How much improvement have your rescued cockers made?

[bekc2005]

Hi All,

As some of you know (lol) we have just welcomed into our lives 4 year old Pippa the ex puppy farm bitch, a week and 2 days ago.

Pip is very nervous and unsure, has moderate separation anxiety (howls and cries constantly if left/if either of us leaves the house) and doesn't play with anything.

This makes us wonder......... will she ever be a 'normal' dog?

We understand it takes time and lots and lots of hard work and patience!!! 

We wondered how other people's ex-rescue dogs are getting on now? how long was it before you saw improvements? what challenges did you face?

We have had 2 nights sleep the past two nights, after a week of sleep deprevation, and that feels like a massive achievement! also that she sat 5 times on command yesterday!!! woop!!!

[Annie's Mum]

Not had a rescue cocker but have read many success stories, many COL's will be along soon to reassure you of their stories in the mean time good luck and having read many of these stories you will be ok, they are very forgiving and loving

[mooching]

Just wondered: have you tried leaving the radio on for her when you go out, and also leaving a worn item of your clothing for her to snuggle into?

Also, for how long have you left her? If you haven't done so already, I'd suggest building up gradually from, say, 1-2 minutes the first time, to then 5 the next time, then 10, 15 and so on. And leaving her a little treat when you go.

[Saffaroo]

I can understand your worries totally - but it is very very soon yet,  and you will need to be patient for a long time I'm afraid.  Take one day at a time and don't expect miracles overnight as they are unlikely to happen    We had exactly the same with one of our rescues and found that building up 'leaving' her from just a minute or so, in chunks of 5,10 minutes as Mooching says, so that it becomes not a big deal for her and just what happens...we did leave treats now and again but not always and radio is a great idea; in fact noise actually helped calm Saffy; ie tv/washing machine/vacuum.  We lived in an apartment at the time and her bed was not in our room, but she desperately wanted to be with us, so we let her (as we don't do no sleep ) then gradually 'moved' her basket out of the bedroom and back where it started; this over a period of weeks mind you.   Others may disagree with that tactic but it worked for us, at the time.  I'm sure that others will be along with more ideas, but this is what happened with us - Saffy is now pretty chilled, sleeps anywhere she likes and is a proper little madam   Tell yourself these early days are worth every moment, and she will repay you many times over,

Good luck and let us know how you get on 

[jools]

Firstly, well done for offering Pippa a loving new home.

Coco came to live with us last June. Her previous owners couldn't be bothered with her; they'd wanted a working cocker and Coco is show type. They told SRS that they "just couldn't bond with the dog". It's believed she spent a lot of her 3 years in a crate.

Coco spent 2 weeks with a totally brilliant foster mum, who started working on her trust and building her confidence. When we picked her up, she was very timid and her wee tail was right between her legs. She was subdued and had a really sad look. Coco also had no idea what toys were for.

She's been with us almost a year now and is unrecognisable from the wee dog we picked up. She LOVES my other two dogs, Bramble and Poppy (Brams is her favourite). She and Bramble sleep in our room, but Poppy chooses to sleep in her bed downstairs. Every morning, Coco zooms down the stairs and makes a huge fuss of Poppy, wagging her tail, barking and play biting Poppy's face  

She's not big on toys, but likes to run like a mad thing with the other 2 chasing the ball when we're in the park. She has no desire to get the ball, she just loves charging about with her sisters.

Coco still has her wee quirks; she loves barking at other dogs, but hates the sound of other dogs barking and legs it when they start.

Coco is a much loved part of our family and has blossomed into a lovely, happy confident little dog.

Good lick with Pippa; you will get lots of support from the may people on here who have adopted ex breeding bitches.

Edit to add photos

Here's Poppy, my son, Bramble and Coco on hols a couple of weeks ago


...and here's the rescue dog who "cannot live with cats" 

[marbledmolly]

Remy is a MT ex-breeding rescue, and it's taken her 2 years and we're only just started to get her more interested in toys.  They are all different and it depends on how they have been treated before.  Remy wasn't as scared as some of my foster dogs, some of them were scared of there own Shadow and any new noise like the hoover would send them running for a corner to hide in. Have you tried giving her some newspaper to play with, as this is probably all she has ever seen and it will be something familiar. This is the only thing Remy would take any interest in and loves to have a good roll and rip it to bits. We have now moved onto a kong or a tennis ball with a hole drilled in so we can put a bit of food in. She still likes to sleep squashed in a corner somethere, laying against something hard like the bottom of the chair or the wall.  It does take time but it is worth in the end. This week is our first assessment day at training and I'm hoping she will pass and move up to level 2. In fact it was Jade that disgraced her self last week and did a runner across the hall  

[theshrew]

I think you have done a great think by getting a rescue dog 

My parents have a rescue Chiwawa the vet said he was 4 years old. He had been abused by the past owner and had his legs broken etc. Obviously this made him very nervous around Men at first he wouldnt come to my Dad or Me. It takes time for them to trust and get used to there new life etc. You will get the rewards in the end my parents dog is 18 years old now and still a happy little camper when he's awake 

[Cockertime Blues]

Hi, Well Done You for rescuing Pippa.  I think improvement is hard to see day to day, but I bet in a couple of years' time you'll look back in amazement at what she used to be like.  The SA will sort itself out I'm sure, but maybe she'll never be exactly "normal" (however you regard "normal") but she'll be the dog you love.  Our old lab had been badly treated and cowered if you moved your hand over her head or raised your voice till she died at 14, but she really was one of the best dogs I've ever had.

We got Mollie (show cocker) at 11 months and she was horrendous.  No SA, but no manners, no training, bouncing off walls, resource guarder, and a mixture between fear aggression and being a thug and a bully that I still can't figure out.  I can't tell you how many times I've wished we'd never met her .  But 3 years on she is really sweet and a happy little dog.  Her big fault is her greediness and thievery, and she still won't let us touch her back feet and sides, has to be muzzled at the vet's, and won't win any prizes for obedience but compared to 3 years ago, she's so much better.  I'm sure she'd be 100% if OH and I were better at consistent training.

[ejp]

So pleased you have Pippa, we adopted Lara  at the end of Jan, from Many Tears.  Can't believe it's only 3 months, feels like we have always had her.  For the first month, we didn't seem to make any progress, especially with toilet training, and then it just clicked.  Not had an accident now for a few weeks, as long as she goes out regularly, she is fine.  Lara doesn't really play yet, she doesn't know how, but that will come in time.  She does know where the treat box is! when it's feeding time, and we get lovely smiles and a waggy bum when we come home.     The couch is very much her throne, she stretches out there every evening for her snooze and snores like a man, louder than my two cocker boys!    Heading away in the caravan in the next few weeks, and I hope she loves it as much as Max and Bertie, they get really excited when we are loading.  Lots of new things for her, and us all to see and do, and really looking forward to it.  Nice to hear how you are getting on, sounds like you are getting as much out of this we are.  Looking forward to your next update. 

[mattys mum]

Hi

I just wanted to post as I got Matty only at the beginning of the week.  He is a resuce and he is in a physical state and has no training or idea of how to play, is frightened of any noise, has never been on a lead in 2 years but I know that he will turn out great in the end.  I know this because although i have forgotten what its like to have a new rescue dog i remember that my last dog took between 6 and 12 months to settle so i know it will happen.

i find already i am like you that i get soooo excited if matty does anything great eg his first poo outside yesterday the neighbours heard me singing 'hes done a poo oo' ah well

So when your girl is having one of those days remember its not long before she will settle

rescues are great and cockers are great it will happen because you too are great as you have been willing to take her on and help her learn how to be the lovely dog she is going to be

mandy

[HeatherandBenjy]

Firstly well done for taking Pippa in. 

Fizzy arrived here just over a year ago, a six year old puppy farm bitch. At the time she was physically a wreck (manky ears & teeth, blind in one eye where someone had walloped her  and with a cataract in the other, so anaemic that her heart was beginning to beat irregularly and so skinny that I could put my hands around her waist).

She was also emotionally very scared of everything, when I turned the tv on low, she would run and wet herself. She didn't know how to walk on a lead, she wasn't housetrained. She spent most of the first month outside in my arms as she was just so frightened. In the house she was like tigger, bouncing from the floor to my head in a desperate attempt to be with me at all times. Lovely, but very demanding.

Its hard to know day to day how things are getting better, but having just written all that, I realise how much Fizz has changed. She now sits and waits while I get her and the other dogs food ready (instead of using the dishwasher as a launch pad for my head  ) She loves to be out and about and will walk / run for miles with me. She has settled into the routines is 99% toilet trained and will settle in the evenings rather than pacing around. She's also started to play, but that took months. If something frightens her she still runs to me, but generally the world is a far less scary place than it used to be for Fizz.

Give Pippa time, she'll reward you a thousand times over, and please let us know how you get on!