This morning I had a call scheduled with someone interested in my services. Based on the responses of the short form they filled out, this dog, who was in the home for two weeks, was showing all the signs of being frustrated and uncomfortable in their new environment.
“When it comes to walking on a leash, she can stop cold and lay down/sit and not move. This has meant having to carry her home.
I couldn’t wait to tell them she probably wasn’t ready for a walk in the new environment and the good news is we can find other things that will meet her needs.
But they canceled. They are rehoming the dog. Who was only with them for two weeks.
I am not shaming them for their choice.
I’ve helped other clients come to the decision that the dog they adopted wasn’t actually the best fit for them.
But I do have many questions
- Did they contact whoever they adopted for assistance?
- That might be who referred them to me
- Did the organization suggest they contact a trainer for support at adoption time?
- How did the organization prepare them for bringing home a new dog?
- What was this dog’s history? Was it a stray?
- Abused?
- Hoarding situation?
- Surrendered?
Before I worked with dogs professionally and was still working unhealthy hours as a systems administrator I was involved with many rescues. The thing they all have in common is lack of behavior and training support. Especially support for adopters when they bring the dog home. Those first few weeks can be very difficult, especially for first timers.
Side note: I was one of those people who lacked the knowledge. We all were. I used to watch Cesar Millan almost every day.
The majority of issues presented to me by new adopters could be managed if they went into this lifestyle change with a resource already available to them. Ideally these new adopters will have spoken with a professional before bringing the dog home, so they could be prepared for things like the dog not wanting to go for walks and to give them space while they eat to prevent any guarding behaviors.
Or that it’s normal for the dog to want to sleep in their new quiet home for a couple of days after living in a noisy shelter for literally years and that it’s normal for them to bark at that big loud truck barrelling down the street because they’ve probably never seen one before (and barking is communication).
What can we do about this?
The wonderful thing about the world we live in is that we don’t have to be in the same room, city, state, or continent to talk. We have Zoom, Google Meet, Facetime, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc etc etc to connect and communicate.
As a trainer and behavior consultant, I don’t need to go to anybody’s house to speak with them about their dog and the issues they are having. I don’t need to travel anywhere to talk to someone about the new dog they are bringing home and try and best set everyone up for success. I probably do more virtual work than in person. Which is great because Rhode Island drivers are the worst drivers in the country.
When I worked at a training facility that was literally across the street from the Providence Animal Rescue League I wanted to hold classes for the shelter dogs and even offered to volunteer my time to teach it. I had other ideas but was told by management that my ideas were too big.
My ideas were to help setup families for success and prevent dogs from being returned.
So I’m just putting it out there: I want to talk with the rescues and shelters that don’t have anyone to refer to. And I want to talk to those that already do, because they have limited bandwidth. You have limited bandwidth. We all have limited bandwidth. And I’m not talking about the silly data caps used by Cox Communications.
Let’s work smarter, not harder.
I know from experience some will be hesitant because
- Virtual meeting
- They also purchased a leash, harness, fancy new collar, bed, new bowls, a kong, chews, squeaky toys,
- Also have vet appointments
- Those aren’t cheap date nights
I am more than happy to offer a reduced rate for virtual meetings for adopters with referrals from a rescue. If you want to talk more about this drop me a note here: [email protected] and I’ll get back to you asap.