We finally adopted our baby!...er, well, our 125 pound baby!
He was rescued from a basement back in February where he had been completely neglected and close to death. If I told you the details it would make you sick. I am just so thrilled to have this opportunity to show him a better life. But, as you can imagine all is not a bed of roses. A severly neglected animal comes with it's own share of baggage. Bear is no exception. He managed the car ride home very well. In fact, he seems to really enjoy riding in a car. When we got to our house, we let our other dog outside to meet him and they completely ignored each other. At least at first. It took a few hours and then Bear started to display dominance toward Jazzy -- growling and snapping. He was jealous that Jazzy tried to sit next to me. He did not want to share any attention. Jazz (a very submissive Basenji mix) got quite scared at first. I had to step in and let Bear know that I was the dominant member of this pack---not him. Bear really seemed to understand and back off. Jazzy hid behind me for several hours. At night we let Jazzy sleep in our bed. Bear slept on his blanket on the floor next to the bed---another reinforcement to him that he was not going to rule the roost. So to speak. Also, I would not let him push through the doorway before us. (All these tricks I've read on this site over the past months.) But by the same token, we've been showering him with attention and affection when he is being good and that is 99 percent of the time. He has not barked once and is always very affectionate with us. I do expect the two dogs to find their own ground over the next week or so. We just have to keep reinforcing to Bear that he is not the alpha dog. One thing though that does concern me though -- He was very good about me grooming him but he did snap at me when I tried to brush his legs. He seemed to really enjoy having his head and back brushed, but not his legs. Not at all. This has me somewhat concerned. He has a short cut now, but I would like it to grow out quite a bit, and he will need to be groomed all the time. I need to find a way to keep him from getting upset. Any suggestions? I don't wish to muzzle him if I can avoid it. I'm hoping the vets may be able to tell me if there is any sort of problem with his legs that might be why he is so protective of them. Arthritis or some such thing? I was also told he might be somewhat snippy with small kids. We have 3 grandchildren who visit frequently and we want to make sure we try to avoid any situations with small children which would upset him. Any suggestions? I do have a large dog crate. Anyhoooo, overall, I'd say things are going along very well so far. I'll keep you posted. Pictures to follow soon. |
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| Well, BIG congratulations are in order!!!!!
Thank you for rescuing this big baby. We want those pics! |
Congrats!  |
| Congrats on your new addition and a special thank you for rescuing a dog in need, especially an older dog. Best advice I can share with you is to give it time. I have four neutered male dogs, all coming from a shelter or a rescue. I found that the dogs will work out their own pack heirarchy, but me as pack leader just stepped in when I felt things could escalate or if one of my older dogs was being taken advantage of and I thought they may get hurt. I definitely have a very peaceable kingdom and it will be one year this coming August that I rescued my last dog, a Great Pyrenees. Also your new dog has to become accustomed to his new enviroment, his new parents and his new sibling, give him time. You are definitely at an advantage since you already know of things to be aware of with him. One thing that I did do with my Great Pyrenees when he started to become somewhat possessive was to hand feed him. I wish I had done this from the very start, whether he had possessive issues or not. The bond he and I share since I have done this is extremely strong plus he has learned some pretty cool tricks and basic obedience. Good Luck, give it time, and bless you for giving your guy a better chance in life. With rescue dogs they always seem to know they have been given a second chance and will return your love a hundredful plus some. Take good care and from all rescue dogs everywhere.....bless you. Jack |
| Congrats on the new baby!
This is a wonderful site to learn to help our furries. How old are your grandchildren? How often do they come over and do they all come at once? Any food issues? |
| Hey, there! I'm in Ferndale and I have a Bear too! We should get our dogs together to play. My OES is over 100 pounds and my Komondor is over 125 so they'd be great play buddies! |
Ron wrote: Well, BIG congratulations are in order!!!!!
Thank you for rescuing this big baby. We want those pics! DITTO on all counts!!!!!!!!! |
Congratulations on your new sheepie 
Many dogs don't like to have their legs brushed or their feet fiddled with. It could take time and gentle coaxing/rewarding to get him used to it. I'd ask the shelter or rescue you got him from how they were handling this part of grooming. Quote: I was also told he might be somewhat snippy with small kids. We have 3 grandchildren who visit frequently and we want to make sure we try to avoid any situations with small children which would upset him. Any suggestions?
Do your grandchildren fit the "small kids" warning? Personally, I'd crate or contain him in a separate room EVERY time there are children over. I'd take their statement seriously until you know how he'll react. You don't want to set him up to fail. If you choose to have the dog and kids together at any time, it must always be under strict supervision until you 100% know the dog... 125 pounds is a BIG dog (I have all girls and my biggest is around 65 so... wow!). The same goes for leaving Bear and Jazz together. Until you know him better and any limits or quirks he has, it's best to err on the side of caution. You can gradually introduce new things as he's settled in. Good luck to you! We all look forward to seeing pictures of your new sheepie-boy.  Thanks for adopting a rescue sheepie. |
| Congratulations! I would also be cautious for many months before allowing any contact with small ones. He sounds like he is in a much better place! |
| Congratulations and how wonderful that you were able to save him.
I'd use extreme caution in mixing your new baby with the grand children. If he's jealous of affection you show your other dog, he might see the little ones as competition, too. Ultimately, it would be great if he were good with kids and you could mix them all up, although it's important to remember that supervision is necessary 100% of the time when you mix dogs and children. Re: grooming his legs. I'd go easy--keep it light and simple and very quick. Since he enjoys having his head and back groomed, you could simply stray down to a leg now and then, and return to more comfortable places. Over weeks, maybe longer, gradually increase the time he will tolerate your handling his legs and feet, since those are probably ticklish/upsetting for him to have handled. Since his coat is short, you should be able to concentrate on getting him to tolerate being handled and touched all over. Think of it as a necessity because it is, regardless of his coat length. For his own safety and well being, you need to be able to run your hands over all parts of him, in case of injuries or ticks, or sticks buried in his coat, etc. This will also help you to know if he develops any problems--not that you should expect him to, but still, you want both of you to be comfortable with you touching and grooming him all over. You may always want a short coat for him, but maybe not. The idea is exactly the same, although a longer coat requires more time and effort, even in uncomfortable spots. |
| Congrats! What a wonderful person you are! The only thing I might add to everyone above is that if you're able to assess that Bear isn't aggressively snapping at your grandkids, you might try having something for Bear to hold in his mouth if he gets the urge to nip.
We took Annie in when she was 6 years old and she still snap at small kids. My nephew knows that Annie can not be with him unless she has a toy in her mouth. He holds one end and Annie holds the other. They've walked around the house like that for hours. It's really rather cute |
| Congratulations
Most are not thrilled with the legs being brushed and played with at first, de-sensitising them to that helps. When he is laying & relaxed on the ground rub and play with his legs and feet every so often & treat him after for being a good boy, that way he associates anything to do with the legs and feet as a good thing, it takes time and patients there. When brushing him, groom the areas that he enjoys then occassionally take the brush and just lightly flick the leg then go back to his happy areas with the brush straight away, if no reactions then give him a treat or make a fuss of Good Boy 
He will get use to you wanting to do things with his legs & feet then and hopefully you can grow coat and groom them without any problems. |
| How wonderful that you took in a dog who needed a home so badly! I hope everything works out for all of you.
Here are a couple of comments I'd like to make, for what it is worth. 
I would keep Jazzy and him separated for the first few days. Let them gradually get used to each other, and they will sort out their relationship between themselves. We sometimes make things complicated for dogs, when we get involved with how we think things SHOULD be, and they just get confused. They are dogs,and speak doggie, so can comunicate better than us. But to help them along, just have them together for short periods of time, and make those times positive for both of them. You don't want Bear to be the brunt of corrections everytime Jazzy is around, or he will like Jazzy less and less. That will just make things worse for Jazzy. If Jazzy is normally submissive to dogs, then let him be submissive to Bear. He will be a lot happier, then being forced into a position he does not want to be in. The whole dominance theory often makes us feel that the dogs are trying to rule the world. Honestly, they are just trying to survive in a human world they do not understand, and that does not often understand them. Dogs are dogs, and know we are not dogs, like cats are not dogs, and birds are not dogs. We are not in the same "pack" per se. We are different. What we are, though, is in charge...in charge of the resources that dogs want. That makes us able to get them to do things we want them to do. Reward behavior that you want and ignore behavior that you do not want. That will develope trust and confidence in a dog, as he will be able to predict a good outcome for certain wanted behaviors that we enforce. If Bear is pushing through the door before you that is not displaying dominance or anything like that. He is anxious or excited to get where he is going. He just hasn't been taught not to do it. You can teach him to "wait" and then "release" when you want him to go through. All takes patience and training. He just doen't know what you want of him just yet. A great book I read, called "Bones Would Fall From the Sky" has a very simple statement for dogsnew to a household. They want to know 3 things: Who is in charge? What are the rules" Where do I fit in? As for the grooming, I would make it very positive. The snapping is good and bad. First the good...If he wanted to bite, he would. Dogs have great control and aim, so he is displaying some control...But he is warning you...Take heed. I suspect that before he snaps he may be showing you other signals that he is not happy...Stiffness, glare, maybe a growl...Pay attention to these, and work with him. Find out why is not please, and make the time more pleasant for him. Some dogs are not used to grooming, so if you want to avoid having a fight everytime, start now to make it nice, gentle and pleasant. Don't rush things. I would totally crate him or confine him when young children are around. Do not take any chances. Hope this helps! |
| Thank you all for your words of support and all those great ideas!
Thought I'd give you a brief update on Bear and include a link to some photos. He is settling in fairly well now. We had only one issue yesterday, and that's when Jazzy thought she'd try to smell Bear's butt. Bear let out with couple of loud barks and Jazzy ran for the safety of the sofa. No growling though and no snapping. In fact, they spent several hours this morning laying side by side on the office floor at my feet. I would have kept them completely separated if I thought there might be some serious issues, but I knew the woman who had initially rescued Bear from the basement (he had literally been a prisoner in a basement for several years). She has four other dogs and although there were some the dominance issues with Bear once in a while, all the dogs seemed to get along very well. I must admit to bonding with Bear very much already -- to the point that Jazzy might be feeling a bit left out. But I think this is important to Bear -- to know he is safe and loved. Jazzy is not lacking in love and affection. But Bear has insecurities that need extra attention. One thing -- I've decided that Bear should have his own special place. So he gets to rest on the guestroom bed whenever he wants. Jazzy is not allowed on that bed, so this is special for Bear only. Jazzy does have her own space in another room, so this should work out well. I have not tried to brush Bear's legs again. I'm let him have some time to learn to trust my touch. But this morning he did let me hold his paws and touch the full length of his legs with my hands. Not a bit of stress on his part. In fact he laid his head on my lap and closed his eyes. So this is a great start! I'm getting the mpression he has been hit in his legs with objects. He has no problem with human touch though, so that's good. He also seems to be okay with our bunny and guinea pig. They live together in our home in a free-roaming pen most of the time. It has no top. Bear goes right up to the side of the pen with his nose and the bunny comes over to check him out - nose to nose. Not a growl or anything. I have yet to allow the bunny out to roam the house while Bear is in the living room though. One step at a time! When I left for work this morning, Bear walked me to my car with my husband. Danny opened the door and Bear hopped right in! Keep in mind this car is a Corvette, and Bear, well, Bear filled the entire front seat! He was ready to go! Took more than a little bit of encouragement to get him out. Then as I was driving off, I could see his sad face in the front windows watching me drive down the street. I'm not sure which one of us has more separation anxiety! Anyhooo....the grandkids will be over this weekend, so that will be a new chapter. The woman who rescued him has three kids, so I asked her again to be more specific about Bears issues with kids. She said he only got upset if they took away his blanket or toy. I can certainly appreciate that! Still, I'm going to introduce him slowly to the grand-kids. As I said, one thing at time. Now for some pictures of Bear! He seems to be a little camera shy. In fact I think he seemed somewhat frightened by the camera. Almost like he thought I was going to hit him with it when I raised it to my eyes to take pictures. He winced. You know what I mean--the way a dog cowers and his eye lids flutter when he thinks someone is going to hurt him. So I ended up trying to take photos with the camera by my side. Didn't work so well. Also, he does seem to know the command "STAY". You'll see he is some distance from me in the photos. But you will also notice that he seems to have a "hang-dog" look. As if he were in trouble. Not only would he STAY, but he would not move a muscle. Scared baby, I think. It will take some time for this guy to start to really trust. Anyways, here are the photos-- I do hope to have some soon of him smiling! http://www.wunderwebs.com/Bear/image001.htm BTW, my husband says I am exaggerating when I say he is 126 pounds. I think not. Jazzy is 80 pounds and Bear is certainly twice her size. You be the judge. Sandy |
| Thanks for the update!
Great pics, too. I am happy things seem to be settling in. |
| Awww...he's a cutie! And your garden is very cute too! |
| He is a big cutie.
Our coon hound Maggie was in a not-so-good life too for her 1st year. She has the same reaction to a camera. I can get 1 decent picture if I catch her by surprise - after that she cowers or leaves. Pretty sad.  |
| He's such a cutie!! |
Awwww.....he's such a handsome fella!!! My husband and I can't wait until another sheepie can own us again someday. When the time is right for us...we want a rescue OES just as we rescued Roxy when she was dumped on the side of a country road. It's only been 3 weeks since our Roxy left us...and we are not quite ready to bring another Sheepie into our home yet. We have Andy, our Cocker, who is 13 and is adjusting to being an only child for a change. He even gets to come on vacation with us....he's so excited. But.....I wait for the day to come when we are again ready for another Sheepie....or 2!!  ) How is Bear doing now? It's been a few weeks since you last updated us. I'm curious as to how he is adjusting. Thank goodness you were able to save this poor boys life. |
| OMG!!! That could be my Panda's twin!!! Click on my photo icon for comparison...same hair, body, expression. Panda was a rescue from Hong Kong so he shares other similarities with your boy.
Thank you for stepping up and helping a sheepie out!!!! You'll be rewarded in years to come with his love and devotion. Hope things are working well with him and Jazzy too. As for the paws and legs...my boy had the same issues so desensitizing works. No brushing but hand touch of his body parts while speaking softly to them. I use to touch Panda's legs for but a mere second as he really didn't like it all all, treats help too! I would increase the time a few seconds a day, always praising, and always ending on positive note. Eventually the brush came out and same scenerio..just a second first time and increasing it slowly...takes lots of patience but eventually you can desensitize to some extent. After three years I'm still unable to clip his nails but least I can brush him and hope he wears his nails down naturally when going for walks to offleash, in the neighborhood and the woods. Please let us know how he's doing, we want an update! Blue, Merlin and Panda are sending Bear and Jazzy some sloppy sheepie kisses and welcome! Marianne |
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