New Rescue Dog Behaving Like a Young Puppy

My partner and I took on a new rescue dog 2 weeks ago. He is a Pointer cross. He had been picked up as a stray and nothing was known of his past. The rescue sanctuary told us he was very fearful of people but fine with dogs.
He was terrified at first when we brought him home but has found his feet very quickly and is responding very well to lots of affection.
Although the vet says he is between one and two years old a lot of his behaviour seems like that of a young puppy. He wants to eat everything, including stones and has a habit of collecting clothing and putting it in his bed. He is also attracted to metal objects such as keys and teaspoons.
We are worried he might eat something dangerous. He was only left on his own, or rather, with our other dog and cat for 15 minutes one day and he ate part of a wellington boot. Needless to say we have not left him unattended since and are busy dog-proofing the house.
My question is, can an older dog have a delayed puppyhood if he had a beginning deprived of stimulation and company? His fear of people makes us think he might have been kept locked up in a shed before he was picked up. We have begun trying to teach him not to eat non foods but would love to hear if anyone has any experience of this in an older dog. Will he grow out of it or is this just a quirk of his?

Yes! And it`s a credit to you that he is relaxed enough to start coming out of his shell. My Shamus was about 4 when I got him. No training, no toys, little walking or affection I assume from his behaviour. He only played with bits of cloth at first - he probably only had his blanket to play with before.
It took a year for him to calm down, but he still has fun going down to waste-paper basket and he has an evening routine of throwing my shoes up and down the hall (he doesn`t hurt them so we let him get on with it).
You will enjoy watching your boy blossom. Imagine you`ve got an inquisitive toddler, and put stuff out of reach.
I swapped stuff (toys for clothing etc) for quite a while but now he understands he can play with stuff in his toybox but not the rugs. Well, most of the time.

eta - as a Gundog breed he will have a compulsion to carry stuff about anyway. I`d encourage him to carry round a dummy or soft toy.

Thank you. That is a most interesting answer. I had never thought before that maybe his only toy as a young puppy may have been a blanket. Now you have pointed it out, that would totally explain his obsession with fabrics. He even wrestles with the bankets in his bed.

I agree with Claire. Stumpy was very similar. Its purely guesswork on my part, but the only thing she liked to play/chew with at first was metal, so I think she probably spent most of her time chained up.

Even though she was about 3 or 4 years old, I also found she went through the fear phases a pup would - from being scared to trying to frighten things off. When they've had such a sheltered start so much is new to them and they have so much learning to do.

Good luck with your lad - it is such a rewarding experience watching them change

Robbie is exactly the same. When we brought our two home last May, he was very reserved and just sat in his bed watching lady playing. Now he plays on his own, throwing his favourite teddy around. When he is upstairs on his own, you can hear him charging from one room to another playing.

It has been so nice to see him come out of himself and learn to play.

My lurchers and greyhound are the same. The lurchers are 4 and 6 years old and the greyhound is 4. Holly (grey) charges upstairs and you can hear her thudding around having a mad 5 mins!!

My Joe was 1 when we got him, scared of everything and anything. At first he was an angel, a few weeks into us having him full time, he'd eaten a shoe, door frame, a blind and carpet Some of that was seperation anxiety and some was him finding out what he could and couldn't do as he'd never had a real home He soon learnt what were toys and what weren't. Every so often when he's having a mad session he'll grab a slipper or shoe in his mouth, look at us out of the corner of his eye as though he's laughing at us and let go! LOL!