[Sculpin]

My daughter recently adopted a dog from the Wenatchee Humane Society. When he was adopted, "Cedar," a medium-sized lab mix, was the most friendly dog you could imagine, and shy around strangers. However, over the following months, he gradually began to show behavioral problems when on a leash. The problem got worse as time went on, and now there is no way to fit him into my daughter's lifestyle. She can no longer take him to work because he has to be on a leash there. She is now in danger of being evicted from her rental because of him. The walls are closing in. She has spoken to numerous shelters about taking him, including the one she got him from. They have all said no, claiming that they are full. He actually would do just fine on a farm or ranch, he has never shown aggression when off the leash. A big back yard would be great. I can't really expect that someone will offer to take him, but does anyone know what happens to dogs that simply cannot stay where they are? Is there a shelter of last resort?

[mike]

Has she tried a Gentle Leader?

[Snowshovel]

Has she spoken to a vet? There could be a medical issue going on

[Sculpin]

[Waterman]

You might want to contact Sunnyside dog academy in Mt Vernon 360 420 1310 Carmen is a treasure. I came into her circle due to my dog's foster mother. Gave me valuable training tips when I was at a loss of what to do regarding bad behavior. $60 hour.

[Chief Joseph]

This is why I have cats, dogs are a pita. I never really wanted the responsibility of pets, but inherited 2 cats from my Mom and rescued 3 from my family, of which one I still take care of. Hoping there a good outcome and that your daughter can find a good home for the pooh.

[treeswarper]

First, I'd make sure he's OK by talking to a vet. Second, I'd work with him where he is comfortable with the SIT command. Then I'd put him on a leash and have him sit. If he's a food lover, dog treats are a reward. If not, verbal praise and petting. My demon dog freaked out about going by barking dogs. I then made her sit until she calmed down, and started up the walk again after she was calm. Dogs take time and patience and rewards for successful little steps. Dogs will often have their quirks--The Used Dog would not walk on shiny floors. The Demon Dog is fearful of the vacuum. The Demon was also deathly afraid of brooms or long sticks, after years of ignoring that, she's finally decided I'm not going to beat her with the broom anymore so doesn't get terrified when I have it out. No progress has been observed about the vacuum though. And yeah, there are surely some dog trainers around to go to. On youtube, I like this guy. He's got a ton of videos. I'm a staunch believer that dogs need to have time out in the woods, or vacant fields off leash where they can do dog things. I'm not talking about a back yard either. I take the demon out to a place about once a week and let her rip around. That helps with their sanity. Here's the youtube guy. https://www.youtube.com/@StonnieDennis

[Waterman]

Run the leash from collar along right side back toward wethers. Toss a half hitch going under over left side behind leash you are holding. Something about this works

[Randito]

Since this behavior developed over time after adoption, I wonder whether the pooch has a brain tumor affecting their thinking. So I second others recommendation of having a vet check them out. A good friend of mine had a dog for several years that was great, but it's behavior changed over some months and eventually became aggressive in the home. The vet diagnosed a brain tumor. He chose to put the dog down to avoid any risk of her biting his kids or anyone else's kids.

[kiliki]

Longtime animal shelter volunteer here. This is pretty common. We have a rule of 3s. It typically takes about 3 months for the dog to tell you who they are. It's typical for dogs to be shut down in a shelter and traumatized after. So that a dog's behavior problems become apparent after 3 months is not unusual; actually it's right on schedule. Tons of dogs become reactive to all sorts of things--other dogs, various objects, people. Leash reactivity is SO common. It's anxiety, it's almost never actual aggression. The fact that he was characterized as shy is another clue that it's anxiety. Not that that makes it easy to deal with.

We'd give that out to adopters to try to keep them from doing much of anything in the first three months. No parties at home, no trips with the dog, no dog parks, etc etc. Keep it as mellow as possible. Sure (positive reinforcement based) training will help. There are tons of Growly Dog classes out there. Meds--longer acting meds like Fluoxetine (Prozac) and short term meds like Trazedone can help. I bet half the dogs in Seattle are on Fluoxetine. My current dog was a nightmare after he settled in, just reactive to everything and everyone, and I didn't think we'd be able to live with him in the city. But we did the work, and he's far from perfect, but it's manageable. Being a renter in an apartment sure makes this a lot harder and I don't blame her for wanting to return him. I am VERY surprised Wenatchee won't take him back. Sure, they are full. Everyone is full. Things are awful in the shelter world right now. Truly awful, worse than I've seen in my 17 years in the biz. But most shelters will take any dog back that they adopted out. There's been a big shift in the way shelters think about returns--they are more likely to take a chance on someone, and take the animal back without giving the person a hard time. So I would really press Wenatchee Humane. Look at the paperwork and the contract--there would have been a contract. There's nothing about returns? There must be. She can say she's in danger of eviction. Anyway, no, there's no shelter of last resort--many so-called sanctuaries used to be thought of as that but it turned out those were generally incredibly neglectful hoarding situation.

[Anne Elk]

^^^ This is great advice! LOVE the "rule of 3's" handout. I'm sure something similar applies to rescue cats, too.

[camut]

kiliki, Thank You for your excellent post!