Adopting an ex-breeding dog

Through routine and rewards (she was obsessed with bread), we managed to get her to be a nearly "normal" dog. Noisette stayed stressed and skittish. It was hard to leave her with anyone for a few days: she’d refuse to eat, and you’d have to go and empty the food bag in the garden just to get her to come out and go for a wee. When someone came over, she’d bolt and hide away. In the end, it was during the summer of 2006 that she finally settled. My gran had just lost her dog. There was a small chance my mum would have to go away for work, so we left Noisette with my gran. She knew her well: my gran used to come over to ours a lot and Noisette got on great with my gran's Griffon. But it was the first time she was going to be at my gran's house without me or my mum there. As it turned out, she totally relaxed with my gran. She actually came to see people who dropped by the house instead of going to hide behind the sofa! Why she settled like that with her is a mystery. My gran wasn't exactly a calming influence; she was actually the quite stressful type... Anyway, all dogs can be "turned around". It just takes more or less time. Mind you, it’ll never be quite the same as a puppy you’ve raised yourself.

You really need to be gentle with him and avoid pushing him, otherwise you risk making him even more afraid of things he doesn't know. Use rewards constantly: dry food (use this as a priority, taken out of his daily allowance), biscuits, little bits of meat, or small pieces of cheese. It doesn't matter if you overdo it. We adopted Noisette back in 1998. She was a Cavalier King Charles and stayed with her breeder until she was 14 months old because her pelvis was too narrow for her to be used for breeding. The breeders sold her to a man who gave her to his 84-year-old mother-in-law. Four months later, the lady went into hospital, so Noisette went back to the son-in-law who mentioned her to his vet. The vet told us about her, we went to see her, and the guy sold her to us. So we took Noisette in at 18 months old, and she was a total basket case: she spent the first three days hiding under the bottom step of the stairs. She refused to eat her dry food. On the third evening, my mum put out a plate with some cauliflower and ham—which is what we were having for dinner. She then went back to the table. Noisette crept out, wolfed down the food, and went straight back into hiding. We soon realised she wasn't house-trained: she was doing her business indoors every single day. One day, just after my mum had finished cleaning up and had left the floor cloth on the ground, she saw the dog come over and pee on it with a look of pure relief and happiness, as if to say, "See, I'm doing it in the right place." We figured out that she never left the flat at the old lady's house and that the cleaner must have taught her to go on a floor cloth... On walks, she was terrified of everything and stayed glued to my mum's legs. We tried everything... we eventually got so desperate that we even went and peed in the garden with her "to show her how it's done". In the end, she only stopped having accidents every night when my mum let her sleep in her bedroom... ten months after we adopted her. Three months after she joined us, we ended up driving all the way back to the breeder (about 215 miles away) to try and understand what she'd been through in the first 14 months of her life, because we were really struggling to understand her. That's when we learned quite a bit about her time at the breeder's and the four months that followed... including the fact that the old lady only knew about cats, which was a bit of information we hadn't had before. She let the breeder pick her up and was calm with her. But as soon as the breeder put her back down, Noisette rushed straight back into the car (phew! we were worried she’d want to stay).

Good evening, Personally, I think a dog, even an adult, can learn to be house-trained. As for the outside world, exploration and training in a new environment will certainly take longer and be more complicated than with a puppy, but it’s far from impossible. You’ll need plenty of patience and determination, but keep in mind that a 5-year-old dog can still have many wonderful years ahead of him. Adopting this dog depends on what you’re prepared to offer him.

I bought my dog from a breeder. When I picked her up, they told me that her grandmother, who’s five, will be retired from breeding at the end of the year and they’re looking for a retirement home for her. My mum is thinking about taking her in. It’s only right that a dog gets a proper retirement after all that "work". Breeders aren't heartless; they love getting updates on their dogs. Just look at the price of a puppy and all the expenses involved in feeding the mum and paying the stud fee or keeping the dad. Not to mention you have to feed the pups after five weeks and cover the vet bills for both the puppies and the parents. Plus, Kennel Club registration isn’t exactly free either. So, rehoming a retired dog is a great thing. Feeding a retired dog is still a massive expense for a breeder, especially since they usually have more than just the one. It’s much better to retire them than to risk the mothers dying during whelping. As for the RSPCA and other rescue charities... I originally wanted to go through them to adopt... I could write a whole book on that experience! I ended up going to a breeder in the end.

drey333, on the other hand, if the dog has been living in kennels, I think he’d be happier spending his final days in a more pleasant environment :)

The fact he’s spent his whole life in a kennel isn’t ideal; he won’t have much experience of the outside world. A dog can learn all sorts of things no matter how old they are, including being house-trained. It might take a bit longer than it would with a puppy, but it’s certainly possible. Since you’ve already got a dog, I’d recommend taking them both for a walk so they can meet on neutral ground. Your current dog might not be exactly thrilled about another one moving in and him no longer being Mum’s only little darling! An ex-breeding dog being retired at five doesn’t surprise me. The older they get, the riskier litters become for the mums, and there's a higher chance of health issues or complications with the puppies.