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First Foster Dog


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I decided to take the plunge into the world of fostering :eek: So yesterday afternoon I picked up my first foster dog. Sprocket is approximately 4 years old and quite a live wire. Since this is my first foster dog I'm open to any and all words of wisdom and handy hints from experienced foster carers.

Sprocket spends a lot of the day just pacing or following me around, he can't seem to settle. I took him for a walk this morning with my dog and he met some of Billy's friends. Normally after our morning walk Billy comes home and sleeps for a few hours but Sprocket doesn't understand the rest and relaxation concept he just paces and follows me around. Today I went out to do some errands and my partner said Sprocket spent the whole time whining and pacing and looking for me. Is there anything I can do to reassure him and to stop his pacing?

Last night we set him up in the spare bedroom and he spent about an hour barking and whining before he would settle, he also seemed to spend a fair while peeing on almost everything in the room. This afternoon I set a crate up in the room to see if he might settle in that, but the first thing he did was pee on it. We put up a baby gate at the spare room would it be better if I just closed the bedroom door?

Anyone want to take a guess at what breed or mix of breeds he could be?

ETA: He is booked in to be desexed on Monday

(click to enlarge)

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post-32592-0-68170600-1471005165_thumb.jpg

Edited by valbitz
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Oooh! He looks very Tibetan Spaniel to me... wait until Mita sees him!

For night time, can you set up a crate in your bedroom where he can see you on the bed? Pop him in it, then go to sleep - turn off the light etc... he should settle pretty quickly if he can see you sleeping.

As for the pacing and not settling... what if you take some downtime too? Sit on the couch and watch TV or read a book, and let him settle next to you or by your feet. He might get the idea that it's time to rest then.

If you have to leave him, maybe a meaty bone or Kong stuffed with something he likes may take his mind off being alone for a while?

Mita will have more breed specific advice (if he's a Tibbie)...

T.

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Belly band

As for breeding, yeah he sort of looks Tibbie ish but could just as much be malt x chi or Pom x chi or shiht x JRT or shih x chi or or or ....... Not let the coat fool you. Small mixed breed.

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Oooh! He looks very Tibetan Spaniel to me... wait until Mita sees him!

For night time, can you set up a crate in your bedroom where he can see you on the bed? Pop him in it, then go to sleep - turn off the light etc... he should settle pretty quickly if he can see you sleeping.

As for the pacing and not settling... what if you take some downtime too? Sit on the couch and watch TV or read a book, and let him settle next to you or by your feet. He might get the idea that it's time to rest then.

If you have to leave him, maybe a meaty bone or Kong stuffed with something he likes may take his mind off being alone for a while?

Mita will have more breed specific advice (if he's a Tibbie)...

T.

The pound had him listed as a Pap x but we thought he had some tibbie in him and since I already own a tibbie I agreed to take him on. I still think there may be a bit of tibbie in him.

We thought about setting a crate up in the bedroom but there isn't enough room. When I put him to bed last night he only complained for about half an hour so he seems like he is getting the idea.

Will try your downtime suggestion and see if that helps, thank you.

I did try the stuffed kong but he totally ignored it.

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Belly band

As for breeding, yeah he sort of looks Tibbie ish but could just as much be malt x chi or Pom x chi or shiht x JRT or shih x chi or or or ....... Not let the coat fool you. Small mixed breed.

Thanks for the belly band suggestion, I'll give him another day and if it doesn't improve I'll go and get one

Edited by valbitz
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Congratulations, Valbitz. Little Sprocket sure is gorgeous. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I have always contended that what dogs go through from when they are lost/surrendered and eventually rehomed is huge. They go through so many stages and how the vast majority of them cope so well with these utterly new and confusing moves is nothing short of amazing. And, sadly, some of them never really get over it. My Tamar being one.

One of the things I disagree with that quite a few people espouse is to ignore fearful behaviours. Of course, this can’t be taken to extremes, but I do believe a dog who is suffering in whatever way should be comforted. The suggested downtime when you are just sitting around and Sprocket can join you is the ideal situation, of course.

When I first saw the photo, Japanese Chin popped into my head, but I think that was just because of his colour. Pap crosses still tend to have the long tendrils from their ears - does Sprocket have them?

Looking forward to updates. :D :D

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He sounds anxious to me: constant pacing and an impaired ability to sleep and rest are symptoms. It's not surprising that he's feeling anxious given that his entire world has been turned upside down.

If you don't mind spending some money on something your own dog might like too, the Through A Dog's Ear albums (Music to Calm Your Canine Companion) can help promote relaxation.

Japanese Chin or Tibetan Spaniel came to my mind rather than a Pap x, but I suppose he could be any number of crosses.

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Congratulations, Valbitz. Little Sprocket sure is gorgeous. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I have always contended that what dogs go through from when they are lost/surrendered and eventually rehomed is huge. They go through so many stages and how the vast majority of them cope so well with these utterly new and confusing moves is nothing short of amazing. And, sadly, some of them never really get over it. My Tamar being one.

One of the things I disagree with that quite a few people espouse is to ignore fearful behaviours. Of course, this can’t be taken to extremes, but I do believe a dog who is suffering in whatever way should be comforted. The suggested downtime when you are just sitting around and Sprocket can join you is the ideal situation, of course.

When I first saw the photo, Japanese Chin popped into my head, but I think that was just because of his colour. Pap crosses still tend to have the long tendrils from their ears - does Sprocket have them?

Looking forward to updates. :D :D

Looking at the photos it does seem that he has the ear tendrils (Billy does) but he doesn't, it's actually the fur on his neck behind the ears. Haven't had a chance to try the suggested downtime after our walk today, he jumped on the couch and is now resting :thumbsup:

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He sounds anxious to me: constant pacing and an impaired ability to sleep and rest are symptoms. It's not surprising that he's feeling anxious given that his entire world has been turned upside down.

If you don't mind spending some money on something your own dog might like too, the Through A Dog's Ear albums (Music to Calm Your Canine Companion) can help promote relaxation.

Japanese Chin or Tibetan Spaniel came to my mind rather than a Pap x, but I suppose he could be any number of crosses.

I put his anxiousness down to spending 8 days at the pound then it was another couple of hours drive to the rescue where he only stayed for a few hours before I picked him up. Totally agree that his world has been turned upside down, thank you for the music suggestion.

It seems that he is now relaxing even though he still wants to keep me in sight. Not sure if it is from sheer exhaustion or if he is starting to feel a little less anxious. I feel sorry for him and am looking for a way to make the transition from pound to foster home to forever home with the least amount of stress. Have no idea if that is possible.

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Sometimes just patience is the key :)

Give him lots of routine and stability and you will likely find he settles on his own. Doing some trick training with him and having him use his brain and learn how to 'control' his environment (i.e by doing things he's asked, good stuff happens) might help too.

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Yep Jap chin cross is what he looks like,I agree get a belly band ,some toys breeds can be terrible piddlers so the sooner you address this the better .

Personally i would get a puppy pen so if you want to confine at times you can & he can still be visual to you ,

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Agree about the bellybands. Dogs mark for ownership of place & use the scent to go back to the spot again. So more you can remove the past scents & prevent future ones the better. Anxious, disoriented dogs, like Sprocket is at the moment, can mark as if in a frenzy to deal with the scary new situation. I'd also do the 'puppy' toilet training routines with him. So he learns the 'right' place.

I'd also put in place the separation anxiety strategies. The vet behaviourist told me it's better called Demand Anxiety which goes into overdrive when the person they want has disappeared. The dog is demanding you be there, right now! I'll PM the strategies that she gave me for our tibbie girl, Angel, when she came at age 3 yrs. With time & persistence, they worked. Sometimes temporary low dose Valium is recommended to hose down the anxiety at first, to allow for learning. Valium is a muscle relaxant, doesn't fog the brain.

It says a lot for Sprocket that you've already seen him 'getting the message' about the crate at night. He's capable of good learning! BTW I'd put something in his crate that strongly has your scent on it (like unwashed T-shirt). Owner's scent comforts a dog. I'd do the same when you go out in the day. And keep up the exercise.... exercise helps drain anxious tension & it'll help Sprocket follow Billy as a mentor.

There's a Tibbie Pet Owners Facebook page (Australian) and we've just been going over those strategies because a member adopted a tibbie girl that was rehomed because of Separation Anxiety. The strategies have worked well & the Tibbie is greatly improved.

I'll PM both to you.

Edited by mita
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It may be the coat and markings, but my first thought was Chin or Chin cross, but when I looked closer, Chin body shape and head shape is not really there and I'm more inclined to think the coat and pattern are from a Papillon ancestor. You can usually pick Tibbie crosses by the foot shape.

You have been given great advice already re the belly band and anxiety. The only thing left to say is give it a bit of time - displacement anxiety is quite common in foster dogs and may clear up quite quickly once a routine is established and of course having a happy Billy right there will also help, even if they don't interact much at first.

About not comforting an anxious dog - my own experience is that the more you can show that you are in control of the situation and are not worried yourself, the less anxious the dog will be and the sooner trust will build. This doesn't mean that you ignore the anxiety - but your body language and tone of voice should indicate that you are a bit surprised at it, because there is nothing to worry about. I like to give a quick reassuring pat, and a comment like "You doofus, there's no problem!" which acknowledges the emotion without supporting a cause.

Well done for venturing into foster care! heart.gif

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It may be the coat and markings, but my first thought was Chin or Chin cross, but when I looked closer, Chin body shape and head shape is not really there and I'm more inclined to think the coat and pattern are from a Papillon ancestor. You can usually pick Tibbie crosses by the foot shape.

You have been given great advice already re the belly band and anxiety. The only thing left to say is give it a bit of time - displacement anxiety is quite common in foster dogs and may clear up quite quickly once a routine is established and of course having a happy Billy right there will also help, even if they don't interact much at first.

About not comforting an anxious dog - my own experience is that the more you can show that you are in control of the situation and are not worried yourself, the less anxious the dog will be and the sooner trust will build. This doesn't mean that you ignore the anxiety - but your body language and tone of voice should indicate that you are a bit surprised at it, because there is nothing to worry about. I like to give a quick reassuring pat, and a comment like "You doofus, there's no problem!" which acknowledges the emotion without supporting a cause.

Well done for venturing into foster care! heart.gif

Fully agree :) :) Thanks for putting it so much better than I did.

Reminds me of a human story. Several family members including my brother and his two young sons (maybe 3 and 4 years of age at the time) were walking along the beach. The youngest son runs past me and falls over a bit of driftwood. “Up you get, you’re okay,” I said. Young boy looks up at me and just as he is about to run off again, brother reaches him, snatches him up as though he’s been in a horrific accident, carries on a treat and guess what? Yep. Little boy breaks into paroxysms of tears.

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Yep, we have the same thing with Malcolm, who has GAD & OCD (vs potentially just being a scared foster). He was usually unable to do it before medication, but now when he's startled we're kind of like "Oh! fancy that", and it completely diffuses his response provided he's not overthreshold. It's like oh, my humans are ok, so I should be too.

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I find this video good for getting an idea of the Tibetan Spaniel physical appearance.... head, face, ears, body, legs, paws and tail. Because the dog is moving, all this is shown at different angles. So you can see proportions & even gait. One dimensional still photos can flatten out features:

And here's a 'definite' Tibbie with black/white markings to compare with the foster lad , Sprocket .(click enlarge):

post-3304-0-27654500-1471142039_thumb.jpg

Edited by mita
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I've had some wonderful suggestions in this thread, thank you all so much.

Thought I would update since it's been a couple of days. Sprocket has decided that carrying on at bedtime is not worth it, we have had 2 nights without any barking or whining :thumbsup: The only time he barked was about 6.00 yesterday morning and when I let him out he ran and pawed the back door to be let out, no toileting in the bedroom :thumbsup: I got up early enough this morning and let him out before he barked to be let out to go outside. Mita I did leave an old worn t-shirt with him :)

Sprocket has stopped pacing :thumbsup: but when I'm in the kitchen he is always behind me. I get the feeling that it could be a habit because I actually just walked in a circle and he was behind me the whole time even though I couldn't see him. He never gets in my way while doing it. I will have to teach him not come in to the kitchen while I'm preparing food.

He does still whine when I go out, continuously, till I get back home. Mita I did try the ignore strategy when I got home but Sprocket beat me to it he was more interested in the shopping bags my partner had than me coming home, he completely ignored me :laugh:

So far he has learned to sit for treats, sit and wait for his food and not to eat it till I say he can and he picked up loose leash walking within half an hour, he's a very smart little dog. Billy has loved having him around and they get on fantastically, that may end up causing a whole new set of problems when Sprocket finds his forever home.

A photo of Billy and Sprocket playing with soft toys

post-32592-0-99525500-1471257027_thumb.jpg

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I find this video good for getting an idea of the Tibetan Spaniel physical appearance.... head, face, ears, body, legs, paws and tail. Because the dog is moving, all this is shown at different angles. So you can see proportions & even gait. One dimensional still photos can flatten out features:

And here's a 'definite' Tibbie with black/white markings to compare with the foster lad , Sprocket .(click enlarge):

post-3304-0-27654500-1471142039_thumb.jpg

The video of the Tibbie doing agility is so cute :)

I really don't know what breed Sprocket is, his tail isn't long enough to be a Tibbie. We have a Pap x Cavalier in the neighbourhood and he looks very much like that, but it's hard to know with crossbreeds.

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