Stray Thoughts Fall 2018
Ask the Trainer
Adpoted Dog Syndrome
W
hen someone adopts a dog there are generally
questions about the dog’s history. Where did they
come from? What life experiences have they had? How
did they end up here? Rescue groups will do the best
they can to provide details, but often the adopter will
be told some version of “the dog came from a high kill
shelter in the south.” There simply isn’t any additional
information to give. This leaves many adopters unsure
about their dog’s history.
While we all have a desire to speculate about a rescued
dog’s past, the most important thing to consider is the
dog’s current behavior. Most rescue groups will do a
temperament test before adopting a dog out in order to
evaluate his behavior. Keep in mind that a recently rescued
dog’s behavior may change during the first month in the
home. Once the dog is inside the new owners’ home
they will start to adjust and acclimate to the surroundings
around them. Some dogs adjust to the new home
extremely well and become model pups, while others may
start to show undesirable behaviors that the new owners
aren’t thrilled about.
Once the dog is in its new home, adopters sometimes
notice behavioral issues. The new adopter naturally wants
to determine why these behaviors are occurring. This
happens most often when a dog is showing aggressive or
fearful behaviors, but can occur in other situations as well.
Below is a brief account of one of our recent clients:
A young couple adopted a six-month-old border collie.
The couple has no children of their own. About two
weeks after adopting the dog they had their family over
for a visit. Included in the group were some young
nieces and nephews. The couple noticed that the dog
would bark at their young nieces and nephews while
playing in the yard. The dog also chased the kids from
time to time. When the couple called us for training
they indicated that they had recently rescued a dog that
had been previously abused by children. After spending
some time with the client we discovered that there
was no knowledge of the dog being mistreated, just an
assumption based upon current behavior.
One big problem that we notice with Adopted Dog
Syndrome has to do with action. Many people will not
take action to address their dog’s behavior due to their
assumption of the dog’s background. We often hear
something along the lines of, “he was abused in his last
home so he doesn’t like strange men.” This may be true,
or it may be not. The important thing is to work with the
dog and continue to socialize him to help him overcome
the issue he is currently having.
This tendency to assume that a dog was mistreated in the
past simply based on his current behavior is something
we call “Adopted Dog Syndrome.” Sometimes the dog
was mistreated in the past, but often it was not. In the
story above we don’t know anything about the dog’s
past, it may or may not have been abused by children. It
is important to keep an open mind in this type of situation
because there are multiple reasons the dog may be acting
this way: (1) he could have been mistreated by children;
(2) he may not have been socialized properly and could be
terrified of children due to a lack of exposure at a young
age; (3) he is a Border Collie and could just be showing
his natural desire to herd things that move quickly
around him. After spending some time with the family we
determined that the dog did not dislike the children and
was simply herding them. We created an action plan that
involved lots of exercise and training along with ways to
work with the dog around the kids. We are happy to report
that they are now doing well together!
It is important to understand that whether or not a dog
was mistreated in their previous life, he or she can make
great strides and live a full and happy life. Sometimes this
takes a lot of work and sometimes it only takes a little. The
best way to ensure that an adopted dog will have a great
life with you is to start working with them the second they
come into your home. If you provide them structure, love
and a job they are less likely to show behavioral issues
regardless of their past.
Visit www.suburban-k9.com or call
(847) 232-1269
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