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How do you train a rescue dog who doesn�t know their name?

31/10/2019 - Training

How do you train a rescue dog who doesn’t know their name, doesn’t understand what it means to be part of a human family and has never seen another dog breed before?
 
Here’s Sable’s story about her training with Potter Paws… 

 
We adopted Sable back in August, and as an ex-racing Greyhound we knew that we would need help in getting her to adjust to home life. Racing Greyhounds have never seen the inside of a home before so everything was new to her; from the carpets, TV and stairs, to glass doors and our lizard Rodney! It was a lot to take in. Racing Greyhounds also live with their siblings until they are 18 months old when they start training to race. So the idea of being the only dog was probably very daunting too.
 
She is our first dog together and it has been a real learning curve for us. To be honest I don’t think we were ever going to be fully prepared for caring for a dog who didn’t know how to be a dog! On our first weekend together she locked us out by jumping up at the door and pulling the latch down, meaning a hefty locksmith bill and a rather irritated boyfriend. From then on we always carry a back door key! We also had to give up on trying to get her to sleep downstairs, and begrudgingly let her sleep in our room. In perspective however, she would have never slept on her own in three and a half years, so to expect that of her was probably too much (and too much for the neighbours too!). But owning a rescue dog is all about compromises.
 
When Sable came to us, she didn’t even know her name. Her racing name was Roding Regal and the name "Sable" was given to her once she was retired. The rescue centre recommended training classes to help with bonding and to teach her good manners in a household. We searched online meticulously and came across Potter Paws. The website seemed very professional and after making contact with Debbie, we knew we needed to take Sable to her classes. We wanted only the best for our new member of the family.
 
Training with Potter Paws
So the day came of the first class. We’d had Sable for a little over three weeks by this point and had already fallen head over heels for this long, gangly dog. There were three dogs including Sable in this Life Skills class. A Romanian rescue called Pepper, who was very sweet but also very timid and Ben the bounciest Labrador; also a rescue. The first session was an introductory, just to allow the dogs to get comfortable with the area and one another. Gradually, over the weeks we spent more time focusing on how to teach good manners such as walking nicely on the lead, greeting dogs politely, sit, lay down and (most importantly!) how to relax when at the pub!
 
Over the six weeks, Sable grew so much in confidence. At the start she could be wary of other dogs, initially being interested, then getting completely overwhelmed and would try to run away if they got too close. But with Pepper and Ben she was introduced after weeks of being around them and we felt completely at ease as we knew Debbie was in control of the situation. Sable greeted them politely and they in return; Pepper was a lot more confident and Ben not too bouncy! Sable has also made great progress in learning ‘down’, and although she has yet to master it, we’ve had some great tips from Debbie. Now when we meet a dog on a walk, she will politely sniff and allow them to sniff her back. Such a difference from a few months ago. She also walks very nicely on the lead, and by attending the classes she has learnt to make eye contact every now and then which really helps when she spots a squirrel to chase, as it’s a great distraction. She also really enjoyed the agility parts of the class; initially she couldn’t understand why she had to jump over a raised bar, but once she got the hang of it she seemed totally at ease.
 


And it wasn’t only Sable that was seen to make good progress; Pepper and Ben changed a lot too. Pepper started wagging her tail and seemed much more relaxed after each session, and Ben was doing so well at controlling his bouncy behaviour and barking.
 
What was really great was halfway through the session we would have a tea-break, and an opportunity to ask Debbie some questions. For the first few sessions we’d come in with a list for poor Debbie, but she was so helpful and reassuring. It can be very stressful when a new issue arises and you think it’ll never get better, but with Debbie’s advice we smoothed out any issues very quickly. One of them was Sable’s separation anxiety. We both work full time so need to leave her for a few hours before the dog walker comes, and initially Sable would bark non-stop. Debbie recommended the use of a plug-in diffuser and some training tips and now we have a dog that we know we can leave for a good few hours with (mostly!) no noise, and she will just sleep.
 
Debbie is a joy to go to classes with, she gives such good advice and really emphasises on reward-based training. The classes are varied, relaxed and above all, fun.
 
So from a dog who didn’t know her name, didn’t understand what it meant to be part of a human family and had never seen another dog breed before, she has come an extremely long way in just under three months. She now loves cuddles and is most happy when sprawled on the sofa with us, legs in the air & getting lots of fuss. In fact, she will even go as far as throw a paw at you if you stop. We couldn’t have done this without Debbie’s help and guidance. We still have a way to go with Sable, but we will continue to attend courses and workshops with her. We recently attended a Harry Potter workshop and we just had an absolute ball. Sable enjoyed learning some new tricks and as frustrating as it is seeing your dog learn how to step in and out of a suitcase after a couple of attempts, yet still can’t master ‘down’ after weeks of trying – it’s just so lovely to see her enjoy herself. 
 

Follow Sable on Instagram at www.instagram.com/sable_the_greyhound.