Settling a new dog in

Hi!

I rehomed my dog Rex the Weimaraner 10 days ago and I'm struggling a bit. He has got much better, when I leave him he settles after about 10 mins and sleeps until I return but he can get a bit snappy when I try and wipe his paws, give him his ear drops etc. and I think he's still a bit stressed out by all of the change. I've tried the basics to try and calm his anxiety, he's on Zylkene, he has a DAP diffuser and Kongs to play with. The first 2 I'm hoping are temporary measures that he won't need once he's settled into his routine.

I tried to introduce a dog walker so that he got some exercise during the day while I'm at work but when she tried to put his collar on without me there he got very scared and retreated growling and snarling, even though she'd met him before and he'd been absolutely fine. At the moment I'm leaving work for an hour in the morning to break up his day and take him out but I can't do this forever and he needs more exercise than I can give him this way. The dog walker is going to give it another go tomorrow and I will go with them but I want to make it as painless as possible for Rex and I can't imagine he'll like being put into the van as he's never experienced anything like that before and things have changed so much for him over the last 2 weeks. Ultimately I think he'll love the walks because he's got loads of energy and he's great with other dogs, but I need to convince him of this!

I know that things are moving quickly for him and ideally I'd like to take them a lot slower but unfortunately working full time this isn't an option, I'm running out of energy trying to keep up this routine! If anyone has any tips on how I can make this any easier for Rex then I'd love to hear them.

He'd be better left alone and maybe you and the walker could take him together at weekends for a couple of weeks. It is a big change for him.

For goodness sake don't let the walker put him in the van yet! It strikes me that she isn't that experienced or she would know what a bad idea it is.

I wouldn't put him in a position where he feels the need to snap or growl, that is breaking what little trust he has. If you need to treat him at all use loads of really nice titbits and do things really slowly.

Please be careful, you could tip him over the edge by expecting too much too soon and they are a sensitive breed.

rune

I don't have very much constructive to add only, have some patience! He's only known you and your lifestyle for 10 days! That's an incredibly short time to be expecting him to be perfectly adjusted. Could you not take some time off to actually spend with him getting settled and slowly introducing him to the dog walker etc?

Is he in pain? You mention eardrops, if he has an inner ear infection or another ear condition he might be sore and especially wary about being approached around his head/neck, e.g. having a collar put on. Might be worth a vet trip to assess his pain levels and see if he needs some pain relief.

Actually Krlyr makes a very good point. You don't say anything about how old he is or what the background to his rehoming is. Has he had a thorough check up at the vets and up to date with worming, vaccs etc?

Sorry to 'butt in' but there's some information on Rex's background on (( The latter pages of this thread )) which may help.

I agree though; he needs a lot more time to start to really get to know you and trust you. We were very lucky with Whisper really, she relaxed with us pretty much straight away. But even then it took a few weeks for us to get into something like a routine with her and for her to settle into a routine with us.

Am sure you'll get some useful information from here though xx

Sounds like he might be a bit sore then. I know food allergies can often cause irritation on the feet and ear infections so the ears and feet may be particularly sensitive spots for him at the moment, hence his discomfort and growling. Hopefully the change of diet and that will help ease any soreness soon

I don`t walk a new dog now till he`s happy with me.
How is the dog meant to know you mean him no harm when all his experiences have probably taught him that people are not to be trusted?
Leave the dog alone to destress and relax. You`d be better with a pet sitter than a walker IMO. All the dog needs atm is peace and quiet.
When he accepts you (let him do it at his pace) then you can begin teaching him gently.