Amos
Hi I am Amos's (now Rufus) new mum. We collected him on Saturday and he seemed to be fine until the thunder! He hasn't eaten since Saturday evening and we are getting concerned now. He looks very worried, deep frown above his eyes and tail between his legs, but has had quite a traumatic few weeks, so we are hoping he will feel more relaxed soon. As he is approx 8 I guess it will take him a while to trust people again. He does enjoy his walks though! Any advise on how we can make him feel more at ease would be appreciated.

Hi poor Rufus, I will let others better qualified offer the advice but I hope he picks up soon. Please keep us posted.

So pleased Amos had found a happy home. :D I have been watching his progress on the web site. Older dogs are sometimes more difficult to find homes for, people always seem to want the puppies. Older dogs have a lot to give and are past all that hard work that puppies can be. Give me an oldie any day. Just give him space and time and lots of treats and cuddles and I am sure he will soon feel at home. He will probably follow you around like a shadow for the first few weeks, bless him :oops: Once he gets to know the household and your routine he will settle in and be a very happy boy I am sure.

Hello and welcome Pauline, i agree with the others, plenty of time and patience. Best wishes Sue x

Hi there It's very early days and the rehoming has probably been very stressful indeed for him - he may take several weeks to settle down completely. Do you have an email address? If you send me it on a private message I will email you my de-stressing tips. The best thing you can do is keep him fairly quiet - no stress or excitement, don't try to take him out and about a lot or invite people to meet him. Routine is very comforting to dogs, so feed, walk etc at the same time each day. If he is frightened by something, try not to make a big fuss over him - just be upbeat and kind. Also, try not to generally fuss over him too much - if he's really stressed lots of hands reaching out to him and people staring at him might make him feel worried (his body language will tell you). I would make sure he has a 'comfort zone' - a place that he chooses to settle down in eg under a table, behind a chair, a crate (if he chooses to go in). You can enhance the value of that place to him for a few weeks by putting his food and water there, and giving him treats and attention there. there is more advice on my handout :D Good luck and well done for giving him a loving home. Hopefully he will be his true waggy self very soon :D

Nice to meet you xxx

Thanks for your replies, especially Elaine. I followed your advise and he is just beginning to eat more regularly. Still doesn't finish his meal but will go back to it if I leave it down. Today he really got excited when it was time for a walk. His tail is wagging more now although he still looks really sad sometimes. I can't believe we have only had him nearly 2 weeks, it seems he has been here forever! I have been told there is a plug-in that helps cats come to terms with having a dog in the house. Does anyone know what it's called and if it works?

they might mean Feliway (i think that's how you spell it). You could try putting something that smells of the dog in whichever room the cat hangs out in so he or she can have a bit of a sniff at the 'opposition' without having to get close to the dog :D The usual rules for cats and dogs is to give the cat a safe bolt hole and if you are engineering any meetings restrain the dog (eg on a lead) but never restrain the cat and alsways give it a safe exit route. I find it really, really helps to give the dog something to 'do' eg telling it to sit and stay when the cat is around and heaping on praise and treats for doing that, rather than waiting until the dog is wanting to chase or bark at the cat and reprimanding. ie set the dog up to succeed. :D

Thanks Elaine, One cat is certainly coming round but the other is taking his time. It didn't help that he got an abcess 2 days after Rufus arrived and had to be kept shut in until it had healed. we are starting again with him so keeping our fingers crossed.

Good luck! remember to help him get it right by telling him what you want him to do, then dishing out the goodies! if you can get a sit-stay, it can work to stand between dog and cat and give both of them treats

Thanks for this tip Elaine it can work to stand between dog and cat and give both of them treats I will certainly give it a try. I hadn't thought to use treats with a cat! This cat is like a dog with his treats and comes running when he hears the packet being opened.

If you have something the cat likes and wants enough, it usually works. One of my cats sits on command for a treat - although being a cat, of course, he insists on seeing the treat first!!! He also does a very half-hearted 'down' :lol: Food rewards can be used to train most creatures - dolphins, birds of prey, laboratory rats etc :D Bet you'll have your cat doing retrieves next.... :lol:

Rufus (Amos)
I haven't posted on this site for a while. Taking Rufus for long walks but sadly we lost him last weekend. He had a lump under his tail when he arrived from Ireland and it suddenly started bleeding. Unfortunately it couldn't be stopped and the operation to remove the lump was very risky because of it's position and the number of major blood vessels on the outside of the lump. he also had a large mass on his spleen and the vet said she thought his life expectancy was only 2 - 3 months so we made the heart breaking decision to let him go peacefuuly. He was over 10 (on his inocculation card it said 10+ not 8+. I didn't read it correctly!) when we got him but could have been older. It took a long time for him to really start trusting people agian but in the last few months he had started being really cheeky. We have a lot of happy memories of him , especially in the snow the week before. When we feel ready to have another dog in our lives we will certainly look here first.

Pauline, I'm so sorry to hear your sad news about Rufus :cry: It's such a devastating decision to have to make. If he came over from ireland as an oldie, and in such a worried state, the loving home you gave him is likely to have been the happiest and comfiest he had ever known. He was lucky to have found you. I'm glad you have so many happy memories of him to treasure. Run free at the bridge Rufus....

Oh Pauline, I am so sorry to hear about Amos. As Elaine said, I am sure the home you gave him was the happiest he had ever had, he would not have stood a chance as an oldie in Ireland. He was indeed a lucky boy and had learned to trust you and was having fun in the snow, bless him. When I had to make the decision to have my old labbie boy put to sleep someone sent me this link. It really helped me to think of him this way.If you dont know about Rainbow Bridge, be prepared, have a tissue and maybe a glass of wine to hand as you watch it. http://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html June