Homing a rescue - any advice for a smooth transition to her new home?

[Sian]

Hi, I'm a new member and I was seeking some advice. I'm getting a rescue cocker next week and I cant wait! In prep, I wanted to get some handy tips/advice on how to make Poppys transition as smooth as possible to her new home. Any suggestions?

[Abby]

What's your current situation? Do you already have a dog? And what about Poppy (lovely name!) - how old is she and do you know if she has any issues?

I suppose the most important thing is to not expect too much of her to start with. She'll possibly be confused and a little nervous - don't overwhelm her to start with by having lots of people round too quickly. Patience will be a very good thing for her.

Otherwise, give her a space that she can make her own right from the start (where she can go and not be disturbed - don't know if you have kids).

I'm sure others will be along with mroe advice - but let us know more and piccies asap after she arrives! 

[PennyB]

Treat her as if she's always been there and don't mollycoddle/overfuss her --- Know that sounds harsh. I have foster dogs in from time to time and do this. Some dogs may have a lapse in housetraining but often its easily rectified.

[lyn]

hi sian,firstly may i welcome you to COL.i warn you now it's very addictive
 my advice for an easy transition is to NOT make to much fuss of your new dog.it's gonna be a big shock to her so the more matter of fact you are,the easier it will be for poppy.
i know you will want to cuddle and fuss her but this may be a little daunting for her in the first few days.we took in a lovely cocker last december,she was we think an ex breeding bitch who was dumped on the motorway.we were her third home in 12 months.she had no idea how to play and was very confused bless her.we do have another young cocker who helped millie to play and have fun but we made sure she had no extra fussing and she settled very well.sadly she died suddenly just a few months after we got her.i still miss her nudging me for a cuddle.
it will take poppy a while to settle you may have a honeymoon period lasting a few weeks then when she is feeling secure you may encounter a few problems,nothing major usually it's messing in the house and little things like that.just go back to basics on the training if this happens.

looks like penny beat me to it.take penny's advice sian,she really knows what she is talking about
well done for giving a rescue dog a loving home.the rewards are fantastic when they have settled and look upon you with soooo much love.
good luck and please keep us updated and of course loads of photos

[Sian]

Thanks Abby, thats a great help. Glad you like the name, her actual name is Puppy - but we decided to change it to Poppy instead.... sounds so sute doesn't it.

Anyway little poppy is 3yrs old, I have been told by the resuce that she has her own toys and stuff, so I am hoping that will help her to adjust. As for me, i work from home and we dont have any other pets nor kids - so a stress free environment for her to settle into.

Many thanks for the advice Abby! And i'll let you know how it goes and to make sure to post some pics of her.

[Sian]

Hi PennyB and lynpate, thank you both for your warm welcome to the site and for the great advice. As you both said, I''ll make it nice and easy for her without too much fuss - which will be hard!... but i will do my best for her.

I'll keep you posted how i get on and i'll make sure to post some pics of her too!

[PennyB]

I also practise things like coming and going from the house with as little fuss as possible. Some new dogs can be a bit clingy and because of having been elsewhere (good or bad) may feel like you're just going to leave them as well. Do this sort of thing from day 1 so they know you will come back and thus reduce any separation anxiety (when they 1st arrive I also practise shutting doors behind me if I go anywhere in the house so they can't always follow me everywhere, once they are settled and less anxious about everything then I stop doing this as its nto goign to be an issue).

No dogs here are allowed upstairs for various reasons so I will often sleep downstairs for 1st couple of nights, then while they will often whinge a little when I do go up to sleep they usually settle (if they still don't I then go downstairs and head for the bathroom without acknowledging them then on way back tell them to go back to bed and then I go back to mine). There are variations on this theme so do whats best for you re sleeping arrangements, bearing in mind that if you allow them on your bed form day 1 then it may be very difficult to get them off from there on in. If you put them in one particular room downstairs and it upsets them/they won't settle then it may just be a case of moving to another room or some put a crate on the landing.

[miche]

From what I remember when we got Ronald is that he did have a couple of wee's in the house.  But he was in kennels for quite a while before I got him so this was just a lapse as PennyB said and he settled down very quickly.

It depends also on what kind of life Poppy has had before coming to you I suppose, from what I can make out Ronald was in a home environment before so just slotted in with us.

Good luck and looking forward to seeing some pics when she arrives.

[Top Barks]

I tried to make a great first impression with Bayley when I got him in February.
He was let into the garden and I was waiting with a handful of hot roast chicken especialy for him.
I let him find his feet and did not fuss him too much as has already been said and I started applying the house rules straight away.
That meant having a houseline on him at mealtimes for a while but now he just lies down with the others and waits to be released for his meal. he has also learned a lot of the do's and do not's from my other two who took him under their wings.
Remember any new dog could very well be stressed when coming into your home and remember also not to put a human slant on any undesireable behaviour that you see.
Read as much about dogs and there behaviour as you can to understand what makes them tick and make sure you at least train the basics.
My biggest advice is make your instructions and house rules consistant from day one.
Best of luck, you must be soooo exited.

[Sian]

Gosh, thanks one and all for all your great suggestions, I will defo implement these when I get little poppy!

I'll keep you all posted and thanks for your support

[Annette]

Hi Sian and Poppy.

I have no advice to offer except to say that all the advice you have already had comes from very trustworthy sources, so follw that and you won't go far wrong.

Also ask any questions on here, there's lots of support.

AND we will need lots of photos to keep us sweet!

Well done to offering a loving home to Poppy. I am sure she will repay you every day.

We have Buddy a blue roan, 21 months old.

[Sian]

Owww Buddy is gorgeous, a real cutie!

i will defo use this site as a good source of info to help me with little poppy pops.

Thanks again for your support, its so lovely to know you're all here to help!

[clairep4]

Hi Sian,

Nothing to add except I hope Poppy settles in nicely - cockers are the loveliest dogs 

[Sian]

Owww I cant wait - I'm picking up Poppy at lunch time on Wednesday, i'm so so so excited!... I am driving my fella crazy with the amount of times I go on about Poppy and cocker spaniels! (poor love) 

[sarahp]

Hi and welcome to COL

I have 2 rescue cockers.  Daisy is 2.5 yrs and has been with us two years this month    and Dill who us 13 months and been with us since March.   

Havent got anything new to add really, except to reiterate what PennyB said.  Dont over fuss and practice leaving the house even if you dont need to go anywhere    and also do what Mark said which is start as you mean to go on.

I didnt do any of that with Daisy and it was a bit of a bloody nightmare    She's fine now but she was a bit of a bu$$er for the first few months    Also make sure that you and your OH have decided on the house rules and that you both stick to them.  I tried this with my OH, Daisy was definitley NOT going to be allowed on the sofa until the first Wednesday she was here when apparently she wanted to watch footy on the telly    then on Thursday she wasnt allowed on again so me and OH had a good row about it now she goes on the sofa whenever she likes 

Good luck