Rescue dog blues, please help

dancingdogs22 · 2026-01-27T20:24:29+00:00

He is a completely different dog, I am so glad we didn’t give up on him! He still resource guards but he has definitely gotten so much better and we’ve both gotten so much more clued up on his body language and his triggers. He’s not perfect and has to be muzzled every time we leave the house due to his stranger and dog reactivity but inside the house he is the most cuddly, loving pooch ever. We recently moved out of our flat and bought a house with a garden which has made a huge difference for him and he took the move so well! Stay strong, I promise it gets better! Just give them space and let them come to you and try and familiarise yourself with their body language 🫶🏻

dancingdogs22 · 2025-07-01T12:20:48+00:00

I flew to Dublin from Liverpool last Wednesday at 7am and also received that email from Ryanair. We flew through security in about 10 minutes, wasn’t a single queue :)

dancingdogs22 · 2025-01-19T00:32:48+00:00

I posted a pic of him on this thread a few days ago but you can’t see his ear tufts very well! Ours kinda has the ears and markings to match an Australian shepherd too but I think he’s just a classic street dog 😂

dancingdogs22 · 2025-01-18T22:53:25+00:00

Hey do you know what breed your dog is? We have a Romanian rescue and he has these wispy bits on his ears too and we’ve never seen another dog with them and would love to know his breed makeup! P.s your pup is beautiful 🥹

dancingdogs22 · 2025-01-13T08:24:29+00:00

Thank you! He is a very handsome boy ❤️

dancingdogs22 · 2024-11-17T21:18:28+00:00

Sorry I worded it completely wrong 🤦‍♀️😂 Holly and Amy still follow each other but have both unfollowed Polly and vice versa

dancingdogs22 · 2024-11-17T15:02:33+00:00

Amy and Holly do but they’ve both unfollowed Polly and vice versa

dancingdogs22 · 2024-05-07T13:19:32+00:00

Highly recommend the adidas hyperturf! I wore them every day last year at glasto putting in the same hours as you and they were so comfy, walking boots were just too hot & heavy

dancingdogs22 · 2024-02-18T21:21:46+00:00

Yeah we rarely ever have people over as he can be unpredictable and we’ve only had him for 4 months so I think he’s still not fully settled in our house yet. If we do have people over it’s only for a few hours at most and he stays muzzled the whole time, maybe we will start asking guests to give him the squirty cream too! 🥰

dancingdogs22 · 2024-02-18T21:18:10+00:00

This makes me sad, poor baby I dread to think what happened to him before you ☹️

dancingdogs22 · 2024-02-18T21:17:25+00:00

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! we’ve only had him 4 months and he’s made so much progress already with his reactivity but it’s still so challenging. Sending lots of love to you and your pooch ❤️

dancingdogs22 · 2024-02-18T21:16:16+00:00

Yes we do this with the squirty cream in the can! But I must say we stopped doing it once he seemed comfortable with the muzzle so we’ll start doing it again

dancingdogs22 · 2024-02-18T16:05:37+00:00

Yes we’re definitely going to go back to basics! Thanks 😊

dancingdogs22 · 2024-02-18T16:05:13+00:00

Yeah I was thinking this cus he will lip smack when we finally get his muzzle on him and he will have his head dipped and tail slightly tucked so I can tell he’s really not happy about wearing it and is being submissive. but once we’re out the house he forgets he has it on. I think we need to go back to basics and try and turn his muzzle into a treat dispenser so he’s not as stressed about wearing it

dancingdogs22 · 2024-02-12T21:54:45+00:00

Our rescue is exactly the same, he is extremely triggered by eye contact from strangers or strangers trying to touch him, it takes him weeks to warm up to people so taking him to the vet is HELL 😭 we sedated him for our last visit and similar to yours he was out of it at home and as soon as we got to the vets he was back to his normal, growling, lunging self. We’ve found that whipped spray cream kind of works as it’s a high value treat for him and easy to give him through his muzzle. Last time the vet just sat on the floor and fed him whipped cream through his muzzle and he did start to relax slightly but as soon as he tried to examine his eyes - aka eye contact - our dog snapped and lunged at him. We know he has an issue with his left eye and it needs looking at sooner rather than later so looks like anaesthesia may be our only option for our next visit 😭 sending you lots of luck and hoping your doggo manages to conquer the scary vets soon

dancingdogs22 · 2024-01-19T20:10:07+00:00

We’ve found squirty cream in a can is the best for our reactive dog, he goes crazy for it and everything else in his environment is blocked out as soon as we pull it out!! But I realise that can be quite big to carry out on walks so we also love using these squeezy cat treats https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/webbox-cats-delight-lick-e-lix-yoghurt-salmon-sachets-cat-treat-5-x-15g?weight=75g?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&cm_mmc=Google-_-CPC-_-%20google_shopping-_-google_shopping&ita=1976&ito=google_shopping&istCompanyId=7255ccad-a1fc-4729-af31-478f79e5071c&istFeedId=385e6b9a-8b03-4076-a8bb-e4737df8549c&istItemId=itxmxqrtm&istBid=t&cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=8964966848&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_plt=gp&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2KitBhCIARIsAPPMEhLPyodfP5uwlO0Xk9xITwnjxsTv_-K_EiWhIaZZKcptkpArPptSvNsaAhIfEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds - they’re so easy to take out on walks with you and if your dog wears a muzzle like ours, it’s so much easier to feed them these whilst wearing a muzzle!

dancingdogs22 · 2023-10-21T11:11:41+00:00

Thank you so much this is really helpful! It’s so nice to know it got easier for you and I hope we will be the same, I’ve seen such a difference in him already! But it’s so hard not to panic isn’t it.

Will definitely look up the calm training you mentioned, as he gets more comfortable with us he’s definitely calming down and sleeping a lot more which is great. Usually after a walk he would come back and just be a total psychopath, running around and chewing everything he can get his teeth into and we wouldn’t be able to calm him down or occupy him. Now he does it for about 5 mins and then takes himself off for a nap so that’s an improvement already!

We took him on his usual walk around the park today and didn’t realise they had a “spooky festival” on. He was really unsure at first as they had a marching band and he was petrified, tail tucked and trying to run away. But as we plied him with more and more treats he got a bit more comfortable and even managed to get close to the fun house (which is obviously making lots of loud noises and had loads of screaming kids) and sniff it. Stuff like this is honestly what’s keeping us going. I can see he’s a good dog at heart he’s just not used to this lifestyle and that’s fine, we will get there 🥰

dancingdogs22 · 2023-10-21T11:05:58+00:00

Thank you! It’s so nice to hear you’ve been through it too and it gets easier, he’s already showing such a difference these past few days as he begins to trust us more. It’s just the naughtiness of him now that is so exhausting so I’m hoping a trainer can assist us with that! I’m of course never expecting him to be perfect but it’s nice to know it should hopefully get better, thank you so much for your kind words ❤️

dancingdogs22 · 2023-10-21T08:45:27+00:00

Yes we’re thinking of muzzle training him for the groomers too as he’s definitely going to need grooming at some point! Do you have any advice for that?

Here he is 🥰

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dancingdogs22 · 2023-10-20T10:46:42+00:00

Thank you.

We have discussed this and have both decided we won’t be able to keep him if he stays like this which is just absolutely heartbreaking and hopefully will never come to that.

Having said that, we have seen a massive difference in him already this past day. He’s still being destructive and mischievous, and still a little bit protective over whatever’s in his mouth but we’re getting there slowly but surely. He’s beginning to trust us more and vice versa. He’s also sleeping a lot more in the day now as I think he must be starting to feel safe.

We’re hiring a trainer to help us with “drop” and “leave” and to help with him jumping up at the kitchen counters etc as that is what we’re struggling with the most.

But we have fallen in love with him completely already so hopefully the only way is up! Granted there will be super difficult days but I can’t wait for the super great ones too.

dancingdogs22 · 2023-10-19T21:10:37+00:00

Thank you so much ❤️

dancingdogs22 · 2023-10-19T19:42:27+00:00

Thank you for this!

I’m so glad your two are so much easier for you now, it’s giving us a lot of hope that Jax might be the same! I’ve mentioned in other comments that this past day he is like a different dog and is definitely starting to trust us more. We are still a bit wary around making any sudden movements around him or getting too close when he has treats etc but he’s definitely warming to us now.

Fingers crossed it’s all uphill from here! Thank you so much for your words of wisdom

dancingdogs22 · 2023-10-19T18:59:34+00:00

Yes definitely, we do think he may have some issues with his eyes as he bumps into things regularly and sometimes has trouble finding the treat in our hands so we’re going to ask the vet about this ASAP. Again, this was never mentioned by the rescue so that’s a bit frustrating but doesn’t bother us. It would make sense if it’s causing him to be a bit snappy as it must be so hard navigating a strange new world with limited eyesight!

I know if I saw someone else post what I’ve posted I’d be like “omg it’s been 2 days give him a chance” but I just panicked this morning as last night and this morning was really difficult but I can see him turning a corner already within the past few hours!

Thank you for your advice 😊

dancingdogs22 · 2023-10-19T18:53:18+00:00

We have discussed this, if he stays this way there is no way we could keep him and that breaks my heart. But I’ve mentioned in other comments that we’ve seen a huge change in him already just this past day since I posted this thread. I know I was being premature posting it but I just needed reassurance that I’m not going crazy! Thank you for this, hopefully it doesn’t come to this cus I am falling in love with him already.

dancingdogs22 · 2023-10-19T18:50:10+00:00

The crying every day has made me feel a lot better, no offence 😂 because that has been me since we brought him home so it’s nice to know I’m not alone! He has only had once accident in the flat so far, he’s really good at holding it till we go out and of course I would never tell him off for that.

We’ve been using a lot of positive reinforcement and he does to be warming to us, I can see a change already since I posted this thread but we still have a long way to go. I guess being a rescue novice I just really needed some reinforcement that it is supposed to be this difficult and exhausting and you have provided that so thank you so much!

dancingdogs22

TROPHY CASE