The Foster File Foster Boy Biscuit Adopted! Welcome Foster Boy Trigger to the Pack!

Foster Boy Biscuit (He was so excited I had to hold his head still for the picture!)

The Awesome Shane!

The Lovely Shane and I are happy to report that our foster boy Biscuit now has a forever home with a nice lady in Tyrone, GA! He is really a good and smart little guy I am sure that he will be happy in his forever home! We are saddened to see him go but very happy that he now has a forever home! As you may remember, from an earlier blog post, He was going through puppy adolescence. He seemed to be recovering from this stage a little.

It is unclear how this happened, but, I somehow managed to  injure my lower back and was unable to attend the adoption event last Saturday at Petco in Peachtree City, GA. The Lovely and Awesome Shane took my place. Shane reports that Biscuit behaved like a perfect little gentleman. He was reportedly very polite and lovable (makes an old dog trainer proud :)).

Look at that cute Trigger face!!

Resting Trigger

The Lovely Shane also brought home our next foster boy. His name is Trigger. Trigger is an approximately two year old dachshund mix.  He is very smart and is pretty well behaved. He is a stray that someone abandoned. We can not figure out why anyone would abandon such a sweet little guy! Trigger is housebroken pretty well. We also understand that he in crate trained. We have not confined him to a crate yet because we have not needed to yet. He gets along great with the rest of the pack here!

Trigger pulls on the leash a little and we are working on Loose Leash Walking training. He already knew sit. He is a quick learner! He learned the down command mostly from observing Copper the Whopper Beagle!

Trigger, like Biscuit, really loves people! He has been our little shadow since he got here Saturday afternoon!

Trigger is available for adoption. However, the Lovely Shane is becoming pretty attached to him so he may have already found his forever home :) . I will keep you posted!

If you have recently added an adopted or rescue dog to your pack and desire help in training him/her to become a well behaved dog, please contact me!

Also, if you are looking for a new pack member, please, please, please consider adoption! There are many of these guys who desperately need a forever home! If you need help locating a dog, contact me for the names of some great local rescue groups!

Till Next Time-

William

William Moore

William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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Foster Files Foster Boy Trigger Adopted Welcome Back Foster Boy Biscuit!

Trigger the Dapple Dachshund

The Lovely and  Totally Awesome Shane!

The Lovely Shane and I are happy to announce that Trigger has found a forever home! The forever home he found is right here in our pack! His temperament fits our pack very well and The Lovely Shane and I fell in love with him. He is however, definitely a Mommys dog.

Aside from a few little chewing issues, his training is coming along quite well.

Trigger really likes to follow Mommy around everywhere and really misses her when she goes to work! He also really loves his chew toys and has a real passion for chasing critters in the back yard and digging around. I think we are going to make him a little area in the backyard (maybe a sandbox) where he can dig all he wants without hurting anything.

Foster Boy Biscuit

So, we now have a four dog permanent pack consisting of Cuddles the Corgi Mix (senior), Copper the Whopper Beagle (adult), Codi the Little Beagle (senior) and Trigger the Dapple Dachshund (approx. 1 year old).

Our buddy Biscuit is also back in our pack as a Foster again. Biscuit is a Basset/Lab Mix about 8 or 9 months old. We got him back last night. The person who adopted him could no longer care for him due to unforeseen medical issues.

Biscuit has grown a little over the last few weeks that he has been away. His training is also progressing nicely! The housebreaking seems to be done. He is really good about going into his crate when you tell him to.  He is getting much better on leash! Another week or so and he should be almost perfect on the leash!

If you are interested in adding a good little Basset mix to your pack, please let me know! Biscuit is available for adoption and would love to find a forever home with you!

Till Next Time

-William -

William Moore Canine Training

678-702-4791

fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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What to expect when you bring your adopted dog home

Adopted boy, Cody the little beagle, resting with adopted Daddy.

While working on my upcoming book, it occurred to me that this would be a good time to write a post to this blog about what to expect when you bring a newly adopted dog home.

The former foster parents at the rescue can provide a wealth of information regarding observed behavior of the adopted dog. The former foster parents can also provide information about the temperament, level of training, housebreaking progress and all sorts of other things.

Adopted Boy Copper takes a break.

However, please remember that moving to your home, regardless of how good a fit the dog is, will be stressful for the dog. This does not mean that the dog is not a good fit for your pack. As I have mentioned many times before,dogs are very much routine oriented animals. They are happiest when on a routine. Moving to a new home severely breaks their routine, even in ideal circumstances. 

The following is a short list of things that can occur due to the break in routine. Most of them will be temporary:

• Regression in housebreaking
• Separation Anxiety
• Timid or Shy Behavior
• Upset Stomach/ Loose Stool

Regardless of how well the dog is housebroken, it is likely that, at least initially, he/she will have an accident. Do not get upset with the little guy. Simply take him/her outside then clean up the mess.

Adopted boy Trigger relaxes with some of the pack beagles.

In some cases, you may have to start over with the housebreaking. See my earlier blog post on housebreaking for a primer.

Remember, it does not mean that the rescue or the former foster parents lied to you. The regression in housebreaking is likely simply a result of the stress of moving to your home. Please be patient. 

Initially the new guy may be anxious when you leave the house. Separation Anxiety is not uncommon in adopted dogs. Be patient with the new dog. Try leaving for short amounts of time first then lengthen the amount of time you are away. The idea is that the dog will learn that you will not be gone forever when you leave the house. In many cases, the Separation Anxiety is temporary. Sometimes it is not. If it lasts more that a couple of weeks, it needs to be addressed through training. I am writing a section in my new book that is dedicated to separation anxiety and techniques to deal with it. If you need help before the book is released, please contact me at any time and I will be glad to work with you to address your dogs separation anxiety.

Adopted Girl Cuddles gives Daddy a rare kiss.

The dog will likely be shy and a little timid for the first several days. This is just a little anxiety about his new environment. It will get better! This is the reason that I always suggest that you not bring new people around for the first two or three weeks after adoption. The idea is to make the transition to your home as stress free as possible for the adopted dog. 

Due to the stress, it is also not uncommon for the new dog to experience a little stomach distress initially. This usually does not last for more than a a day or two. To make this less stressful for your adopted dog, find out what type of food he was being fed at the foster home and feed this food if possible.

Our former foster girl Penny the tiny beagle on
the day she was adopted.

Adopting a dog is a wonderful thing. It saves a dogs life! However, you have a responsibility to make the transition as easy as possible for your new adopted dog. It is not rocket science. But, remember, it may not be trouble free either. The dog is more than worth the initial inconvenience that you may experience!

In closing, please remember that you have not bought a pair of shoes here. Even if the rescue has a trial period, it is your responsibility to do everything that you can do to make the adoption work. Any dog is going to require some effort on your part. This is true with adopted dogs or with dogs from breeders. There will be an adjustment period. It is well worth the effort!

Till next time

-William 

William Moore Canine Training

678-702-4791

fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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Welcoming an adopted dog into your pack

The Lovely Shane and I are pleased to welcome Cody to our pack!  As I mentioned in a previous post, we adopted Cody from the Coweta County Animal Control Shelter. He arrived yesterday afternoon. He is adjusting to his new forever home very well!

I thought it may be a good occasion to write a blog entry about welcoming an adopted guy or girl to your pack.

If this is your first dog it is important that you dog-proof your home. Take a look at my blog entry about dog-proofing for more information.

Remember to be patient. This can be a stressful time for the dog. If he is a housebroken adult, it is possible that due to the stress he may have accidents. Make sure to take him out very quickly after you get him home so that he knows where he should go. If you need to reinforce or teach housebreaking take a look at my blog entry on housebreaking.

If you have other dogs in your pack, slowly introduce the new guy or girl. Make sure he is not trapped in a corner. If you pick a dog with similar temperament to your existing pack members this transition will be much easier.

If possible, find out what sort of food the dog was eating at the shelter. To eliminate the possibility of an upset stomach, get a bag of the food that he is on. If you want to transition him to a new food, mix his current food with the new food. For  more information on Dog Food, take a look at my blog posts on Nutrition and Corn.

It is not uncommon for adopted dogs to experience separation anxiety. I encourage you to be prepared for this possibility. If you see that the new guy or girl is being destructive when you leave him at home, consider leaving something to occupy his time. A great idea is to buy a Kong toy and fill it with peanut butter and crushed treats. If you freeze this it will work even better. He will spend a lot of time trying to get the peanut butter and treats out of the toy and this will occupy his mind. You may also consider leaving a TV or Radio on so that he hears the voices this may soothe him. See also my blog posting on Dogs and TV.

It is very important that the dog get plenty of exercise. I recommend walking him on the leash at least once a day. If the weather is rainy, take a look at my blog posting about places to walk your dog when it is raining for ideas about dry places to walk when it is raining.

I strongly recommend that you make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible. Even if the dog is healthy, you need to make sure his shots are current and that you start heart worm preventive and flea and tick preventive as soon as possible. I would also have the vet do a wellness check examination just to verify there are no health issues.

If your dog is not micro-chipped I strongly recommend that you have this done. This is particularly important for sent hounds (beagles, bassets, bloodhounds, etc.) because they are ruled by their noses and will get lost on the trail of something interesting. It is important for any breed ! It is important because the microchip will identify the dog even if he loses his collar. The microchips can be read at veterinarian offices and shelters. I will write a post soon that will go into detail about microchips

I also recommend that you get an engraved name tag for his collar. This way he is very easily identifiable if lost.

The Lovely Shane and I wanted to make sure Cody was clean before we brought him into the dog trainer shack with the rest of the pack. We stopped by Petco in Peachtree City and used the self-service bath. This is really nice because it is set-up for dogs and you dont have a mess to clean up when you are finished. We think it is well worth the $10.00. I also had Whitney ,in the grooming salon, clip Codys nails while we were there. The nails had grown to a very long length. Nail trimming is a very important part of grooming. I will write a blog entry later that explains this in more detail. But, I strongly suggest that you maintain the nails.

Just so that you know I practice what I preach (so to speak) I am taking Cody to the veterinarian in the morning.

You should start training as soon as possible. This will ensure that your new little guy or girl is polite and well behaved. Contact me at any time and I will be glad to discuss training options with you!

Till Next Time

-William_

William Moore
William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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