Advice--newly acquired almost-adult dog

[Anonymous]

This was a gamble, I know. I've been searching for a dog for 3 months after my older dog died last fall. Besides watching shelters I was watching craigslist. A couple was moving across the country and needed to rehome their dog, reportedly a pure bred husky (she has a malamute face, she's smaller, maybe 35 pounds at 11 months). There was no time to think about this, decision had to be made within 24 hours and I jumped on it.

She was reported to be housetrained but I expected there would be some issues given her young age, change of environment, etc. Haven't had a chance to talk a lot to the previous owners (they called the day after I took her, and I will call them again this weekend, right now they are still in transit). I don't believe she has ever been crated and I don't personally have experience with crating a dog. She's been good with peeing--did pee on the mat to the back door the first night, last night I put a pad down left over from my other dogs dying days and she peed on that during the night. I have not been able to get her to poop outside yet and haven't figured out what times of day she is likely to eat the most, seems pretty random. I can fill her bowl in the morning and she may nibble a few pieces or gobble the whole thing up, same in the evening. I've done what I can to restrict the area she can access. I work from home BUT I have no break the first 5-6 hours of each day. Anyway, I think a crate would be wise but I think she will freak out. (To top it all off, I had recently lost my wallet, had a little bit of cash to get me through but not enough to buy a crate--a replacement credit card just arrived so I can buy one this afternoon). Also not sure if I should remove her food if she doesn't eat it all at the time I give it to her--old good was a nibbler who would usually eat quite a lot in the evenings, he always had food in his bowl.

[Anonymous]

Yes get a crate. Put treats in the crate so she wants to go in. Crates protect your fog and your home.

Long walks should get poop going.

Eyes on at all times. Leashed to you if not in crate.

Check out YouTube videos on training.

[Anonymous]

You need to do what works for you consistently. I would go for a long walk before the 5-6 hour stint at work. Confine the dog to a room but I would not use a crate. Doesnt sound like the dog needs house breaking, you just need to learn about each other.

If you only ever plan on having one dog, having a grazer is fine. I had one dog already that was a gobbler when we adopted a grazer. I picked the bowl up and put it down again at the next meal time. It took 3 days for the Grazer to realize she need to eat when the bowl was down . She is not a gobbler but they do both eat at the same mealtime now and have down for years.

[Anonymous]

She's stressed - give her a week to get into her feeding/walking/pooping routine. Just be consistent and try to use simple words to help her learn the new rules of your house quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's stressed - give her a week to get into her feeding/walking/pooping routine. Just be consistent and try to use simple words to help her learn the new rules of your house quickly.

I'll keep this in mind, of course. So far walks have not been successful (6 to 8 blocks). I think part of it is that she is extremely alert and excited about being in a new place.

[Anonymous]

I bet she’s adorable. Hope you’re enjoying getting to know each other. How many days has she been with you?

[Anonymous]

Is there any way you can take a couple vacation days from work so you can just focus on getting to know the dog and be relaxed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She's stressed - give her a week to get into her feeding/walking/pooping routine. Just be consistent and try to use simple words to help her learn the new rules of your house quickly.

I'll keep this in mind, of course. So far walks have not been successful (6 to 8 blocks). I think part of it is that she is extremely alert and excited about being in a new place.

6-8 blocks does not sound like a long enough walk.

[Anonymous]

My previous dog reliably pooped after 4 blocks. I think it's mostly the distraction.

I got the crate and I'm pretty sure she's used one before. I put her toy in there, a blanket, her food and water. She strolled right in, ate and drank a little, then curled up with her toy. This was early-ish evening when she seems to nap. Got her out to walk again later then played fetch with her toy and by golly if she didn't manage to poop in a corner of the room outside my line of sight. Last night she whined off an on for a minute or so when she realized she was shut in the crate but then slept through the night. I got up to use the bathroom at 3, her eyes opened, but she stayed quiet. This morning 10 blocks and waited for awhile in the yard before going back in and she finally did her business in the yard.

I hate getting up at 6 as it is but will need to roll back to 5:30 to make time for this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any way you can take a couple vacation days from work so you can just focus on getting to know the dog and be relaxed?

Not a great time. I was reassigned around Xmas and was training in the new spot with a new supervisor until a couple of weeks ago. Still getting used to the workflow management and the supervisor is more difficult than I've had in the past with this company, and I don't have history with her as to my reliability. They're shorthanded as well. Policy is 2 weeks notice for PTO and I had to use one unannounced day off recently when I had a furnace problem.

[Anonymous]

It took a while to teach our rescue due to poop on the leash. She may not be used to that. The first few weeks she was going in kind of a hidden place under our porch. Just be patient. Also, crate was not good for our dog but that varies. Long walks plus you could try doggie daycare. Tired dog is happy dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any way you can take a couple vacation days from work so you can just focus on getting to know the dog and be relaxed?

Not a great time. I was reassigned around Xmas and was training in the new spot with a new supervisor until a couple of weeks ago. Still getting used to the workflow management and the supervisor is more difficult than I've had in the past with this company, and I don't have history with her as to my reliability. They're shorthanded as well. Policy is 2 weeks notice for PTO and I had to use one unannounced day off recently when I had a furnace problem.

Also, then, not a great time to adopt a dog.

[Anonymous]

Can you hire a dog walker to come midday and take the dog for a 30 min or hour long walk? That might help to get her tired out and get her pooping on a schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any way you can take a couple vacation days from work so you can just focus on getting to know the dog and be relaxed?

Not a great time. I was reassigned around Xmas and was training in the new spot with a new supervisor until a couple of weeks ago. Still getting used to the workflow management and the supervisor is more difficult than I've had in the past with this company, and I don't have history with her as to my reliability. They're shorthanded as well. Policy is 2 weeks notice for PTO and I had to use one unannounced day off recently when I had a furnace problem.

Also, then, not a great time to adopt a dog.

It's very difficult to find an adoptable dog, I had been actively looking for 3 months. And I AM working from home so not as bad as if I was commuting to work at another location.

[Anonymous]

Week later--

Doing much better. I walk her at least 2x a day (up to 4) and have her outside regardless at least 4x. She's content in the crate at night. She is very high energy and distractible. She absolutely will not eliminate anywhere but at home. But she will not signal to go out, so we've had some poop accidents where she's managed to sneak off (I've blocked areas she initially sneaked off to but she has since gone to areas I really can't block off. Outside, even after a walk, she wants to chase around everything. I keep her on a leash or a lead and keep redirecting her to the areas she uses (leaving some poop out there) but oh! a car pulled in next door! Here's leaf to chase! A stick! The loose piece of gutter rattled on the roof--what was that noise??? Then there is the rabbit that is always in the exact same spot in the yard early in the morning when it's still dark and last thing at night.