Post-Adoption Advice
link Please contact us should you have any questions or need any advice with your new dog, we are always happy to support you and to hear updates and see photos too! We love when our adopters keep in touch and have a Success Stories page for adopted dogs' photos and a separate adopters' facebook page for happy stories too.
As stated in our Arrival of Your Dog information, we particularly recommend all adopters read the short booklets: 'Love Has No Age Limit' and 'On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals'. Other short booklets are recommended for specific topics include 'I'll Be Home Soon' for separation anxiety*, 'Feisty Fido' for lead-reactivity and 'The Cautious Canine' for general anxiety.
Please view our Recommended Books page for links to these booklets.
Our Resources page contains websites and graphics for more information on a variety of topics and our own Facebook page is a mine of information too.
Please do not refer your dog to a behaviourist without speaking to us first.
We can recommend trusted behaviourists who are experienced with street dogs and use positive methods. Behaviourists and trainers vary greatly in approach and our shelter and street dogs have specific backgrounds and needs, so avoid listening to advice from people who might say they 'know about dogs'! These dogs are special!
**Separation anxiety is particularly common in rescue dogs, who can form very strong attachments to humans when shown love for the first time. Furthermore, foreign rescues have usually never been in total silence or isolation before. This is why we recommend all adopters take a couple of weeks off work when the dog first arrives, so that time alone can be gradually introduced. Start leaving the dog for under a minute and building up the time period gradually over weeks, working at the dog's pace so that they never have a chance to feel fearful. Make time alone as positive as possible by ensuring the dog is relaxed before departing, giving the dog chews or interactive feeders to entertain and soothe them and install calming music players and pheromone diffusers in the house. Keep departures and arrivals low-fuss to reduce amping up the dog's emotions and only build up the time spent alone when you are sure the dog is coping well. Go back a step if necessary but it’s always best to take it slowly, so they don’t feel the anxiety in the first place. It is much easier to build up confident behaviour than to undo established anxiety.
Below is a link to a great article by Patricia McConnell entitled:
"What Was I Thinking? (Rescue Regrets are Usually Temporary)"
As stated in our Arrival of Your Dog information, we particularly recommend all adopters read the short booklets: 'Love Has No Age Limit' and 'On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals'. Other short booklets are recommended for specific topics include 'I'll Be Home Soon' for separation anxiety*, 'Feisty Fido' for lead-reactivity and 'The Cautious Canine' for general anxiety.
Please view our Recommended Books page for links to these booklets.
Our Resources page contains websites and graphics for more information on a variety of topics and our own Facebook page is a mine of information too.
Please do not refer your dog to a behaviourist without speaking to us first.
We can recommend trusted behaviourists who are experienced with street dogs and use positive methods. Behaviourists and trainers vary greatly in approach and our shelter and street dogs have specific backgrounds and needs, so avoid listening to advice from people who might say they 'know about dogs'! These dogs are special!
**Separation anxiety is particularly common in rescue dogs, who can form very strong attachments to humans when shown love for the first time. Furthermore, foreign rescues have usually never been in total silence or isolation before. This is why we recommend all adopters take a couple of weeks off work when the dog first arrives, so that time alone can be gradually introduced. Start leaving the dog for under a minute and building up the time period gradually over weeks, working at the dog's pace so that they never have a chance to feel fearful. Make time alone as positive as possible by ensuring the dog is relaxed before departing, giving the dog chews or interactive feeders to entertain and soothe them and install calming music players and pheromone diffusers in the house. Keep departures and arrivals low-fuss to reduce amping up the dog's emotions and only build up the time spent alone when you are sure the dog is coping well. Go back a step if necessary but it’s always best to take it slowly, so they don’t feel the anxiety in the first place. It is much easier to build up confident behaviour than to undo established anxiety.
Below is a link to a great article by Patricia McConnell entitled:
"What Was I Thinking? (Rescue Regrets are Usually Temporary)"