Rescue dogs

I work very closely with some rescue dogs and the aftermath of people rescuing a dog, and not knowing what to do.

We'll let me tell you, if you are rescuing a dog or maybe have already rescued one but haven't brought him home yet, this is what I suggest people are doing wrong. Sometimes you will rescue a dog and you want him to meet everyone, this is a bad idea and here's why. The rescue dog is already under a lot of stress, and then you pick him up, plop him in a truck, take a drive to a busy pet store to buy things because you weren't prepared in the first place, and that dog then gets overwhelmed, and starts growling. I have seen people even go as far as correcting the growling, but the dog can't help it, he has no trust in you, and the next thing you know a kid runs by while your In the pet store and that's a recipe for a bite to happen. 

Dogs that are under that much stress should be given time to warm up. Depending on the dog it could take 2 weeks to a month to do this. You need to think about the dog and his emotional state. Is he afraid of being in the car, or maybe he's shy of people. Dogs under stress are like a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. 

So how do you do this, well that's a good question I personally take a rescue dog home and bond with him, I usually don't do to much Exercise because dogs will sleep off stress, if you need to buy things for him, go by yourself or leave him in the truck. He doesn't need the added stress of people trying to coddle him. I usually suggest, keeping people away from the dog for at least a month, this give you time to share the rules, do some training with him, and create a bond where the dog starts to trust that you will protect him, this usually mean no visitors either. If you still think I'm crazy, think about what happens to you after a stressful day at work, then you come home, you need to cook dinner, your husband is asking you a million questions, and then you realize that you need to go the grocery store before you can relax, well then some lady at the grocery store is rude to you, what do you think will happen? Yes you are probably likely to snap. Well the same goes for does, there is only so much they can handle. By keeping your dog out of stressful situations when you first bring him home, you will have a better relationship, there will be less chance of that dog developing reactivity, and any sort of fear, because you pushed him into a situation that he wasn't comfortable in.

I personally have experience doing it both ways, when I first adopted my rescue dog, I took her to my moms house, introduced her to two people and 3 dogs. I continued to push people on her after that, because i didn't know any better, now we have been doing lots of extra work for a problem I created in the first place. I also recommend just letting the dog do its own thing, and not pushing it to interact with you, but just patiently waiting and giving food if he does come near you. This way the dog will have the best chance possible.

That's all for now, share your stories of rescue dogs in the comments below.