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FROM Rebecca Hanlon – Canine Behaviour Practioner

Adopting a dog is a wonderful feeling for us. Full of excitement and the idea of saving a life. But the experience is not the same for them.

I often see posters stating the 3-3-3 rule. For the first 3 days they are totally overwhelmed but will then start feeling a little calmer. After 3wks they start to feel safer and more at home and then after 3months they have properly settled in.
This idea, at least, makes people realise that moving to a new home is a massive, life changing event for dogs and that they need time to settle in.

However, I find it a little too prescriptive and can set everyoneup for disappointment.

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Regular readers will know that at the beginning of December I adopted Podenca Andaluz Rosely, who had spent most of her 8 years breeding babies for a hunter. She had no experience of life in the big wide world and came full of fear. Not the first time I’ve had to deal with a fearful Spanish hunting dog – as my galga Carmela, rescued from a perrera at 4 years old, was traumatized on arrival at our home. It took 2 1/2 years before she became what I would term ‘a normal dog’ if there is such a one!! So once again we’re having to deal with a dog fearful of life as a whole, and men especially. Once again my husband has to cope with a dog backing off from him, hiding under the table and so on.

A strong part of a podenco’s character is loyalty and Rosely has it in abundance towards me! Which initially caused problems insofar as I do voluntary work 2 mornings/week and she had to get used to me disappearing for a few hours. The kitchen door into the rest of the bungalow had to be kept shut and she was only allowed into the garden to the toilet on lead. Night times were a problem too, and for the first time in my 70+ years of living with at least one dog, she is allowed to sleep on a bed beside my own – NEVER on my bed!

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My recently adopted podenca Rosely (Rosie) is my shadow. Which is great to a certain extent, but not good when left. I’ve never had a dog with separation anxiety problem, probably because most of my dogs have had companions. However, when Rosie first arrived, she did not have a housemate, so we had the howling and door scratching when left at night. I’ve never allowed dogs in bedrooms but now we’re in a bungalow, I’ve given in and Rosie has a bed at the side of mine for overnight sleeps.

I do a couple of mornings voluntary work with Riding for the Disabled and also an animal charity shop. On both occasions she showed serious signs of distress – luckily my other half was at home with her.

Her new housemate blind Podenco Bo arrived a week later and so over the weeks during the 3 months she has now been with us, she has adjusted to being left with him, although my other half says she sits at the patio doors looking for me. The greeting I get on my return home is wonderful, I must say.

So I’m slowly working on her separation anxiety but can now appreciate what a problem it must be for those people who are not able to have more than one dog.

Here’s a link to an article by the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the UK based animal rescue charity.