I just rescued my first dog yesterday. I've owned other dogs before, but I really wanted to rescue one this time. She's a Rottweiler, apparently 2 years old, however she looks older. Her ears have chunks that have been bitten out of them, her bottom K9's are pretty much non existent, this poor dog has been through a lot. She is super skidish but has the sweetest personality. She doesn't want to be left alone at all. She follows me everywhere. However, she's not eating at all. She doesn't play, she's scared of the neighbors dogs and won't go outside. I'm just wondering how long it will take for her to come out of her shell and if she will ever be "normal" again. Looking for advice from other rescuers and some tips... I still need to get her checked out. I hope I can give this dog a better future.
Anyone rescue animals?
- Thread starter MachJoe
- Start date
I have 4 rescues now and have always rescued. One of them (my Rottie) was a badly abused breeding bitch from a puppy mill. She had the most trouble of any of my dogs. It took her about 2 weeks to come out of her crate consistently. After that, it probably took close to 9-12 months for her to really become a normal, happy dog. This was probably exacerbated by her having to have emergency surgery the day we got her. Now she still has flashes of her former fear, but it's not the norm. This typically happens with any rescue coming from a bad past.
I think the key with handling an abused rescue is consistent calm. You really need to be patient with these dogs as they transition to a normal, happy life. Losing your calm while working with them can offset your progress by eliminating trust you've earned. I also strongly believe in positive reinforcement for these types of dogs.
One thing you will have to do is figure out what works for your dog. For some reason, my Rott won't eat like a normal dog. Ultimately we found that she would eat if we sat with her and mixed canned food and a little broth into her food. We also found that she had a comfort place (a corner behind the couch that was semi den-like) where she would go to "recharge" after something triggered her fear. She started eating her meals back there and really started to put on some good weight. For your dog, this may mean you being very close at all times (e.g., sit on the floor with her while she eats, take her outside on a leash, etc....).
Hopefully that helps a little.
Edit: Here are pics of my girl.
This is a couple months after we brought her home. She was terrified of the camera.
Here she is taking care of her best friend. This was probably about a year ago. Still a little afraid of the camera.
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Adopted my boxer when he was 3. No bottom teeth, chunks of his ear missing, separation anxiety, heartworm positive. Best animal I ever owned. Rescues are special, they know you saved them. It does take some time for them to acclimate but you gotta figure they have been through things we couldn't imagine. Be patient and they will trust you in time. That is my advice, just show her love and be patient.
Kudos to you for not taking the puppy mill temptation.
Kudos to you for not taking the puppy mill temptation.
we adopted our boxer mix when he was young. about 4 months old. Hes a great dog and very happy but he def has his issues. He is normal when outside of the house. If we take him for a walk he is fine and with other animals he is fine. but if someone knocks on the door and he is in the house, he goes crazy. He is scared of random things. esp if someone is wearing a hat. Someties he has nightmares and will start wimping when hes sleeping. we think he was abused before he got to us. but overall hes a good dog. protects the house and my wife.
when we got him
a few months later
2 weeks ago. I think hes almost 3 now. the pit is almost 2. we purchased her brand new
overall we are happy we have him. when we are laying on the couch and hes a great pillow. He knows we saved him and even with his flaws we love him.
when we got him
a few months later
2 weeks ago. I think hes almost 3 now. the pit is almost 2. we purchased her brand new
overall we are happy we have him. when we are laying on the couch and hes a great pillow. He knows we saved him and even with his flaws we love him.
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I think it all depends on the dog and what kind of past he's had. My mom went out and randomly adopted a dog when I was in college. She apparently didn't look at him for too long or get anyone else's input because the dog was totally ****ed up. He had a torn ligament in his back leg which cost 3 grand in surgery to fix right off the bat (my dad called him "3 grand" for about a year). On top of that we quickly found out that he hated men and more than likely had been abused as he is completely anti-social. My parents had a great time taking care of him for the first year. He never really grew to like people too, but he gets along great with women and is so bad around men that my mom has to put him in a room otherwise he will flip shit and bark nonstop until the guests leave. On top of that they can't even take him on walks because he is so shitty around other people. They've had him for four years and the only reason he has gotten better is because I take my dog (whose got great manners) over to my parents house on the weekends when I'm working 12 hour shifts.
they've had two great adoptions before this one
they've had two great adoptions before this one
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Rescued my cat about five years ago. She's the best cat I've ever had.
She has feline asthma and needs meds constantly but I'll do whatever it takes to give her a happy life.
She has feline asthma and needs meds constantly but I'll do whatever it takes to give her a happy life.
I don't know if this can really be considered rescuing. But I trap, neuter and release feral cats.
After release they can hang around my back yards for the rest of their lives if they want to.
And 19 of them have. Before I started doing this I would find dead kittens in the gutters a few times a year that had been hit by cars or killed by dogs.
But now, with no fertile cats running around that has stopped. I still have three living in my backyard but no new cats have shown up for the last four years.
They have totally eliminated the mouse and rat problem too.
After release they can hang around my back yards for the rest of their lives if they want to.
And 19 of them have. Before I started doing this I would find dead kittens in the gutters a few times a year that had been hit by cars or killed by dogs.
But now, with no fertile cats running around that has stopped. I still have three living in my backyard but no new cats have shown up for the last four years.
They have totally eliminated the mouse and rat problem too.
We have a rescue, but she's just a dachshund, so not a "real" dog. She still doesn't like to be picked up or held and is still sometimes scared of my 9yr old, but she's improving all the time. She's about 6yrs old and we've had her since July.
I rescue and foster homeless animals. Me and my wife have 21 cats,2 dogs and 1 bird that we have rescued, fostered and found new homes for. It just takes a little time, patience and love. She will come around. Good luck
I have three dogs that are kind of rescued. My son had one female that he was just going to dump so I took her. She is beautiful to me, and I've had her for about four years. My ex-daughter-in-law found the other female in a parking lot. Her collar or rope was inbedded in her neck. She dumped her after she had puppies, so I took her and the last puppy that we couldn't get rid of (he's a male). They drive me crazy, but they're pretty good dogs, and they love me. They know I saved them.
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Both of our current dogs are rescues. Kane is an 11yr old Doberman that we rescued when he was 10 months old. He was abandoned at a shop, filthy, and malnourished. He's been the most fantastic dog I've ever owned. Last year we got Bo. He's a 16mo old Great Dane/Black Lab mix that we got when he was 4 months old. He is also a fantastic dog. All of my dogs will be rescues going forward as well. It feels good to give them a good home and they're extremely loyal.
I took this pic of my boys today after I washed my car:
I took this pic of my boys today after I washed my car:
My dog is a rescue and I will never do it any other way. We got her at 6 months but she picked up training pretty quick. Her disposition is great and she doesn't have any "rescued dog quirks." I honestly believe that she is happier because early in life she was bounced around and didn't feel at home. She ran off only twice when she was able to sneak out of the yard but she won't leave now. My wife put her out front the other day to walk her and forgot about her. 20 minutes later we found her just sitting on the front porch happy as a clam, nothing holding her in at all.
If you rescue a young animal you will never have issues, and if you aren't into dog shows who cares about a non mixed true breed? Your guy will come around, it will just take a little time. He needs to learn to trust you first. Prepare for the whoring...
If you rescue a young animal you will never have issues, and if you aren't into dog shows who cares about a non mixed true breed? Your guy will come around, it will just take a little time. He needs to learn to trust you first. Prepare for the whoring...
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Huge props to everyone in here that's rescued. You're all heroes.
Holy crap we have 2 dogs 2 cats (one we deported and one we found literally in a dumpster) and a 100 gallon fish tank. We have a zoo. I couldnt imagine what u have
We have a Australian Cattle Dog rescue. We got him when he was just a few months old. He had spent so much time in a kennel he could barely walk or stand. He's going to turn 4 next month. He's a wonderful, smart dog and our boys love him.
I'm guessing by rescue you mean adopt from a shelter?
We got our Australian Shepherd mutt from the SPCA in Dallas at 7 months old and he has been great. We definitely got lucky though as his only quirks were being horribly afraid of bridges (would slam on the brakes anytime we came up to a pedestrian bridge) which I got him over after a few weeks of just picking him up and putting him in the middle of the bridge with some treats and he is deathly afraid of bath tubs. He used to be afraid of the bathroom in general (we think he may have been locked up in bathrooms or something before we adopted him) but he's more or less gotten over it. He'll walk into the bathroom and sniff around and stuff - still hates the bath tub though.
I know any dogs in the future will be from shelters - hell for the price alone they're worth it. $50-90 as opposed to $500+ or whatever for a pure-bred that will likely have breed specific problems.
Also, since my wife and I have been in our neighborhood since August, we've probably picked up at least 5 escaped dogs and returned them to their owners. It pisses me off though because nobody puts their addresses on their dog tags anymore. Some either just have their phone number, or they have a phone number of a service you have to call which then calls the owner and then they're supposed to call you back - so stupid.
We got our Australian Shepherd mutt from the SPCA in Dallas at 7 months old and he has been great. We definitely got lucky though as his only quirks were being horribly afraid of bridges (would slam on the brakes anytime we came up to a pedestrian bridge) which I got him over after a few weeks of just picking him up and putting him in the middle of the bridge with some treats and he is deathly afraid of bath tubs. He used to be afraid of the bathroom in general (we think he may have been locked up in bathrooms or something before we adopted him) but he's more or less gotten over it. He'll walk into the bathroom and sniff around and stuff - still hates the bath tub though.
I know any dogs in the future will be from shelters - hell for the price alone they're worth it. $50-90 as opposed to $500+ or whatever for a pure-bred that will likely have breed specific problems.
Also, since my wife and I have been in our neighborhood since August, we've probably picked up at least 5 escaped dogs and returned them to their owners. It pisses me off though because nobody puts their addresses on their dog tags anymore. Some either just have their phone number, or they have a phone number of a service you have to call which then calls the owner and then they're supposed to call you back - so stupid.
Some of you dont know what 'rescue' refers to. lololol
A little update: I spent the whole weekend with her. A HUGE night and day difference with this dog now. She follows me everywhere, she is literally my shadow. She will fetch her ball outside, but won't play inside at all. I was able to take her for multiple walks yesterday. Before she would not let me put a collar on her at all. I finally got her to eat, but she hasn't pooped the 3 days I've had her. I believe she has a tooth infection with her broken k9's. Her nose runs constantly, breathes loud, and I'm whipping eye goop off every 30mins. I have an appointment at the vets tomorrow at 11. Fingers crossed that she's not too bad.
Beautiful dog! She looks really heatlhy too. Your Rott sounds like mine, when I went to pick her up, I found out she had a false pregnancy 9 days ago. A little odd question, but how long did it take for your dog's stomach to shrink back to normal size?
+1!!! All great stories in here!
No, I did not get her from a shelter. I took her from a breeder. When I saw the shape she was in and how pathetic she looked, I knew I had to get her out of there. The lady wanted $150 for her initially, but after I pointed everything out to her, she told me "just take her, she'll be better off without me..." Its only been 3 days and I've already fallen for this dog hard. She's the sweetest thing ever.
Beautiful dog! She looks really heatlhy too. Your Rott sounds like mine, when I went to pick her up, I found out she had a false pregnancy 9 days ago. A little odd question, but how long did it take for your dog's stomach to shrink back to normal size?
+1!!! All great stories in here!
No, I did not get her from a shelter. I took her from a breeder. When I saw the shape she was in and how pathetic she looked, I knew I had to get her out of there. The lady wanted $150 for her initially, but after I pointed everything out to her, she told me "just take her, she'll be better off without me..." Its only been 3 days and I've already fallen for this dog hard. She's the sweetest thing ever.
Good for you OP. Rescuing dogs can be incredibly rewarding.
I agree with this guy 100%. The dog needs to learn that it doesn't need to be afraid of other dogs, things, or activities. It helps when she can associate these things with something positive. It just takes time, but it's amazing what dogs can go through and still be very loyal and affectionate towards people.
I agree with this guy 100%. The dog needs to learn that it doesn't need to be afraid of other dogs, things, or activities. It helps when she can associate these things with something positive. It just takes time, but it's amazing what dogs can go through and still be very loyal and affectionate towards people.
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