so back to It's
a Doggy Dog World with your fetching hosts Liz Polaika
and this week's co hosts, Kate Abbitt and Patri Burke.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Welcome back to It's a Doggy Dog World. This is
your host Liz Polika with my good friends Patri Burke
and Kate Abbot. Number three, teach you miss name, teaching
miss new name, hand handful of treats or chopped chicken
or bits of hot dog or half a hamburger. Say
(20:03):
his name in a happy tone of voice. It's not Hero.
It's Hero. Good boy treat, Hero, good boy treat. Now
initially he's gonna think the name of the treats as Hero,
but that's okay because it's a good sound. It's coming
from you, and the treats are coming from your hand.
And don't use his name to scold him if he
(20:25):
jumps on the kid. It's not Hero, it's sweety pie.
Let me have you leash. Thank you very much. Let's talk,
but teach him his name and do several sessions over
a couple of weeks. Even when you think he knows it,
reinforce it, make it positive, make him like his name.
(20:47):
If I say one of my three dogs names, I
want them to look at me and their ears perk out,
no matter what they're doing. If I go seven and
she goes doing Hi Bob, that's exactly what.
Speaker 6 (20:58):
I want gendeed me want me.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Yeah, So teach him his name. Start a routine.
Speaker 5 (21:04):
You're gonna bring a dog in, get him into the
routine of what the household is. Don't just be like, oh,
he's been abused in the past, but does have a
freedom of the house.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
No, teaching a routine.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
Didn't take him for a walk or just you know,
potty training like you say in the house training and
the great training, sit for food.
Speaker 6 (21:23):
Give them some time to decompress. Don't take them to
every relative and neighbor.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Show them off.
Speaker 6 (21:29):
Yeah, everybody want to meet the new dog.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, and I mean, we're all for training, But you
don't necessarily need to start training right now either. Wait
until the dog's bonded to you when comfortable. Maybe play
with them also for a few weeks. And how many
times it start training?
Speaker 5 (21:47):
No, how many times we've heard I got this dog,
he doesn't know how to play well?
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Teach him right well, he may know how to play.
It just may be that his former owners played differently
than you, who cool.
Speaker 6 (21:59):
Didn't know how to play. He did not know how
to problem solve.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
But now the behavior that you're most likely going to
see during this month is quiet. You might think calm.
He's thinking self contained. He doesn't know these people, he
doesn't know this house, he doesn't know this routine. He
might not know the vocabulary as in the Russian dog.
He may not know the language.
Speaker 6 (22:28):
Is the dog able to take naps during the day?
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Will he relax with you around, with the family around?
Are you protecting him from the family cat who might
be stalking him? As the as the owner of a
big orange cat who controls the dogs quite well, who
now has his possible with a little nine week old
kitten who he adores, who is tormenting him and I'm laughing, Yeah, karma.
(23:00):
So the first month you're not going to see the
real personality of the dog. You're not going to see
who he really is and.
Speaker 5 (23:07):
Which might mislead you. Is he's different such a good dog?
Speaker 8 (23:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (23:13):
So when we first got this dog, you know, he
was great. He could go out in the backyard and
we could play and so forth. But lately, anytime anybody
walks by, he just runs the fence line. Bark black, bark,
back bark, Mark goes crazy.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
And that's the second month. The second month he's going
to start to claim a little bit of ownership. He's
still not going to be completely relaxed, but he's claiming
a little bit of ownership. He'll probably cooperate with you
on a lot of things still because he's not completely relaxed.
(23:48):
He's not truly at home yet. So if you start
some training, it'll probably go relatively well. He's probably responding
to his.
Speaker 6 (23:58):
Name, unless he's over the top with excitement.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah, unless he's not been able to calm yet. If
he's left the self containment, he's probably not yet controlled himself.
When he's active to define those two things. Month one
is self containment. Week two starting to relax a little
more cooperative and hopefully he's learned his name. When he's calm,
(24:26):
he's learning hopefully the vocabulary at home. Go outside, go potty,
don't jump on the kids, don't chase the cat, it's
dinner time, go to your bed. So the basic vocabulary
that you're building with him. He knock on wood. Should
be starting to understand. The month three and that's when
(24:49):
most new most owners are newly adopted dogs called the
dog trainer because how was it? You explained it, Kate.
It was the brother in law s on this couch scratching.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
I've used that so many times trying to describe adopted dogs.
Speaker 6 (25:07):
When you first have a house guest over and they're like, oh,
you know, I use the special soaps and the guest towels.
I'm so sorry. Is that okay? And then after you've
had a house guest for a while, yeah, then they
start coming downstairs in their boxer shorts and going, hey,
you gotta be here, and where's the remote? I want
to watch the game.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
And this is when you're more apt to see the
quote unquote the real dog who knows he's well loved
in his new home, and he's pushing every button and
pushing every boundary to see what you're.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
Gonna do, even to give him some benefit of the doubt.
This is a wonderful home. What can I do to
put you guys back? I'll be your guardian. I will
let you know when the leaf falls, yeh, or the
ant crosses, will scare those those people walked in front
of the house and I scared them off. I saved
you from death once again.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
And the FedEx driver. Yeah yeah. By the way, seven
is going to be two years old in May, and
she's figured out she can scare the FedEx and UPS
driver well, and the Amazon driver. So we're working on that.
Nip it in the bud before it takes off. Now,
(26:29):
this stage we say three months. It can happen at three,
four or five months, depending on how quickly your dog
is moving through the stages. But this is the point
where you need to use that leash, use some obedience training.
You set crepe for a time out now, and then
if you need to do not let these new behaviors,
(26:54):
no matter how well intentioned, he might be turn into habits,
because if you don't interrupt them, they will turn into habits.
Speaker 6 (27:02):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Now, he may not have behaved like that in his
previous home. In fact, his previous home might have given
him up saying he was very very well trained, very
well behaved. We couldn't keep him because and there's always reasons.
I mean, I don't like to automatically assume that somebody's
bad because they gave up a dog. Life does happen
(27:27):
but in your home because he's not hearing the same words,
the same routine, the same schedule, perhaps the same level
of enforcement of the rules. And he's happy now because
he's very well loved and he wants to help you
so much. Or not, he may be pushing it.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
And I think with the one dog I'm thinking of it,
just the he just started getting an adrenaline high every
time he chased somebody off.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Addictive.
Speaker 6 (27:54):
Yeah, self rewarding and addictive.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Well did we see it here? I mean, people will
take the dog if.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
They're having issues and then just run them through some
obedient skills and we're like, he's had training. What, oh,
thank you to me correctly.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
We see it all the time.
Speaker 6 (28:17):
And adopters are wonderful, you know, big hearts.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
But sometimes dogs take advantage of that.
Speaker 6 (28:25):
That's true that the dogs will feel better too once
they have, once they know for sure what they need
to do.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Unlike cats.
Speaker 6 (28:34):
You oh, forget cats.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Dogs dogs We live with cats.
Speaker 6 (28:39):
Yeah. Servants.
Speaker 7 (28:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Dogs like a routine. They like to be able to
count on things happening. They like to know what the
rules of the house are, of the yard, of social
manners of a walk. And yes, they'll take advantage of
things if they don't know better, or if it's not
(29:04):
being enforced. Because adrenaline. If you pull on the leash
and leap and bark at everybody, you're getting that adrenaline rush.
If you chase away the FedEx driver, it's an adrenaline rush.
If you chase the kids in the backyard when their
friends come over, big adrenaline rush. That doesn't mean it's
good behavior, but it's adrenaline rush.
Speaker 6 (29:26):
The one dog was at the point where he'd lay
in the backyard and wait for a bird to fly
over and chase it off.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, I protected you again. Yeah, that's.
Speaker 6 (29:39):
Thirteen times I've saved you from death.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
From flying birds. That's not even talking about all.
Speaker 6 (29:48):
Yesterday.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
So if you've adopted a dog and you think your
dog's going through these stages, or if you're planning on
adopting a dog, be prepared. The first month will lead
you into complacency, and it often does. That's not the
real dog.
Speaker 6 (30:11):
Don't see the true dog quite a while.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Yeah, and I talked to If you've listened to us before,
you know, Patron and I Foster kittens. And I talked
to a kitten foster that came by my house today
to pick up some supplies, and she said, we just
adopted a new dog in February. We're recording this in April.
And she says, how do I introduce the new cat
(30:37):
to the dog? I said, don't.
Speaker 7 (30:40):
What?
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Don't introduce them? Well? Why? Because you have a cat
who's in a new house, who's incredibly stressed, incredibly stressed,
you should limit her to one room of the house.
And then you've got a dog who's only a couple
months into the honeymoon period, and you don't know the
real dog yet. This dog could be a cat killer
(31:03):
and you don't know. Oh no, he's a very nice dog.
Uh huh. He may he may well be a very
nice dog, but you don't know that yet.
Speaker 6 (31:14):
That's another The way a dog responds to people is
not an indication of how you will respond to other
dogs or other animals.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Especially small animals, especially a small scared animal. Yep, because
if he chased that cat, that cat's already frightened. Anyway,
that cat could go through a screen window and be
com on.
Speaker 6 (31:35):
My terrier is sitting on my lap. He's been a
therapy dog. He loves to meet people, but.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
He's not safe with little critics. I used to invite
Kate and her old boy Walter over to my house.
They came on a regular basis. I've never invited Walter
quill well quill us are three.
Speaker 6 (31:58):
Doors locked between us and the kittens. Yes, I mean
he is on and even other dogs he just pretty
much ignores unless they're good friends.
Speaker 7 (32:09):
But anything cossom size or smaller yep is game. Yep
has nothing to do with how sweeties people. He says
that he rubs his chi.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
On that note, we'll let you go. Hopefully we've given
you some things to think about and hopefully your next
adoption will go easier with a little bit of knowledge.
So that's it.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
By having a rough day, longing for the dog days
of summer, I think your fun very friend lives a
dog's life. Well, find out everything you're begging to know,
as Pet Life Radio presents It's a Doggy dog World
with pet expert and award winning author Liz Polaika. Every
(32:54):
dog has his day, and you'll find out how to
make your dog's day fun and rewarding every week on
demand only on petlifradio dot com, MHM,
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