Days 3, 4 and 5

Prior to bringing Freya home I had spent a number of sessions with her at kennels, which has helped hugely in providing her with a secure base. My partner also came up several times and spent time with her prior to bringing her home. Getting to know a new dog prior to bringing them home is essential.

We borrowed a huge crate to provide Freya with a comfortable safe space to go in the conservatory. At no time will the door be closed – it is purely to create a den area where she can go when she chooses.

The crate was a huge hit with Freya choosing to sleep and relax in there.

No destruction or toileting overnight and a much happier girl. 

She is really beginning to relax and actually played with a toy briefly.

We are starting to walk a little further, going to the local park with plenty of dog smells for her to investigate.  You can see from the following video clip, she is very nervous on pavement walks and prefers to walk in front while checking behind her. 

While she is not walking on a loose lead, she isn’t really pulling as such but being out in front makes it difficult to connect with her. However, if we use a shorter lead, she becomes much more stressed so for now, we let her have a longer lead. 

She has never experienced walks so will take time to settle and get used to them. Therefore, we must make sure they are positive, quiet and not too long.

You can see she is panting and lip licking, feeling rather uncomfortable. However, every time she turns to look at me, I give her praise.

Slightly better body language in the next video, when we arrived at the park but still very little sniffing.

Freya is very anxious about being in the rest of the house.  Having other dogs helps a little as she can see they are relaxed and enjoy lying on sofas and dog beds. 

Everything is new to her as she has never been inside a house, so we need to take things slowly, gradually expanding her world, one bit at a time. 

She comes in briefly to the lounge but pants heavily. 

We would normally suggest bringing the new dog in on lead but that is not an option with Freya as the lead can cause her stress.

Stair gates are left open so she can choose to go back to the conservatory, her safe space. She comes in for a couple of minutes affection and then takes herself out again. Baby steps!

Freya and the two staffies have been having brief sniffs through the stair gates, one staffie at a time, throughout each of the days. The rest of the time they continue to see each other from two stair gates away. 

Much better to takes things slowly than rush and end up with one of the dogs going over threshold.

Day 6 tomorrow.......