# In the process of re-homing



## danteisme (Jun 2, 2013)

THis seems like the correct part of the forum to talk about this. Yesterday, i brought home a 2 year old golden from her previous owners who had to let her go due to their current work situations (new promotion with lots of traveling). they gave me everything they had ever given this dog i think. shes absolutely a wonderful dog. she is trained, spayed and listens very well. We currently have 2 Yorkies, everyone seems to get along great.

i understand this re-homing thing will take some time. i supposed i'm just looking for some helpful tips. last night was her first night at our house, we spread some blankets on the floor next to our bed thinking with the long walk we took and all of the other events of the day that she would pass out. she did not.... therefore i did not sleep either lol. i can't say for certain because i was nodding on and off, but i'm not sure if she actually slept at all last night.

i sent the previous owners an email, they said that they used a crate for her to sleep. well, this crate seems like it is the size of the bed of my truck (i exaggerate a bit, but it is huge!). my hope is that she will grow out of this crate stage since i really don't have the room for a crate this large. all last night though, she was pacing constantly. she just would not get settled. so i am thinking tonight, i will put her back in the crate to see what happens. if she starts whining and crying, do i take her out? i bought her a bed so she will have something other than the blankets to sleep on next to our bed.

also, so far she has eaten maybe a handful of food. she is drinking lots of water, but picking at her food. it is the food the previous owners gave to me when i took her off their hands. maybe its just stress from everything that happened yesterday?

the only other thing i noticed is she is very attached to me. she is like my shadow. i took a shower this morning and my fiance said she whined by the door until i came out. i know Goldens are typically very loving dogs, this could just be normal. its been a few years since my last golden. 

well, i think that is all of my observations so far (i know, its only been a day). as far as her attitude goes, she seems completely happy. i would feel better if she started resting at night and eating. i really don't want to have a nocturnal golden! lol

since my fiance and i both have to work tomorrow, i'm going to put her in her crate when i leave, my fiance is going to check in on her during her lunch break and i think i will try to work from home for the last couple hours of the day. just for a few days to make sure there are no issues. hopefully her re-homing with us will not have any major issues.

sorry for the long post, for those of you that are still with me after reading all of that, any other ideas or suggestions to make her transition into our home as smooth as possible for her and us?


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## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

Yes I suggest putting the crate up for her. Everything in her life has been turned upside down and she has no idea who you are or what she's doing there. The crate will be something that she knows and perhaps a bit of comfort.
It will take some time but shouldn't be too long until she calms down and starts to relax a little.
I've always rescued adult dogs. It takes time, patience and lots & lots of love but eventually you won't be able to recall a time when she wasn't in your life.

She'll start eating when she calms down. I've had some dogs that didn't eat for two days. 
Good luck and thank you for giving her a good home. I would love to see some pics when you get a chance.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Congratulations on your new girl. I am sure others will chime in here, but she is going through a major upheaval (dogs thrive on consistency and schedule) so it will take some time but she should settle and adjust to her new life. It may take weeks until she starts feeling like herself and feeling secure in her new life.

Keep feeding her the same food that her previous owners fed her, offer it to her and if she hasn't eaten it (maybe 15 or 20 minutes) take it up again until the next meal and offer again. She won't starve. Be sure that you are taking proper precautions for safety with your other dogs being so small. Your new golden is very stressed right now and you just don't want to take any chances of something happening. I would feed separately if you aren't already doing that.

Please put up with her crate for as long as it takes for her to settle. That is her sanctuary and she feels safe there. Unless it's very hot in your house, you could try covering her crate with a sheet to see if that helps. I would keep her in there if that is what she is accustomed to sleeping in.

It does sound like she is bonding to you, as she settles, maybe your fiance could take her for walks and extra play on his own to help her bond with him more as well.

We would love to see photos and hear all about how things are going, Welcome to the forum!


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## danteisme (Jun 2, 2013)

Yes we're feeding them separately already. We wanted to be safe. I think what i'll do is put her new bed in her crate. That way when she is comfortable she'll be used to the bed and hopefully not so much the crate. The 2 yorkies are my fiance's dogs. She is used to her 2 yorkies and walking them. I'll start letting her walk our new golden so she can get used to a "real sized" dog. Her yorkies combined weigh less than 10 lbs. so far everyone is playing nice. There was one accidental misplaced foot and a yorkie yelped. I'll post pictures when i get back to my computer. Thanks for your tips so far!


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

She sounds like she's just having a hard time with the upheaval. You won't have to live with the crate forever. But a few weeks will help her a lot. If you put the bed in there with her, when you do remove the crate, the sense of her safe haven should transfer to the familiar bed. 

You might try hand-feeding her for a bit. Its a great way to bond with her. But she won't starve as others have said if you just put the bowl down for 15 minutes.

You might want to do some training with her, in a class or using good videos found online. It's a great way to speed up the bonding. Your fiancé could do it also.

Good luck. She sounds lovely and you'll be very glad to have her. 

Welcome to GRF!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

You've gotten some good advice and tips from other members already which I agree with.

I adopted both of my goldens at the age of 2. Your girl just needs some time to adjust and settle in, once she does, you will see a big difference in her. She will bond with you and become a part of your family. 

Be patient with her and give her the time she needs.


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## danteisme (Jun 2, 2013)

The second night went much better than the first. We all slept good. She ate a little bit this morning before i went to work. I put her in her crate before i left and i have permission to work from home i. The afternoon for a couple days this week to make sure she's ok with our schedule. So far, everything is great! And my fiance said hopefully having a more trained dog with shape up her yorkies a bit lol


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Good to hear your second night went better. Great you'll be able to work from home some this week too, that will help. 

She's getting use to you and your household as you are getting use to her. 

It will fall into place and probably won't take that long really. 

Most goldens adapt very quickly, some quicker than others. I use to help the GR Rescue I got my girl from. The Adoption Coordinator always told new adpoters to allow about two weeks for their Golden to settle in.

You'll see progress everyday.


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## danteisme (Jun 2, 2013)

I'm not quite sure what to do with the food situation. she wants no part of the food her previous owners gave me. They gave me a huge bag of pedigree adult complete nutrition food. the previous owners said she always got 1 and 1/2 cups in the morning and the same in the evening. i snuck in some of the food we give the Yorkies, which is Purina be happy brand adult dog food, i think beef flavored. i gave her 1 cup of her food and a 1/2 a cup of the purina. she ate nearly all of it, a few pieces left over. 

maybe it would be useful if all 3 dogs ate the same food? (When i say helpful i mean easier for me at the store).

i'd hate to waste the 20 some lbs of the pedigree thats left, but she just doesnt seem to want any parts of it. even tried feeding a few pieces by hand to her.


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## Zuca's mom (Aug 14, 2012)

Please do not change her diet all at once either. It is a pain but you need to change over gradually. Here is one schedule. If you search this topic on this forum, you will find lots of info. Again, congratulations on your new addition and thanks for rescuing. This forum has lots of excellent info and you can find just about anything you need to know to make this transition as easy as possible for all of you.
http://www.petfinder.com/pet-nutrition/changing-your-dogs-diet.html


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## Sydney's Mom (May 1, 2012)

I did this last year. Brought home two year old Sydney from a family she grew up with. She settled in quickly and always ate so I'm sorry I don't have advice on that part. I would advise, like others, that it's hard on dogs to change food suddenly so careful with just switching her.

What I CAN tell you, is that you'll see the dog start to bond to you over time. That it takes time. But that it's so rewarding when it does happen. 

Best of luck! Send photos!!


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

If she is not eating the food she arrived with there is no sense in pressing the issue. Transition her to the other food that she will eat, feed 1 cup 'old' food to 1/2 cup new for a couple of days, gradually reduce the 'old' and increase the amount of the new over the period of a couple of weeks, as long as she is tolerating it well. (You can keep adding the old food to her meals until it is gone, or if you wish, rescues or shelters will sometimes take open bags of food.) Adult dogs don't tend to have the issues with food changes as much as pups do, but it is best to make the change slowly.


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## danteisme (Jun 2, 2013)

Great tips everyone. Thank you!


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

What is the new addition's name? If she loves her crate she could get her happy place.

I am sure she will settle in quickly. Buddy was my shadow from the time I rescued him and he still is over 1.5 years later. I also have yorkies but they bossed Buddy from day 1. They were raised by my previous golden so they had absolutely no fear of him at all! 

If you are changing the feed to something new I would go slow. Feed whatever works best for you and your dog. I would personally never feed or buy a Nestle Purina/Pro Plan product but I got burned by them. Another story for another day!


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

My dog sleeps is a huge crate, too. On those nights when he's not in his crate, he gets up multiple times in the night and paces around a bit. 

My husband believes that eating is a social activity for dogs. (I think he made that up.) once I had a golden and a collie. Then the golden died. The collie would not eat. So I pretended to take his food and he gobbled it right up! I guess he needed a little competition.  maybe the new dog just wants to eat what the other dogs are eating, to feel part of the group.


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## danteisme (Jun 2, 2013)

The previous owners named her alexandria or alex for short. I've been calling her alex or lex and she responds well to both. I wasnt a huge fan of the name choice at first but its already grown on me. I decided i'm not going to change it. 


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

Your new gal sounds a lot like Fiona was when I adopted her at 8yrs of age. She was stuck to me like super glue and whined for months whenever I left the room.

Every dog is different of course and some take longer to become accustomed to their new environment than others. Keeping a daily routine helps it along faster. Wish you the best with your new furkid


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

How is Alex today? I bet she's having a great time in a house where people fuss over her.


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## danteisme (Jun 2, 2013)

She is doing wonderful. I bought her a new bed (camo of course) and she loves it. I also bought her a tie out with a 30 foot lead so she can hangout outside with me. I dont have a fenced in yard but she can play fetch with this 30 foot lead. I just now have to figure out how we can have all 3 dogs out in the back at the same time. My fiance said she tried it yesterday and it quickly became a mess of 3 leads all tangled up lol


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*danteisme*



danteisme said:


> She is doing wonderful. I bought her a new bed (camo of course) and she loves it. I also bought her a tie out with a 30 foot lead so she can hangout outside with me. I dont have a fenced in yard but she can play fetch with this 30 foot lead. I just now have to figure out how we can have all 3 dogs out in the back at the same time. My fiance said she tried it yesterday and it quickly became a mess of 3 leads all tangled up lol
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


So glad to hear that she is doing wonderfully!


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