# Outdoor rescue dog coming inside - problems ahead.



## bigwhitepony (Dec 17, 2009)

Hey everyone, new here and looking for advice.

I recently adopted a 1.5-2 year old male hound mix from a very high-kill animal control shelter in Georgia, and he's doing some time with a friend of mine before I can pick him up from her house (I'm in PA). While at the shelter, he was quiet and well-behaved other than chewing on leashes. I didn't meet him there, but another friend of mine volunteers with this shelter, and she vouched for him.

We've recently discovered that he is a completely different animal in a home than in the shelter. When he first arrived, he was still in a submissive mode, and when he tried to mark in the apartment, a little whack on the bum sent him to the floor and rolling on his back. Now, he has escaped fully fenced yards 3 times, broken out of his crate multiple times (the last time actually breaking the crate), knocked over Christmas trees probably 8 or 9 times within 10 days, taken out dining room tables, tore up a handmade quilt... you get the point. He also had to go back to the vet's and get a cone and antibiotics for an infected neuter incision, and rightfully hated wearing the cone for the past week, which may have contributed to this behavior.

During this week, we've started to realize that while he is a sweet dog, we think he has probably lived outside for his entire life up until this point, either as a stray or just tethered outside. Obviously, his new change of lifestyle is vastly different and is probably the cause of most of the terror, but I am honestly starting to get concerned. I live in an apartment, and while it isn't small, it is still inside and I do not have a yard but do intend on being as active with him as I can be. I fear that if I did have a yard or even a huge farm, that wouldn't stop him from just busting out and running away forever.

I do plan on wearing him out as much as I can, both mentally and physically, as it certainly can't hurt his behavior. Obedience classes are definitely in order, especially after this past week.

For those of you who have rescued outdoor/stray dogs, how long did the adjustment period take? Will it ever happen? Am I doomed to a life of apartment destruction with this one?

And on a corollary note - what do you think of the natural calming supplements that Petco, etc. sell? I've been thinking about something like these drops, at least for the initial few weeks until he realizes that he's now going to be living inside.

Any help appreciated


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## luvamutt (Nov 14, 2009)

congrats on your new family member. it can be most dsaunting when you expect something that turns out to be very different.that being said it can be the most rewarding.being part hound you may want to consider his innate behavior of scent and know he may never be an offleash dog or maybe you hunt and can go that route. whatever he is going to need training BUT first things first.you can try the NILIF idea and that is simply making him work for all things good.IE sit for food. wait to do out. when we first brought our scared ematiated rescue home we ahd NO idea what our journey would involve. he was scared of everything and had no idea what to do about anything in his life including how to eatfrom a bowl.my boyfriend could not walk face to face with him for 2 months. at one point i almost returned him so that he could maybe find a home with more equiped owners. i swear he heard us talking because the next day he was better(not a lot) but enough for us to see the dog beneath it all.. Being a strng leader is essential. YOU have let himinto your den. now lay down the rules of your den and reinforce positivley when those rules are followed and gently correct when they are not. i found some doggie massage helped with the anxiety which we still struggle with. scents like lavender can be calming. you might try eating from his bowl(or pretending) before you set it down and then halfway pick it back up or reach your hands in(do not try until youn r sure he is not food aggressive) this goes for his toys too. so good luck. kepp reading here and know the love frpm rescuing is like no other.BTW my rescue we got 9 months ago has already passed CGC and TDI(therapy) not bragging just showing what lots of work can do.  AHH. so as far as the yard..you must walk him as the walkk is vital for pack mentality. and YOU must walk him not the other way around.the walk starts before you leave the house.get a long lead for exrercise in the yard and start the command come now. whenevr he comes to you label it.(or click). with the crate make sure you are not throwing him in there right before you leave for work. make his crate his den and put it in a quiet area and let him get used to it slowly. use treats feed him in his crate. tell him that is his place or bed or whatever but givie it a command. leave the door open at first. this too takes time and patience but a dog that feels safe in their own place is good. ok enough for now


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

I have two rescues who lived their lives outdoors, and one who lived his entire life in a crate. Two of them are golden. Jack is at least 6 years old, and when he was rescued from his "home" he went right to a shelter where he stayed outside for nearly a year. We expected a rough road.. but the first night he peed in the house once, and twice on me in the next few weeks, but only because he hadn't the slightest idea how to ask to go outside. We just treated him like a puppy, going out every hour and after eating and encouraging him to paw the door. Magpie lived in a garage her whole life and I can't imagine why. She never went the bathroom in our house once. We would open the door for her to go out very often, but she wouldn't go unless she had to. 
Jonas is still difficult. He KNOWS to ask to go out, and we've kept him basically on a puppy schedule, but he will still get up when we're asleep to go in the house or rip his toys to shreds. Basically we curbed that behavior by gating him in our room (he won't go in there, and he CAN'T be crated) and putting dog steps next to the bed. The "WUMP WUMP WUMP" of him going down the steps wakes me every time to get him outdoors. 

It can be done. Get into those classes. Get into rigorous potty training, starting at puppy 101 (even if he isn't a pup!). Get a strict schedule for him to live by. Good luck!


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## Maril (Jan 29, 2007)

Am a veteran of rescue dogs, have 8 now, have had as many as 12 at a time. Hounds are tough - have a Bloodhound from a shelter, but I was lucky, she was only 5 months old. Other than lots of slobber and ear problems, she is now at 7, a happy couch potato. I have a fenced yard on a 200 acre horse farm, and it has hot wire at top and bottom, or she's gone. Also an abused, very shy Beagle, who gets out occasionally, despite heroic efforts. I have had no luck with hounds, off leash. They get on a scent, and they're gone like you don't exist. The Beagle, after 7 years is still not really reliable as far as housbreaking, unless she is crated at night. But neither is destructive, and very sweet. But they really need to move. If he's never been a house dog, he is obviously panicked at being crated suddenly inside. All my dogs love their crates, think of them as their snuggly beds, and never fuss with them. I have had two Border Collie crosses who were absolutely claustrophobic, still have one, they had to live at the barn, loose on the farm. They would tear window and door sills off to get out of inside. Neither of them ever left the farm and were quite happy (Phantom still is). I realize I have the advantage of lots of space, and I am at the farm and with my dogs much more than a lot of people. Give him time, but don't beat yourself up if he needs rehoming with more space. My most recent flew over my fence despite the hot wire twice, before he figured out he was loved and in a safe place. Storms and the 4th of July panicked him. He showed up at my farm with bloody feet from running the roads for who knows how long - a big Mastiff looking guy, who now has learned to sleep in the bed without falling off... I have had 41 dogs in my 64 years, many rescues who had obviously never been inside, and all but the two adapted with love and patience. Now they all just want to hang inside with mom and dad and the pack. Have a Doberman, AmBull, Boxer, Mastiff X, Bloodhound, Beagle, Jack Russell and the BCX, have had Great Danes, Irish Wolfhound, English Bulldog, Patterdale Terrier, Jacks, Brittany Spaniel, Yorkies, and an assortment of 'curbside setters', all of whom had their own special stories, and gave back more than I could possibly give them. Good luck to you and bless you for your efforts.


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## GypsyJazmine (Nov 27, 2009)

Bridger came to us at 4.5 yrs. old & had always been out at pasture with sheep & little human interaction...He was completely untrained & had no house manners...With a strict schedule, constant supervision & consistent training he acclimated to being a house dog with little to no hassle.


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