Thanks Elaine I must sound like im just moaning about her! She has been very good girl too. She slept downstairs in her bed all night which i wasnt expecting! She cried for about 5 mins then went off to sleep till we got up in the morning. I also popped out for an hour today to see how she'd be and she was a really good girl. I'm just a bit worried about my daughter not being able to move without being pounced on but im sure it will improve. Thanks for all our advice PS i am trying to be calm! i am a worrier as you've probably noticed!!!

Hi Just wanted to add my bit that I too suffered something terrible when we got Pepper at first I have three kids, 7, 5 & 3 and found it sooooo hard getting the kids and the dog adjusted to each other. However, I found Elaines ideas to be an absolute god send and through a lot of hard work, tears, tantrums and some heartache we have got through it with us all in one piece. It will be hard work but it'll be well worth it. Re your toddler have you tried making a game out of it ie doggy statues....when Abbey gets over excited try getting her to stop dead still till the dog gets bored, especially get her to avoid eye contact and noise. Best of luck and glad Abbey found her way into your life.

Anita - you haven't admitted to Kieras that you then went straight out and got ANOTHER loony rescue puppy :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: the statues game is a great idea :P

Shhhh!!! I'm trying to cover up the fact that we are total nutters in this house :oops: But yes I'll admit it we did and that was even more hard work but here we are some 14 months later (my god where did that go) and we're one big happy family (most of the time anyway!) My house now consists of 1 OH, me, 3 Kids, 2 loony dogs, 2 scatty cats and 3 giant land snails! Peace and quiet :? ..........seems to ring a bell but nope can't remember that one :lol: Got to say we took the dogs to the beach recently for the first time and I laughed so hard the whole time, I'm really not sure who had the best time that day them or me! Again to Kieras though, you'll survive and look back and wonder where the time went :wink:

Hi Keiras! Excellent Advice from everyone. Congratulations on your rescue! Keep your chin up - this settling in period is very hard on everyone - you've just got to be consistent! After all - you know what you mean - Abbey will soon learn. These Labs are clever! Willow has only just finished with the 'humping' of all concerned - she was spayed on 23rd October when she was 19 months old - I think the hormones were all too much for her - the best thing when she starts this is not to tell off but just to take her attention to something else - diversion tactics - just the same for toddlers! She will soon realise you are far more interesting than the pillow. The jumping is a difficult one - it's just finding a way that suits you all. I found that a small bottle of water spray worked - it's not cruel, it doesn't hurt and it was just a small shock enough to make Willow back off. The spray should come with a firm \"Down\" and after a while, the spray wasn't needed, just sight of it and she realised. I felt this method was gentle enough to use at the beginning as like you, sometimes it did feel that we were constantly telling her off. You will get there, it's early days.

Hi there Thanks everyone for you advice and good wishes. I feel like we have made some progress today. Abbey has started to listen more. If a tell her a firm \"no\" when she runs at my daughter she has been stopping in her tracks and sitting down. I do feel like im constantly saying \"no\" to her tho! She did manage to steal one of our dinners off the kitchen work top today tho! She had a nice plate of salmon and veg! She looked very pleased with herself!!

Hi all New question for you! So far Abbey has been really good at staying downstairs behind the baby gate at night and when i put my daughter to bed but today she has started barking like mad when i leave her downstairs. I've tried ignoring her but theres no letting up!!

Can you leave her with a chewy to occupy her at bedtime? An item with your scent eg old unwashed t-shirt might also help her settle. It would help to keep leaving her for a moment at a time throughout the day, so she learns you come and go and that's that. Don't return to her when she is barking or she will think the barking is a way of bringing you back - and do it all the more. To her it would be natural and comforting to sleep with her family members. If she really is utterly hysterical and can't cope, then some dogs will benefit from being allowed to sleep in your bedroom at first, or at the very least in the hallway on the other side of a gate. As she settles, you can then gradually move the bed along the hall to wherever you want her to sleep.

I know exactly what you are going through - Willow was and still is a massive whinner! To get her used to me being away, I kept going up and downstairs for a few days - extending it a little longer each time - she got totally bored with me and in the end went back to her bed. She does still whine in the morning and has got a built in clock but really, we know that isn't her fault. She is walked everyday by my husband at 6 and obviously, she has trained herself to need the loo around that time. If you do go back downstairs to see her, don't make a fuss or speak to her (cruel I know), quietly let her out in the garden if she wants to go out to do her business, or get on with some housework - anything - even if you have to pretend. Once she stops getting the reaction she desires - she will learn. Willow will go and lay down and I will then go and find her and tell her she's a good girl etc etc. This is really hard I know, we don't know what these rescue dogs have been through before and all you want to do is hug them. Them big chocolate eyes get you nearly every time!

Hi Ive been doing that today! Popping up and down stairs to try and get her used to it. Just put my daughter to bed and she did have a little whine but no barking which was good. She has such a load bark it echos through the house! I took yr advice Elaine and gave her a Kong with meat in it when i went to bed last night. She was quiet when eating it and had a few barks when she finished then went off to sleep till i got up this morning which was good. And she not so interested in my daughter now so i feel alot happier now Im such a worrier!!

That's a great step for Abbey and for you - small steps everyday is the way to do it - stop beating yourself up for worrying! My eldest Lab is 14 and 1/2 and I still worry! Being an old dog, she goes into very deep sleep sometimes and I find myself standing over hear to check she is breathing - it takes me back to when my daughters were babies and poking them! The biggest problem with dogs is that they can't tell you what's wrong or what they want and it really is a guessing game until you get to know their habbits! Sounds like you are doing a great job!

I worry about my dogs too :? in fact I worried all day yesterday because I had to leave my young rescue bitch who was all stressed out. I've had foster dogs whose barking has filled the house when first left downstairs. Some are just shouting and need a bit of kind and patient help to teach them how to cope alone - just like you are doing. But some are really, really distressed and can't be left initially. If Abbey was able to eat when left alone, I'd say she falls into the first category :wink: You're doing really well with her :P By worrying, it just shows that you care!

Hi, me again! Has anyone any ideas how i can stop Abbey running off and jumping up at people she meets on walks?! I havn't let her off the lead yet but apparently her re-call is very good until she sees people and other dogs, and understandably some people get a bit cross if she jumps all over them with muddy paws! When i walk her on her lead she pulls like mad when she sees someone. She just dying to jump all over them! Any ideas? :D