Not everyone who brings home a new dog starts with a puppy. Some people prefer to skip those rambunctious years and head straight for the older rescued dog instead. This is a wonderful gift to you both. As we know, most older dogs do not come out of kill shelters and by bringing home an older dog you are giving him a second chance at life.
For you, most behavioral problems that come with puppies are nonexistent. However, that doesn’t mean your older dog won’t need a little retraining and patience. When you go to the shelter, spend as much time as possible with the dogs you are considering. This is a permanent decision and should not be rushed into even if it’s love at first sight. A large percentage of people who leave their dog at the shelter do not list the behaviors they may have in order to give the dog the best chance at finding a new home.
When you have made your decision, thought about it, and made your decision again, it is time to bring home your new family member. Remember the last time he got into a car he was left in a cage and abandoned. He is probably going to be scared. It doesn’t mean that he won’t adjust.
Older dogs, especially those raised by someone else with perhaps different standards than your own, do come with their own unique set of behavioral issues. Have no fear, in time those behaviors can be adapted and your old pooch can learn some new tricks. You probably won’t know how he is really going to act for a couple of weeks, but sure enough he will have a few distressing behaviors due in part to fear.
Grown puppies take longer to adjust to their new home. If he slept on the bed at his old house, moving to his own bed on the floor might be challenging at first. He may become destructive while you’re away. This is the number one problem of older adopted dogs.
Dogs who are on their second or third owner tend to suffer from anxiety, especially separation anxiety. They may very well chew everything in sight as soon as you leave the house. I had a second hand dog who actually ate my whole couch in the time it took me to go to the grocery store. It is best to confine them to a room you believe they can’t cause harm to either furniture or themselves, and start with a few practice small trips away before leaving them alone all day.
Don’t make a big deal about leaving. Make sure he’s contained someplace where he’ll be safe and give him a quick and happy pat on the head. Grab your keys and drive around the block. When you return take notice of his behavior. Is he shaking? Is he cowering? Did he eat anything? Extend these little trips several times to help him understand that you are coming back.
During your bonding period, be lavish with the praise and gentle on the punishment. A simple “no” should correct his behavior. Beyond that removing him from the situation and rewarding good behavior should encourage him to seek out positive reinforcement. Remember that you aren’t sure how he was raised or how other people treated him before.
Start with simple commands that he is most likely to know like “sit.” Reward him well before moving on to commands that might conflict with his upbringing. If you get the message through to him that listening results in rewards, you will be able to retrain him without much difficulty. He doesn’t know the rules have changed, so you can do yourselves a favor and help him understand the new rules before getting angry with him for breaking them.
Some dogs will develop a sudden onset of soiling. They may very well have been housebroken before, but now between a need to claim their new territory combined with their general fears of their new environment, the carpet might be in for a rough couple of days. Again, correct him without harsh punishment and be sure to catch him in the act of going in the right places several times over.
Be exceedingly cautious with children and a new older dog. He may be docile and loveable, but he is not going to be himself for awhile. Absolutely correct any sign of aggression immediately, but you do need to give him the chance to become comfortable in his new surroundings with his new humans. Just because he bares his teeth once or twice in the first couple of days does not mean that you brought home an aggressive dog. It more likely means that he is overwhelmed and afraid. Back the kids off for awhile and encourage them to be calm and quiet around the new dog while he adjusts.
Most people who adopt older dogs are very happy with their new companions. The training time is shorter and for the most part their dog came with most of the qualities they wanted in their new pet. Older dogs are perfect for people who don’t have the patience for a puppy, or older people who can’t quite keep up with a new puppy.