# Hello from Texas, advise on newley aquired dog for daughters



## Harvrad (Sep 25, 2012)

Yesterday we received or went and got a dog from one of our best friends sisters house that was dropped off nearly a year ago. He looks like either rat terrier, jack russell or a mixture of both, he has a little shorter legs than a rat terrior. He has the rat terrior face and has a brown/black large spot of color on his back end to almost shoulder area with the rest white. We got him for our 9 and 12 year old daughters, however he has taken up with me which is O.K. but we got him for the girls. We took him to the vet yesterday for all his shots, tags and flea/tick application....brought him home and of course he had an unusual buisy day. For right now his name is Bingo, like I said a care just came buy and dropped him off at this ladies house and for almost a year he's been looking for a home where he can be loved. The place where he was staying he heard alot of no, get down, and go.....now when you call him and he comes to you he is doing it cowardly, and I'm sure it's the way he was treated. Don't think he ever had a chance to really enjoy the love of children, of course our children are on the add, adhd side and they think he likes me more so they are getting jealous. Of course I was the first person to hold him in the car, was there with him when he got his shots and saw the vet (he was a very brave little guy). My question is will he get to love the children and be their dog?, I want him to be theirs...the vet said that she could say exactly but by his teeth he didn't look older than 2-3 yrs old maybe even younger. He hasn't eaten much since he's been here, he's drinking water and we have one of those green turtle sand boxes that has the top that goes on and off, I put 4-5 inches of water in it in the back yard so when he gets hot he can go in and get his paws wet, when I put him in he stood for awhile and then laid down in the water, he's done that twice since then. Like I said he is a very very good dog, we are planning on doing the heartworm, and fecal worm test in a few weeks and then shortly after taking him to get him fixed. I have noticed that he has a tendency to try to hump my hand, have had many dogs in my life but most if not all have been female, is this a normal reaction for a male dog when they are binding with people???, of course I'm not trying to be gross, just not up with male dogs. Please advise me what I can have my children to do to make him more their dog if this would be possible, and I'm not saying I don't love the dog....they have never had a dog and we got him for them. Thanks.


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## Harvrad (Sep 25, 2012)

Forgot to let you know that I am the Dad, Bingo also has taken up with my wife to a point also.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

You'll probably get more responses if you post this in the General section and please, use paragraphs and break up the wall of text, it really does help people read your question clearly and make sure they understand all your concerns.

Dogs are individuals, some will bond more to one person in the family and another dog trained and treated the same way might choose a different person. Lots of positive interaction can help the dog become friendly with everyone in the family. The kids are old enough to take on a lot of the daily basic care- so have them put down his food bowl, hand him treats, hold the leash on walks, toss a ball for him etc. They should do basic training with him- sit, stay, come etc and use small tasty treats to reward these actions and general good behavior. 

Who he initially bonds with may change over time. Two friends of mine (married couple) have two dogs. One was the "wife's dog" and the other the "husband's dog" although they both took care of both dogs in turns depending on schedule etc. At about 3 years old for the older dog and 1.5 years for the younger, the dogs have decided to sort of switch loyalties. Each dog now prefers to cuddle with the other person than before, each responds a little better to commands from the other person than before etc. Completely inexplicable in terms of any changes to household dynamics, training etc. 

If the girls are ADD/ADHD, make sure they understand that calm movements and behavior around the dog will help him feel safer and not be too stressed. If they haven't been around a dog much, help them understand how to pet a dog and what to do and not to do- like that reaching down directly towards his head can be threatening to him, not to yell, that it can take time for him to settle in etc. 

If he's drinking water well, you can offer him a serving of quality dog food 2 or 3 times per day (2 times feeding is pretty normal for an adult dog) and let him in peace and quiet (in a room or crate away from hustle and bustle of the house so he feels safe to eat) and give him about 20 minutes to eat. He should settle in and start to eat normally within 2 days or so, assuming he has no health problems and he wasn't free-fed at his previous house.

Do the heartworm and fecal test asap so any problems can be treated. If he has heartworm, he will have to be treated for that and given an all-clear before he can be fixed.

Humping is a training issue. Give a gentle "ah ah" to distract him and redirect him to play with a toy or chase a ball or something you'd prefer he do.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

Generally, when one gets a dog "for the kids" it ends up the parents who are the actual caretakers and the dog defers to them! Include the girls in feeding and positive reinforcement based training. I have a number of people who take my classes but allow the child to do most of the training. Builds confidence and relationship. If the girls are actually add/adhd it's important to coach them so they won't approach other dogs without permission in the class or create a disturbance.


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