advice needed please-re rescuing

hi,having got to the stage where i smile and laugh more than feel tearful when i think my late sbt jenny(rip babygirl)im ready to rescue again.kids & i have been,met &walked a 9+yr staffie who has been in a local cat and dog shelter for 2 years,1 month,1day.was admitted as a stray.im picking him up monday@1pm.i dont expect him to be clean or anything straight away and im taking him to my vets tues for a health check but the poor soul seems so depressed and"shut down".how can i make the transition from kennel to home as stress free as possible for him?ive booked 2wks off work.my last four dogs have been rescues but ive never had such a longterm dog before and i dont want to mess it up.any advice b SO appreciated.claire

Well done for taking in a kennel veteran. Get as much information from the people there as possible, so you know the dogs likes and dislikes. Could you walk him a few times first, give him some treats when you visit. Misty our rescue Staffy X was in the RSPCA for 4 months and not coping well, kept being overlooked by all. She was very hyper in the car on the way home and luckily calmed down quickly. It did take her a good 3 months to settle in properly. I think she was just so glad to leave the kennels. Thankfully dogs live in the moment and adapt to their new surroundings usually quickly. Take the new dog for a long walk before before you get home so he will be tired. You have a lot of experience and I would just be very patient with him and not expect too much too quickly. Good luck.

Can't really think of anything to add but well done on the rescue.

Well done for rescuing an older dog!

The only thing I'd add is to let him get used to his new home at his pace. Don't crowd him or over fuss him - let him come to you for cuddles & he'll soon settle down & be happy!

Can't add anymore. Well done you for rescueing and one that is older and has been there a while. There amazing animals and I think you will be suprised at how well they adapt

Good luck for tomorrow ><

well done on the rescue,hope all goes well for you tomorrow,let us know how you get on

Good on you for rescuing, I for one can recommend it as Rocky is from a rescue centre. As stated above be sure to give your new addition plenty of time to settle in. I am sure he/she will very soon become your best friend.

Caryll wrote:Well done for rescuing an older dog!

The only thing I'd add is to let him get used to his new home at his pace. Don't crowd him or over fuss him - let him come to you for cuddles & he'll soon settle down & be happy!

i think this is a good idea. when we got Lottie we let her come to us in her own time. a nice clean bed with a chew or a toy in it. nice bowl of fresh water and something scrumptious for dinner that first day. good luck hope all goes well for you.

thank you all so much for your replies-my jenny was a 10+staffie from a rescue and was my first ever staffie-she was a joy.i think i must b getting old/going nuts because i didnt give bringing her home a second thought-stupid looking back but didnt even take kids to meet her-she was due to b pts that week and i just went for it.im worrying myself to bits fhis time-i think only because hes spent so long in a cage really.have no worries hes going to b a lovely dog;im more worried that we are going to stress him not other way round.im probably overthinking whole thing!!and thinking from a persons not a dogs viewpoint.thanks for that" dogs live in the moment paw prints-a welcome doh of course moment for me.follpwed by much more "god am i the right person to rescue"navel gazing.think im just mad as a box of frogs.!!lol
Its SO HARD choosing the right dog too rescue,for me anyhoo,i want them all.
another advice please.he hasnt been neutered,and is pretty poor physical condition(v underweight;hairloss;scurf i think;wormy;touch of cold kennel rheumatism)so im going to poss need to build him up before i do neuter him-are entire males more likely to be escapers or is that an old wives tale?hes absolutley stinks too bless him-any one recommend a medicated dry shampoo or will my vet prescribe something;have no intention of bringing him home and throwing poor feller straight into bath!(id deserve a grump n a snap i think if i did lol)

oh and what did othet peeps do re his name.they called him tyson@kennels-i cant think of a less apt name for him or one i like less for a sbt,do kennel staff use their names a lot does anyone know? are the only family/humans hes had contact with other than kennel staff in 2yrs(brindle old staffs blessem ignored by all).when ive been there i havent heard any of staff use any dogs given name-just good boy/girl/terms of endearment so are the names just identifiers for potential adopters? or do i have got to stick with it?)er obviously no disrepect to big iron mike if ur reading lol!!claire

ah bless you.where you have rescued before im sure you will be great,i know what you mean about wanting them all,i'd be the same.obviously every rescued dog has different problems but i'm sure you'll get there with him,he'll love a warm cosy bed and he will have some one to love him again,wishing you lots of luck tomorrow x

i felt awful at shelter,had huge lump in my throat and my 16yr old was sobbing her heart out.for any of you who volunteer or work at one-respect-id b mad with grief in a day!il try n post a pic(tho b trying post one of jen for months lol.if any one has cpl mins just keep shouting at me to not crowd him/smother him please?!lol.oooohh cant wait to go get him.they leave a huge gap when they pass staffies dont they?claire

any news yet?

pigs ear anyone?!WAAAAGHH!the pet taxis exhaust fell off this morning and by the time hed got home and nabbed his mrss cars they would have been closed.i rang and tried to beg for ext but understandably they said no(im not that sure they believe i intend going for him,i spose loads of folks say they will b back then reconsider.)I was stupidly upset,toddler upset(sad i know)i was meeting him halfway in public so i made a * of myself sitting with my new lead,collar n warm dog coat and a quivering lip!!told you mad as a box of frogs!actually lookREALLY NUTS sittin with my new dog bed bowls toys & unmistakeable waft of pigs ears(god theyre awful arent they)and no dog...a stranger coming in wd assume i had imaginary dog lol..SO dissappointed n sad(for him mostly its -6 up here(well ok for me really ..dogs oblivious i know!!).misery compounded by the gloatin from the anti bully family and their"its a sign(not going there!)
my aunt says shel take me on fri..waiting to hear from my mate the pet taxi whether he can do weds.just one of those things i kno.
on a positive note i was so upset(pathetic i know)i know my fears are just fears not doubts!!Keeping everything crossed be sooner than fri.pigs ear one?im goingg to bus over and see him tmrw so il take him one then!! THANK YOU ALL so much again for your support.claire the mad sad git!!xxx

You sound like the perfect mum for your new dog !

And yes, you definitley are mad as a box of frogs but I love it ! Stick around !

Love to your new addition from me and my boy Monty

(Good luck - sure you sound like you're gonna be great).

Oh hun I'm sorry, just gonna be a another few days. And no you don't silly just devoted Xx ><

mad and really really bad at waiting!wonder what pigs ears taste like...?bacon u reckon?bet they go in some "value range"pie anyhoo
OOOOH IWANTME DOG NOW!! off on school run-il prob leave empty collar n lead here tho!!
but then again!cx

I'm never touching value range food again, thanks!

Any news on the taxi for tomorrow or is it a waiting game till Friday? Xx

waiting to here,but ive found a wheelbarrow....

go on then get going!!

good luck for Friday you nutter

lol,you do indeed sound the ideal mummy for a mad breed!ah let us know when you pick him up.i'm dying to hear all the adventures you will have together

hes pure staffy alright.half his ideal weight he may be but the look i got when i offered him pigs ear was hilarious!head in my bag,found empty choccie paper-comical with his head in bag-jen spent half her days being cut out of ben n jerry empty tubs&ive seen loads of similar pics
and before you all yell at once and possibly affect globes axis I KNOW choc bad for dogs
they love it though heehee.had a nice visit:he ate my sweets;pigs ear tasted awful mind!!!im joking...gave it the only greyhound.the other 20+staffs were unanimous in their "yeuch".tried to get earlier lift no joy but i was sledgehammered by that flu virus on way home.feel like death(man flu for deffo)so maybe just as well for him.its sposd to only last 2days.
anyway ive got a hugely important job b4 friday...eat ALL the choccie!im off to snotter under my duvet!ooh eldest teenager having a strop-think shed go for ear pie?!!oh lmao!kinda joking too...later nutterxxx

on a horribly serious note while looking for animal taxis i saw the saddest stray s/ebt on strayaid durham site.wtf with people.ONLY peek if you need to be sad/angry.its a familiar sight but still so sad...theyre great there got a vunerable animal unit.im never looking again..wheres my bucket of sand.nite xx

Jennysmum - where are you located? Perhaps there is a kindly local forum member who might take you to pick 'your' dog up?

Will be keeping everything crossed for you as suspect you are not sleeping much with all the excitement. Looking forward to seeing pics.

Nutters are good ;0)

afternoon my fellow staffy addicts;been loaded with cold so perhaps was for the best couldnt go on mon.just surfaced from sick bed.definitly on tmrw so wish me luck and il let you know asap.clairexx

Hope your feeling better tomorrow, your in for a busy day

Good luck Claire, looking forward to the update, your finally getting your Staffie!! Xx

good luck for tomorrow,bet you'll be too excited to sleep tonight,looking foreward to hear all about it

WAAAGGHH!couldnt bring home;needs vet exam first and they hadnt sorted it-i rang at 9 to say i was going-told me to ring monday see if i can get him;maybe its not meant to be...:(off home to break bad news to my girlies.cxx

FFS! They must have known that! I'd be slightly annoyed! Well I am because I wanted to see some pics and hear your stories!!!

im furious and quietly non optimistic for mon.and v v sad(nutter that i am)specially for him.as i said he is a mess so possibly they werent convinced i would really turn up and as a long stayer and money being tight he hasnt seen vet for a while.this is the 2nd time ive tried to bring him home so i did ask whether they were being diplomantic n didnt want him homed with kids but they said that not it.they cant tell me when hel c vet either so since im going to have to book pet taxi itl b tues:(u can see his cute little face on newcastle cat and dog shelter site..and if anyone looking to rehome...loads of lovely staffs lol.clairexx

Grrrrrr sometimes shelters really don't help themselves. I would like to hope that is a diplomatic reason as to why you have been let down yet again and everything is crossed for Tuesday XX

now im worried that when vet DOES see him shel say he isnt fit-il wait til he is but i have little nagging worry that i may have put him in danger of being euthanized.i told them i KNEW he was old and has health issues but they didnt seem positive.tell me im over reacting someone.please.cant shake this feeling.i rang this pm to enquire what time to book pet taxi and felt kinda fobbed off-told to wait til vet seen him.im not sure i could live with myself if owt happens to him as a result of my wanting to adopt him.im being silly.arent i??cx

Yes I hope and think you are. Battersea messed me around a bit too, found me a girl that finally matched my critera........

(after being offered the opposite to everything I had asked for, a girl, around a 12months!! Not a lot to ask for from a kennals and I was matched to everything from a 7 year old male to a 6 week bitch!)

Went up to see the girl reserved for me and they had re-homed her. I was gutted.

See what happens next week Xx

thanks for that jane-we boxes of frog are apt to overreact it seems.a touch of perspective and a much needed reality check.my last rescuers were easy peasy.i should be pleased for the dogs sake it isnt too easy really.a w/end nowt to wait tbhonest.im a loon i know.and im sure the vet will say hes good too go.
respect btw for sticking with battersea that long-i think my head would have exploded/mouth would have got me into trouble
in reality i guess that quite simply the volunteers in rescues are so overstretched that this kind of stuff does happen.gawd its heartbreaking isnt it?and yet again my local paper full of pups again
thank you again.feel bit sheepish bout deep end diva act before:-i SWEAR i am sane and functional about everything other than dogs,dont know why always been the same!!!

Disapointed for you. Lets see what next week brings. Xx

YEEHAW!!he got the ok picking him up thurs at one.toddler happy:) cxx

I am so excited for you, bet you cant wait until then, good luck with it all.

Third time lucky

cant wait.hes got a "back wobble",hair loss n will need to take metamart(anyone know owt bout it?)for rest of his life but thats all.for being a stray then kennels for 2+years i think thats pretty good.hel b fine with a warm house etc.b great for me-god knows ive missed the excercise as well as the furry lurve.cant wait.

staffy snoring on the sofa already!hes been so good so far,all the kids eating and he was as good as gold.had a cpl of wees on floor but expected that.all the staff at shelter were crying when he left bless them.im in a blissful state;id almost forgotten the wonderful comfort of the feel of a furry person on your lap.had a couple of belly laughs already:)i think we r going to have many more.im a happy nutter
still cant work out how to upload a photo tho!!lil

ah so glad you got him home safe n sound,keep us updated with how he is settling in,mind you if he snoring on the sofa he sounds like he's on his way

Couldn't be more happy for you So pleased!! Yay, at long last!!!!

Open a www.photobucket.com account for pics, upload there and copy/paste the img code here Love to see some pics pleeeeeeeeeeease!