# First time dog owner. Taking in a Jindo rescue



## Bey94 (Apr 19, 2017)

Hey everyone. I have never had a dog before and I've been thinking of adopting a Shiba Inu puppy but they're hard to find. We have family that rescued a Jindo about 5 years ago. I feel bad for the Jindo because the owners don't have time for her. She is really good with my 2 year old daughter and my husband and I want to start taking her in.

The family also has a cat and a bigger male dog. The Jindo makes it clear that she is the alpha with the male dog. She gets maybe 1 walk a day and it's only up the street maybe 2 blocks and back, less than 15 minutes a day and she is the one that leads. The rest of the day she's in the house just laying around. She doesn't play catch or gets any backyard time. When the owners leave the house the dog opens kitchen drawers, chews up the baseboards and pretty much destroys the house. She once caught a rodent and she was so happy, almost like a completely different dog. The owners say that she has anxiety so she wears a thunder coat all the time. When out on her walks she does get scared when people approach us but does she really need it indoors?

My husband and I want to start taking her on walks ourselves and start teaching her to play outside but I'm not sure where to start. I've been reading about walking the dogs but I'm not sure if I should just get a normal leash or a harness? Does she always need that coat? Do I just take her in now or slowly get her used to new owners? She doesn't play catch or anything how do I teach her? I guess I'm just looking for tips as a new dog owner.


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

An anxious dog is a project, even for experienced dog owners. It sounds like she may have separation anxiety, which is not an easy thing to manage at all. I'm not saying that you shouldn't take on this dog! I just want you to be aware of the realities of the work ahead of you if you go this route. It might not go amiss to get a professional dog behaviorist (as opposed to a trainer - think of it as a therapist vs. a tutor) on board in the early days to help you evaluate her and work out a management and/or recovery plan. The Certification Council for Professional Dog trainers (http://www.ccpdt.org/) is a good place to start, as their certification requires passing an in-depth exam, several hundred hours of working with dogs, and adherence to using ethical, humane methods. However, a vet may also be able to recommend you to a veterinary behaviorist in your area, as well. Or check with her current family and see if they've used one in the past!

It may be that with more mental stimulation and exercise, she'll be a much happier and more manageable dog, but it's so hard to judge these things over the internet. And the thunder coat question is difficult as well - they work on some dogs, but not others, and in different situations. If she does have separation anxiety and her current owners see an improvement in her behavior when wearing it indoors, I'd go by what they say. They've lived with her and know her best. 

It sounds like, in her case, slow is going to be best. When teaching her to play, just leave toys out and reward her for showing interest in them. You can use peanut butter or something else tasty and safe for dogs smeared on the toys to encourage her to interact. A super enthusiastic attempt to get her to tug, for example, may be overwhelming right out of the box, but wiggling a tug toy on the ground and then giving her a fuss and maybe a treat for investigating it may help encourage natural play behaviors. If she's used to being walked on one tool (flat collar, for example), I'd continue with that and slowly introduce her to anything new. I personally prefer harnesses as I have a small dog who's leash reactive (we're working on it) and I'm not keen on putting that much pressure on his little neck, but if she walks nicely that isn't a big issue.

Is she familiar with your house? If not, since you have the chance to take this slowly, I'd start by introducing her to your house and yard, spending time there with her, maybe doing an overnight or two so the transition is easier. I say this because we went on vacation recently and left our dog with my in-laws - the first time since we got him that he's spent that long without either of us - and he was absolutely perfect, because he'd visited their place many times and was familiar with them and their dog. But every dog is different, and if she seems to find going back and forth stressful, just moving her once and getting it over with might be best.

Just wanted to add, if a vet or behaviorist ever suggests the possibility of medication for her, please don't dismiss it or consider it a 'last resort'. There's multiple dogs whose owners are regulars here who've had their quality of life improve massively after starting anti-anxiety medication, without becoming 'drugged up' or changing their personality. Most of those owners say they wish they'd tried it sooner! I don't know if it's the right option for this dog - only a professional can tell you that - but I thought I'd put that out there.


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## revika (Jul 1, 2017)

I've owned a Jindo (I'm korean, we were able to bring him with us when we moved). Basically, especially with anxiety, the dog will need a lot of work. But once you put in a lot of time and effort, they're probably one of THE best dogs. They will protect your family from everything. My jindo was a bit skittish but he had extremely high energy levels and was incredibly fast. They can probably jump fences if they wanted. I honestly hope it goes well with you, it sounds like the jindo needs a better environment.


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