Seeking House Pet - Experience Required

Recognizing an experienced house pet in a new dog.

People ask how I "know" that a newly-arriving foster dog has prior experience as a house pet, as opposed to having been an outdoor or farm-type dog. So I'll share my observations in hopes of being helpful.

Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian nor am I a trained animal behaviorist or trainer or anything other than a person who has taken in several dogs and has seen differences in how they act/react to the home environment. Consult a professional if you have real problems! And of course we can never truly know about the dog's prior circumstances, so it's all a matter of interpretation. But there are some traits that I believe indicate a cushy life in the recent past.

First, of course, is house training. If the dog seems to immediately understand the concept of going out the door and doing his business, bingo. Some need a few minutes or hours to confirm the location of the door, or which door to use, while others seem to instantly get it. There are some that need a few days to grasp the concept that one goes outside to do business in EVERY house, not just the one they may have been in previously. "Oh, I see, it wasn't just at that one place where they made me go outside to eliminate, it's this house too. Aha!"

It probably helps that we have other dogs in our home, because there may be some kind of dog signaling, or observation or basic pack mentality that reinforces the process. In some cases, a new dog will want to "mark" in the house. This is more likely with a male and especially one that is not yet neutered, or a young dog. But really it's all about pack status. (Marking means going to various spots and putting a little bit of urine on it to tell others "I was here." Very normal, instinctual dog behavior, and of course VERY unwanted inside the human home!). The one dog we had that marked the most was a spayed, middle-aged female who was relentless the first evening. I believe that she and our Katie were too closely matched in terms of hierarchy and she was trying to take over. Katie just kept looking at the dog and then at us as if to say, "What in the world have you brought here and when will she go away?"

One of our fosters, also a spayed, middle-aged female (hmmm), was perfectly fine in our house, but in her first adoptive home she apparently marked constantly, and the house was fully carpeted. A behaviorist determined it was in response to the pre-existing female Labrador that lived there. Again, a pack/status thing. She came back to us briefly then was adopted into a home where she's the only dog, and is doing great.

Other signs of house pet experience include:

--knowing that when the refrigerator starts to open, you should run and sniff the contents
--knowing that furniture is softer than the floor, and that sofas are meant for lounging
--knowing how to jump up onto the bed when the humans lie down there
--knowing that a leash being put on you means you're going for a walk and you should jump and bark and get really, really excited about this!
--knowing that an open car door means "jump in, we're going for a ride"
--knowing that the humans will be smitten if you curl up next to them on the sofa, and especially if you lick their face and then lay your head on their lap
--automatically sitting for a treat, with or without the command being said
--scratching or barking at the door to go out our come in (or another indication - some dogs just stare at the door, some prance around in front of it, some whine)
--responding appropriately to basic commands such as Sit, Down, Off, Stay, etc.

Contrary to popular belief, shelter and rescue dogs can be completely healthy, normal, and command-trained. Our second foster, the only non-beagle we've had (a hound or rottweiler head with a catahoula leopard dog body!), knew many word commands and had some kind of hand signal training as well; he would occasionally do something like drop to the ground and freeze when an arm moved in a particular way. He was the smart one - we couldn't figure out his "language"!

Well, I didn't mean to make this such a long post, as I know blogging is meant to be short and sweet. So that's all for now. I'm sure there are other behaviors to point out - please share!


Joyce