HOW TO TRAIN A RESCUE DOG THE RIGHT WAY | WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER WHILE RAISING A RESCUE DOG

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As a dog lover, trainer and behaviorist, I wish for a world where every dog would have a loving and suitable home. It takes courage and a heart made of gold to bring home and raise a rescue dog. So if you just glanced at your rescued furbaby while reading this, can you please also tell this to him for me – “You’re so lucky to have a home that loves you so much!!” You already have half of what’s required to train your rescue – Willingness. For the other half of ‘How to train a rescue dog’, read on –

How long does it take for a rescue dog to adjust to a new home?

Before I answer this question, I want to ask, how long would it take for you to adjust to a newly adopted dog? 1 month? 2 months? If you’re going to take a while to adjust to a new member in YOUR home and YOUR surroundings, how long do you think the dog will take in a totally new home, an unknown environment, unknown people and a possible bad past?

Every dog is different and has his/ her own unique personality and quirks. Rescue dogs, especially, may come with their own pre-set of likes, dislikes and responses to various triggers. Some of these responses may come to light in the first few weeks of the adoption. However, there may be some responses that may not emerge for months and might just surface out of nowhere at the presence of a trigger.

When putting in efforts to get a dog adjusted to a new home, it’s important not to pressure the dog. The definition of ‘pressure’ is different in the eyes of you and your dog. Calling home friends the next day to meet your newly adopted furbaby is a celebration for you, but could be overwhelming for your dog.

Avoid giving too much freedom to your dog inside the house and an enormous amount of new things and experiences. This can overstimulate your dog and can make him anxious. Take it really slow and wait for your dog to settle in at his own pace.

FURTHER READS: 8 IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT RESCUE DOGS

CHECK OUT THIS HEARTWARMING SHORT FILM ON DOG ADOPTION AND TRAINING –

The first 2 weeks of adopting and Bringing home a rescue dog

1. Puppy-proof your home

I can’t even begin to describe the benefits of properly puppy-proofing your home before getting a puppy. It’s hands down the best way to keep your puppy and your belongings safe. It’s normal for a puppy to want to fidget with anything that belongs to you. That’s a part and parcel of your dog exploring his surroundings. So, no access, no mess!

2. House train 

To potty train a rescue dog, start by taking him to the spot where you need him to pee repeatedly, everyday, multiple times a day. Try and keep these timings consistent everyday. Reward him heavily when he does relieve himself at the designated spot. Avoid punishing when you spot an accident, however, do interrupt when you catch him in the act and immediately redirect.

3. Establish boundaries

While it is important to adjust your schedule and make time for rescue dog, avoid making too many changes in the household that you might not be able to keep up in the long run. Focus on getting your dog used to the ways of the household instead. It is necessary to have a midpoint where both you and your dog can meet.

It may not be possible for every member of the household to keep up with every training cue and command. However, once you have your dog, sit together as a family and decide on the rules of the household that every member will follow to the T when it comes to raising the dog. Eg – Behaviours like begging, attention-seeking vocalization, jumping etc will not be encouraged by anyone in the house.

4. Take it easy

Most rescue dogs have a rough past, which is why they end up in the shelter or need to be rescued. Remember this when you get yours home. While it’s necessary to train the dog for harmonious living, don’t go overboard with too many commands. Excellence is not about how many commands he knows. It’s about how well he can do that one command in any given situation.

Take it easy the first couple of weeks. Rather than micro-managing your dog, let him figure out a few things on his own.

5. Empathize, don’t sympathise

It’s totally natural to sympathize with your rescue dog, especially when you know he’s had a rough past. There is nothing wrong with that.

However, under the pretext of sympathy, you cannot allow him to get away with bad behaviors or miss out on establishing boundaries with your dog. Your dog does not need your sympathy. He needs a fresh start, for which he needs guidance. Provide your dog with good leadership and see your dog flourish under your care.

6. Crate train

The most important thing to remember about crate training your rescue dog is that crates aren’t meant to be your save for a rainy day. Meaning, don’t wait for behavioural problems to start showing or accidents to start happening to crate train your dog.

FURTHER READS : A QUICK GUIDE ON CRATE TRAINING YOUR DOG IN 14 DAYS

Crate training is done SO THAT you can keep your dog in his own little safe haven and out of trouble. Not to mention, the amount of behavioral issues proper crate training can keep at bay is massive; boredom, separation anxiety, potty accidents, sleep aggression are just a few of them.

Are rescue dogs harder to train?

Rescue dogs, unless a puppy, typically have baggage. So note that you’re not starting on a clean slate. There may be some behaviors that the dog needs to unlearn first before learning something new. You have to allow that to happen at the dog’s pace and not yours.

Don’t try to mould the dog into the type you’ve always wanted. Get the perfect picture out of your head. Don’t train the dog for what you see him to be, train him for what he actually is. Eg – you might believe that your dog needs other dog friends, but your dog doesn’t think so. This might be clear in his excessive barking or lunging behaviour at the sight of another dog. Rather than socializing him against his will, focus on desensitizing him towards the presence of other dogs first.

FURTHER READS: HOW TO GET YOUR DOG TO STOP BARKING AT OTHER DOGS

How do you get a rescue dog to trust you?

Rescue dogs, as the name suggests are the dogs that are usually rescued from a difficult past – Bad breeding, abusive homes, abandonment, kill-shelters to name a few. It’s not surprising for these dogs to have trust issues. While figuring out how to train a rescue dog, it is important to remember this.

The first thing your dog needs is time. A close second is patience. Don’t pressure your dog into being a cuddle bug in a matter of days or weeks of getting him home. Instead of trying to raise the ideal dog, for once, try and be the ideal dog parent. These pointers would help –

• Be clear about what you want and be calm about it
• Find out the root cause of any behavioral problem rather than just focusing on fixing it
• Comfort your dog when necessary, but don’t coddle him
• Aim at being a good leader, not just a dominant alpha
• Don’t try to keep pushing your dog into uncomfortable scenarios. If he’s vocalizing or acting out due to fear, give him the distance and space he’s begging for

FURTHER READS : 6 DO’S & DON’TS FOR A NEW PUPPY PARENT

Training tips to remember while raising a rescue dog

1. Don’t assume

The ‘no-assumptions’ theory is true in case of any dog you get home, rescue or not. Say, your rescue dog developed territorial aggression in his previous home and was displaying it towards anyone that walked into the house. Just because he didn’t show any signs of it in the first two weeks, doesn’t mean he won’t show it in the future too.

Aggression doesn’t fix itself with rehoming. It’s just dormant until the next trigger.

2. Don’t let the dog get away with bad behavior just because you feel sorry for him

Your rescue dog is extremely fortunate that he’s ended up with a loving home such as yours. However, mere sympathy is not going to get very far in terms of raising a happy and balanced dog. If anything, it might blind you towards some of his undesirable behaviors.

Letting your dog get away with jackassery in the beginning just because you feel bad for him is a classic recipe to raise an absolutely confused dog. The more undesirable behavior he learns, the more difficult it will become for you to live with him in future.

3. Get your dog used to a predictable routine

When your dog has no idea how to react in a particular situation, he is in a conflict. Conflicts give rise to anxiety. For a newly adopted rescue dog, even something as minor as the doorbell can give rise to a conflict.

When a dog doesn’t know what to do in a situation, unless taught otherwise, he decides to do what’s most natural for him, i.e., barking, running away, growling, snapping, biting, etc. Setting routines, especially around such conflicting situations, avoids the need for your dog to react unpleasantly and the need to be anxious.

Get your dog used to a stable routine and make as predictable for him as possible. Include ample crate time, playtime, walks, stimulation exercises and bonding time in this routine.

4. Know the difference between socialization and desensitization

A puppy’s socialization phase starts at 3 weeks ends at 16 weeks. If he has not been exposed to a plethora of sights, smells, textures, people and animals during this time, there is a high chance of him growing up to be anxious around new things and experiences.

If your rescue dog is scared of, say, other dogs, it is possible that he might not have been correctly socialized around other dogs while he was a pup. If he’s above 16 wks of age, it’s time to desensitize your dog towards other dogs.

The difference between socialization and desensitization is that the former is done to introduce a puppy towards new things and experiences and the latter is done to calm down a pup’s emotional response (fear, anxiety etc) towards a certain trigger.

5. Focus on Canine enrichment

Any activity that allows a dog to engage in innate behaviors like playing, chasing, smelling, chewing and scavenging results in canine enrichment. Canine enrichment helps in giving your dog an appropriate outlet to fulfil their need of physical and mental stimulation. It avoids boredom and behavioral issues like destructive chewing, attention-seeking vocalization while helping you raise a calm, well-behaved and happy dog.

FURTHER READS: BRAIN GAMES FOR DOGS AT LOW OR NO COST

6. Be patient and consistent in your training

As a trainer, I always stress one thing with all my clients – it’s not about how many commands you teach your dog; it’s about how well you and your dog can follow through with that one command in any given situation.

Dog obedience training is meaningless without patience and consistency.

My rescue dog bites. How to Train my rescue dog not to bite?

The primary step to dealing with this issue is knowing the difference between playful or excitement nipping and a defensive bite. Notice the behaviour that precedes the bite and the thing that triggers it.

Uncontrolled puppy play biting often leads to puppy aggression towards owners as young dogs have a hard time to figuring out when to stop. If not taught to calm down at the right time, a wagging tail escalates to jumpy behavior which eventually results into a bite-frenzy.

Typically this behavior is at its worse during the puppy’s most active times of the day like early mornings and late evenings. These are the times when puppies need to relieve their pent-up energies. If not given an appropriate outlet, they will end up discovering an outlet of their own. These outlets are usually undesirable surfaces like a human hand, walls, furniture etc.

If your puppy is not being a playful, mouthy jackass but actually sinking his teeth in your skin repeatedly to draw out blood and leave bruises, you might be dealing with a bigger issue. Rescue dogs usually come with a rough past and certain ingrained behavioural issues. When the dog displays behaviors like snarling, growling or snapping before biting, he needs behavioural intervention which can happen only through training.

FURTHER READS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT STOPPING AND PREVENTING AGGRESSION IN PUPS.

How do I bond with my rescue dog?

There is a fine line between bonding with your dog and making him over-dependent on you. The latter can give rise to a plethora of behavioral problems like separation anxiety, protective aggression, attention-seeking barking etc.

Bonding is not about how much time you spend cuddling with your dog throughout the day. You could be spending just a few hours of the day with your dog and your dog could still be closely bonded to you.

Here’s a few tips to help you form an enviable bond with your rescue dog –

• Provide ample outlets for mental and physical stimulation for your dog. This includes walks, games, enrichment activities, etc
• Give your dog ample time to get adjusted to his new home, routine and life
• Be your dog’s advocate. If your dog is uncomfortable in a certain scenario, stand up and speak up
• Be a gentle leader
• Learn how to train your rescue dog the right way, for the appropriate stuff. Cool tricks is not an essential aspect of training a dog. Obedience is.
• Read and research about dog body language to better understand and communicate with your dog

Loving and nurturing a rescue dog is not everyone’s cup of tea. Which is why, I have utmost respect for people who are noble enough to do so and dedicate themselves to it. Over 3 million dogs in the US find themselves in the shelter every year. A lot of these dogs in this statistic are a result of being rehomed and abandoned repeatedly.

One of the biggest gaps in dog adoption is that so many people adopt rescue pups in order to feel better about themselves. It’s absolutely human to feel that way. But, it would really help the dog more if you prepare yourself beforehand and do a little more research on how to properly train and raise a rescue dog so that they don’t end up in the shelter once again. They deserve better.