Adopting a dog.... Dog owners read - need suggestions

[lisaross]

hi!

My family might be adopting a dog in a few weeks. We had a mini poodle for 15 years - he passed away in 2012 so it's been a few years that we have been pet less.

Our friends are fostering a Maltese - believe she came from a puppy mill. She is 6 years old and was just checked out from the vet yesterday and seems health and our friends picked her up yesterday.

We are hoping to go adopt her in 3 weeks as they are 7 hours away. They are trying to get her paper trained as I'm thinking that might be best so at our house she will be walked but have the option of a wee wee pad if we are not home or in the cold snowy winter. Our other dog we just walked but we also had him from a young age so we will see how it goes I guess.

Food, what brand of food do you recommend that is healthy but won't break the bank? I can't remember what we use to feed our dog Ernie.

The dog seems playful they said!

Those who adopted an adult dog any other useful tips? I will either crate train at the beginning or gate her in the kitchen.

 

[havaneselover]

I have a Bichon and a Havanese. The Havanese gets Kirkland food. It's a 4-star dog food and a bag lasts forever with a little dog.

And congratulations in advance and good luck getting the dog settled in!

 

[usnuzuloose]

Aww sweet, hope they shut that mill down. I feed ours grain free so it is not inexpensive. What are they feeding her now? I don't like crating, we have dog door so they can get to the yard and go potty when need to. Our one does not like rain, so I have some wee wee pads to use during the winter.
We just got another one. I have no idea if she likes rain or not. Every dog is different the new dog loves toys and to chew. The other one no. You will just have to take it slow and give lots of love to trust and see what her likes and dislikes are. I hope this helps a little.

 

[lisaross]

[they are feeding her grain free now because that is what their other dog eats. I do not have grass in my backyard, it is deck.

QUOTE="usnuzuloose, post: 56270770, member: 252594"]Aww sweet, hope they shut that mill down. I feed ours grain free so it is not inexpensive. What are they feeding her now? I don't like crating, we have dog door so they can get to the yard and go potty when need to. Our one does not like rain, so I have some wee wee pads to use during the winter.
We just got another one. I have no idea if she likes rain or not. Every dog is different the new dog loves toys and to chew. The other one no. You will just have to take it slow and give lots of love to trust and see what her likes and dislikes are. I hope this helps a little.[/QUOTE]

 

[ceecee]

I have used a crate for 3 of my 4 dogs. The last two were rescues and were already trained. All of them wanted the crates to sleep in although we don't lock them in, they come and go as they please. With a pup I highly recommend a crate, made potty training super easy. Depends on what the older dog is used to, we moved and weren't going to use the crates but both dogs just wandered around for a week, so we put them back up. I have used Wellness for years, make sure if you switch foods to do it gradually. My oldest Lab got ear infections every year until I switched her to grain free.

 

[Gracie09]

We feed out dog kirklands grain free food. It's only a few dollars more than the regular Kirkland food

 

[Lvsdisney]

If she's 6 years old I would think she's potty trained right now. I would just reinforce. Did she have a previous owner? If your friend is using a crate, I would keep for the meantime. It's a lot of stress to change everything, so they'd at least recognize the scent. You can evertually transition out of it. Maybe ask for the toys (if any she's been using). I would transition the food as recommended by the brand. We use Hill's Science Diet. It's not top of the line, but it seems to work for my dog (large 8 year old).

 

[loves to dive]

We have a little yorkie who is picky as all get out, we feed her Nutro small breed dry food and she gets freshpet refrigerated for breakfast. It comes in a roll and we cut the roll in about 6 portions. She eats it pretty well the first 3 or 4 days after it's open but she only nibbles after that. We got her when she was about 6 weeks old. We tried crate training but she seems to be the only dog in the world who will, indeed, go potty where she sleeps. I would get up two or three times a night and take her to the potty pads and put her back in the crate and in the morning she would be soaking wet from going in the crate. That lasted about a week and we took her out of the crate and in the bed, again getting up as soon as she whined and had no problems pad training her. She goes mostly on pads but will pee outside, no way is she pooping outside, she doesn't like anyone actually seeing her do it. She only goes on potty pads and will occasionally miss the pad but they are in the bathroom so no big deal. We keep Nature's Miracle on hand for those times she throws up on the carpet, it works wonders. She loves any kind of squeaky toy and crackle balls.

 

[CoP Luv]

Our older dog was crate trained when we rescued her and never once has she gone in our house or in her crate (she was left in there everyday during working hours). While she isn't kept in her crate except for overnights now, she still takes all of her naps in there and goes in there when she feels frightened.

We feed our dog Taste of the Wild and have never had any complaints.

Congrats on the rescue!

 

[Judique]

I use Kirkland also from Costco and have 2 very healthy dogs. One is a Yorkie and the other a Norwegian Elkhound.

 

[lisaross]

Thanks for the replies, I will probably try the Kirkland! My friends don't have her in a crate they were gating her in a room - says she goes on the pad, but also on floor - problem is they have another dog that sometimes has accidents so she prob smells it too. I will be more strict when I get her, and try to have one of us on top of her for the first week so she will hopefully get it that she goes either on pad or when we walk her!

I will buy the food before we go get her as we are staying with our friends for two nights so we can start mixing the food.

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

First off, congrats in advance and good luck!

We feed our dog Nutro Natural Choice and he loves it. When we first got him, we fed him Blue Buffalo and he wouldn't eat it

We adopted a 2.5 year old dog (he's a mutt) back in 2013. He had a rough past (I won't share here-it makes me cry still!) and he was already house broken (it kind of happened naturally for him?) and he really liked the crate we got him from the day he came home. He still goes in there every now and then, and we would put him in there for the first 6 months while we weren't home, and over time let him have free reign of the house. We would increase the time we were gone until he was comfortable. Now he is fine while we are gone, but we have his crate always there for him.

I would crate train over gating in the kitchen, personally.

For advice...my dog loves his kong! Also, about 2x a month we take my dog to doggy day care while we are at work and he loves it! He comes home happy and tired. Also take advantage of any discount shots, microchipping, fixing, etc. services offered in your area. Our local humane society offers many programs throughout the year.

I am so glad we did not get a puppy and DH and I agree we will never get a puppy again after adopting this dog.

 

[kymom99]

You won't want to change his food at first. Feed him what the foster family is feeding him so his stomach doesn't get upset

 

[keahgirl8]

You won't want to change his food at first. Feed him what the foster family is feeding him so his stomach doesn't get upset

Definitely this! When you switch him, add a little of the new food at a time to the old food until it is all new. As gross as it is, keep an eye on his poop when you're switching to make sure it isn't bothering him. My dog is a yorkie mix rescue and she probably eats better than me sometimes. lol She gets Castor and Pollux dry food, Blue Buffalo Wilderness in a roll, and baby carrots. She sleeps in a crate at night and when we're not home. She feels very comfortable and safe in there and she goes right in. We also really reward her with treats when she goes potty outside. She rarely has an accident.

 

[melk]

Just be aware that small dogs can have sensitive stomachs so it may be more a question of what she can tolerate. Our dog is part Maltese and very sensitive so we give her Science Diet for Sensitive Stomachs.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

I have a Bichon and a Havanese. The Havanese gets Kirkland food. It's a 4-star dog food and a bag lasts forever with a little dog.

And congratulations in advance and good luck getting the dog settled in!

We have 2 dogs of our own and foster for 2 different organizations and we also feed our dogs the Kirkland brand. Our vet says that it's a good quality dog food and it's reasonably priced at $29 for a 35lb bag.

 

[keahgirl8]

Just be aware that small dogs can have sensitive stomachs so it may be more a question of what she can tolerate. Our dog is part Maltese and very sensitive so we give her Science Diet for Sensitive Stomachs.

Same here. Mine has a sensitive stomach, so she eats grain free. Yes...I know. I sound like one of those crazy dog people. I am!

 

[arminnie]

I've dealt with rescue dogs for the past 30 years. All they really need is love.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

We don't believe in crating, & if the dog you're adopting is accustomed to being gated in a room, I wouldn't traumatize her with a crate. As far as potty training goes, just keep taking her out for walks so she gets used to doing her business outside rather than inside of your home. If the poor thing came from a puppy mill, she most likely hasn't been trained to go outside to do her business. The good news is with patience you can train her! Also, we adopted a dog who had TERRIBLE separation anxiety. A trainer friend gave us a tip, and it actually worked! Place a couple items of your dirty clothing (so your scent is on them) on her bed & leave a few treats around on the floor for her to find whenever you leave. We couldn't believe a solution could be this simple, but it really was. Congrats on your new fur baby - adoption is the way to go!

 

[lisaross]

Our rescue baby will be arriving on Tuesday. Our friends are driving her 7 hours to be with us. In the couple of days she has been with them she is getting use to them - using the wee wee pad - is playful and happy. I am so excited! Have to go out and get her food/water bowls a few treats and toys. I will slowly change her food mix theirs with mine.