# Setteling in time?



## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

How long dis it take for your rescues to settle?

First GSD was an exceptional rescue who was amazing. I am trying my best with Kia. I just want to make sure she settles. 

I don't want to think it is ok if it takes months and months and ultimately I've ruined her, you know? 

I can see that if she had gone to a single dog home she would have been great! I'm scared we aren't the right home, and wanna make sure she comes out Ok. 


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I would say about a month to completely settle in. That would be with all other dogs and cats. He was pretty comfortable from day one, the adjustment period was really for all the pets.


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

Ok. The cats are locked in my room right now because I don't want to give her the opportunity, or stress her out. Sabo loves her to bits, I just need to see if shes gonna love him back. :/

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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

erfunhouse said:


> Ok. The cats are locked in my room right now because I don't want to give her the opportunity, or stress her out. Sabo loves her to bits, I just need to see if shes gonna love him back. :/
> 
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Are you using a crate with her at all?


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

llombardo said:


> Are you using a crate with her at all?


She gets crated when we leave or at night time. Sabo won't leave her alone at all if shes in the crate and he isn't. He also won't settle if he's in his crate and shes out. She sticks close to me for the most part, either tethered (which I'm not understanding how that helps her... Sabo can still get at her- debating letting her off and tethering him so I can control him) or just standing near me. When she's with me and Sabo bothers her I can usually get him to go away and give her space. 

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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

The crate can help when the cats enter the equation.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

It can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months. Rafi settled right in but Chama took quite a while to accept him and Rafi had terrible separation anxiety so that took awhile to get under control.

When I used to foster we would tell people "3 days, 3 weeks and 3 months." As the dog got more comfortable you'd start to see her/his true personality but it wasn't until 3 months that you could expect to really start to see the real dog. 

And just keep taking deep breaths: you are doing great! It's a process for everyone. You will be a good home. 

Make sure the cats get time with you when she is crated!


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

llombardo said:


> The crate can help when the cats enter the equation.


One cat chooses to reside upstairs, the other is indoor/outdoor or lives on top of the table. With all the newness though, I'm just leaving the upstairs in my room for now. Brian is more dog "aware" so when Kia and Sabo can be together comfortably then I'll let Brian add himself as he sees fit. 

I'm not too concerned about ever integrating the cats downstairs or the dogs upstairs (too many toys to eat)

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## LifeofRiley (Oct 20, 2011)

Hi erfunhouse,

At the end of the day, you need to do what you think works best for you and your household given your knowledge of your dog, cats and the dynamics you are observing with the new dog. 

But, FWIW...
I have never tethered a new foster dog to me during the first couple of weeks of acclimation in my house, I imagine (given my household dynamics) that this would create a lot of tension/frustration between my dog and the foster dog.

I do supervise all interactions very closely and give plenty of crate "relaxation times" where the foster dog has a treat to chew on and time to just decompress and observe.

I always have the foster dog sleep in the bedroom with us... I can only think of one that needed to be crated, all others followed my resident dog's lead in settling down and sleeping as soon as the lights went out. I think that also helped the dog acclimate.

Based on the video I saw in the other thread, I think that you need to be sure that Sabo's enthusiasm does not overwhelm her during these first couple of weeks. Give her a safe place to decompress, develop a routine where each dog gets alone time and supervise all interactions for now.

Oh, and congrats on your new dog! She seems great!


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## mebully21 (Nov 18, 2011)

Sabo needs more disipline to leave kia alone. More training to get him to stop being annoying to her. I would be pissed too if i was in a new home and an annoying dog wouldnt leave me alone and if it kept up i would definitely kick the annoying dogs butt if the owner didnt respond. Crate sabo and if he pitches a fit too bad, crate kia in a room and block acces for sabo and correct him if he acts like a jerk. 

My 8 yr old foster lab doesnt like dogs annoying her, my sadie (gsd) wants to play with her like your sabo- i had to step in and keep the 2 separated for a bit so my foster wouldnt feel overwhelmed.

Just put your foot down and put sabo in his place


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i think settling in depends on the dog. i've rescued dogs that
after coming home acted like they were raised there. when
i was young my parents rescued a dog that was vicious.
at the time of the rescue they owned an apartment building.
the dog was super friendly to my parents, me and everbody
that lived in the aparment building. it was 6 unit apartment
building. the dog could walk the hallways. the tenets could
let him in their apartments. i have no idea how he knew
who lived in the apartment building. 

when i was in high school a little dog showed up on Gf's porch.
her and her sister brought the dog in the house and gave it
a bath and food. their father said "the dog has to go in the 
morning". the dog was laying covered in blankets after his bath.
someone knocked on the door. the dog ran to door and started
barking and growling. their father said "he's staying".

i guess i said all of that to say you don't know how long
it will take a dog to settle in their new home. the dog's
previous experience probably has a lot to do with how
long it takes them to settle in.


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## katro (Feb 26, 2013)

I think it depends on the dog. Ralphie was pretty comfortable with/accepting of me and the cats and his new schedule/routine within a few weeks, but he's still (almost a year later) still a little unsure of my husband. It did take a few months before he would play, though, which was frustrating for me because I stocked up on dog toys prior to getting him and he didn't touch them for so long!


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

erfunhouse said:


> ...which I'm not understanding how that helps her... Sabo can still get at her- debating letting her off and tethering him so I can control him...


You might be better off tethering him, if he's still after her and you're finding it hard to keep him from bothering her. Now this would be the absolute worst case scenario - which I'm not saying will actually happen - but if she's at the end of her patience with him and she's tethered to you and she ends up losing it then you'll be stuck in the middle of a fight. I'm _not_ saying this is going to happen, but it is a possibility. She's still unsure of herself because she's in a new situation, so she's not acting herself yet.

You don't need them to be BFF right now. Right now it's important to allow her to get comfortable in her new home. Let her chill out without Sabo trying to get her to play, and let her come to him when she's ready. It will happen


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

Well, Kia is stuck in a crate for a week.  her eye swelled up really bad after I got home this afternoon... turns out at some point something either got in her eye or Sabo scratched it. She has a corneal abrasion. Sedation to clean her eye and check it out, we went ahead and did her rabies vaccine and blood work for heart worm since she was under...Now a cone and crate. 

Maybe this is best. Poor Sabo. When we got home I put her in the crate to rest and we went to dinner. When we got back I leashed Sabo and went outside to potty. He whined, cried, sniffed and searched and came to me crying. I can only imagine he was looking for her. Leashed up, went inside and he went to the crate to sniff her and settled down. 

At least I know he cares about her. Now gotta get her on board the love boat. Lol. 

My daughter and Kia. That kid can charm nearly every animal

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## LifeofRiley (Oct 20, 2011)

Based on the picture, Kia seems to be in great hands and loving every moment of it  ... even with having to suffer the indignity of the cone of shame


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