Offering A Cocker A Home!

[Pammy]

Sue - I strongly urge you to reconsider taking another on at this moment in time.  You need to devote your time to sorting out Barley's troubles before bringing another in.

Once Barley is OK then by all means look at it again. You also need to remember a rescue dog needs much more care and attention than a new puppy as they have baggage to be dealt with. They can take up to 12 months to settle in and are usually being rehomed as they have either problems of their own so putting two problem dogs together can be a recipe for disaster.

I don't wish to scaremonger - but you really need to address Barley's insecurities first.

[Jane S]

I agree with Pam. Also consider that if you get another Cocker through a private rehome, you will have no back up if things don't work out whereas if you went to a reputable rescue centre, you'd be able to rely on their advice & support & they would take back the dog if the rehome didn't work. Something to think about as getting another dog is not necessarily a cure for a dog with separation anxiety - you could end up with 2 dogs with this problem instead of just one.

Jane

[correna]

Hi Jane.... the only thing i will say on that getting from a reputable rescue centre is that my mum did. Last summer she adopted a cocker from a very well known rescue centre, and has had lots of problems from aggression to pocession probs, so bad that my mum ended up in hospital having nearly lost the top of her thumb when he bit her... she contacted the centre who suddenly had more info on these problems that weren't said at the time of adoption. The centre said that if they took him back he would be put to sleep, my Mum being a mad dog lover felt to guilty to do this and didn't want to give up on him so has persevered. Luckily with alot of love and patience he has improved slighty, but i know mum still cannot relax 100% with him being around people, and he needs to be muzzled when out.

I think taking on a rescue dog is always a gamble, as it is easy to cloud the truth slighty...... but these dogs are lucky there are people out there prepared to take the risk.

I know this has nothing to do with getting a second dog to try and combat the problem, but my mum ended up rescuing a whippet too, and it actually helped her cocker to become more social... thats not to say it has been easy for her

good luck in sorting out barley.... he like most cockers just sounds like he loves his mum    

[Jane S]

Sorry your Mum had these problems with her dog Correna but just because a rescue centre is well-known doesn't mean it's reputable - the fact that relevant information on this dog was known by the rescue but not passed on to the person rehoming him strikes me as negligent at the v least & is not what a reputable centre would do. Also the back up she received afterwards doesn't sound too good either

Jane

[correna]

Thanks for your reply Jane... no it was hartbreaking as he is such a lovely dog... but he is better with the time and love he is getting, just sad that he could of been put to sleep if Mum hadn't gone to the vets and got the advice and help from them...

[padfoot]

I think taking on a rescue dog is always a gamble, as it is easy to cloud the truth slighty...... but these dogs are lucky there are people out there prepared to take the risk.

Taking a rescue dog is not always a gamble. Good rescues place their dogs in foster care for long periods before they are rehomed. I've fostered lots of dogs, and you can't find out everything about a dog within two weeks. However, after 5 weeks or so, you can be pretty much certain of whether that dog has issues if you are an experienced fosterer. The dog is normally tested with children, cats, other small animals, around food and bones, their recall and lead training are tested and worked on, some small issues can be ironed out, and then they are ready for their new home.
Unfortunately, some rescues are so overun with dogs that they get into the trap of rehoming dogs without the right information to make room for new intakes. This is not good practice, and not all rescues do this. I know that the dogs I have rehomed via rescues went to their new homes with all the information possible, and I keep in touch with most of the new owners of my foster dogs to see how the dogs are getting on.
It depends on which rescue you use...but they can't all be tarred with the same brush. Many rescues take the time to assess their dogs thoroughly, and most will take the dog back if there are problems. This is a much easier route than rehoming a dog privately and then finding out there are little problems that weren't mentioned by the previous owners, and having no back-up. If a dog from a reputable rescue has to be moved suddenly in the unlikely event that serious problems occur, the rescue can move that dog immediately and find it a different foster home or kennels. What happens if a privately homed dog suddenly displays worrying behaviour? Where does the dog go?

[debrand]

I agree very much with Padfoot about rescue dogs. We have had three rescue dogs and my sister has had three. Out of the six dogs two have had problems that lasted longer than the first couple of weeks. The other dogs settled in very quickly and got over the upset they had been through. One was a pup and she settled immediately the others were under a year old. Of the two that had ongoing problems one is just very nervous but in a timid way, the other was very nervous and aggressive and after four years of trying all sorts of training and therapy we had to have her put to sleep because she was such a danger to people. We thought of rehoming her but we were advised another move would compund her unhappiness and not help her temperment. It was the worst thing I have ever done in my life and I would not wish it on anyone. We ended up taking a second rescue dog  a year after getting Sandy  because it was a young pup desperate for a home after being rescued from an attempted drowning. It didn't help Sandy's aggressive behaviour but she did seem happier with the pup around. Fortunately Sandy's aggressiveness didn't rub off on Milly (the new pup). She is now six years old and has a lovely nature.
Do think carefully about getting a second dog. It did work for my sister with her very anxious dog and helped her get over her separation anxiety but it took a lot of work to train both dogs- it wasn't a quick fix.

[Hel]

Just catching up with this and would like to add to points from my experience.

Fletch had terrible SA when I first rehomed him - he was 4 and started off as an only dog.  Despite being a confident dog, he would howl when left and could keep up the howling for hours - it was, I suspect, the reason he was rehomed.  I cured his SA when left very easily, but to honest, still can't go to the loo and shut the door without a howl if he notices!

Rehoming other dogs (I have 3 dogs) didn't have any negative or positive affect on his SA in general - he's still perfectly fine being left as they all are.  However, he will howl for hours if I go out with Pip and leave him, even though Cindy is there; if I go out just with Cindy, no problems.  This isn't really SA nor is it undying love for Pip as he's perfectly OK when he is the one being taken out    - it's just Fletch being Fletch!  Pip is fine being left without Fletch.

However, I would really recommend that you waited until your dog has got over his teenage 'Kevin' stage before you considered another dog.  All of mine have quickly picked up each others' bad habits (apart from Fletcher's howling!) and they are 6, 8/9 and 15 (I rehomed Pip at 6ish when Fletch was 4, and I've had Cindy, a yorkie, for 7 months). Even Cindy at 15 has picked up their bad habits!