Meg

[edzbird]

That sounds like the Collie part of her behaviour. Aggressive behaviour is usually due to being scared. It must make you a little apprehensive in case this behaviour pops up later on when she settles in with you. As there has been no evidence when she has been with you so far, this shows that it is possible she can learn not to be fearful and aggressive.

Yes indeed. I'm not too worried about the aggression - we are a bit of a reclusive pair so don't meet too many people and certainly no children! She will get controlled exposure to people at our training class. We'll take everything slowly slowly. She's been passed around a bit, so I'm determined to give her stability.

 

[MellowYellow]

Hopefully you will all be very happy together, and the fact that you lead quite a quiet life will suit Meg down to the ground.

I'm pretty horrified they didn't give you this information beforehand, though, tbh.

 

[edzbird]

They did kind of reveal bits of it in conversation, but yes - it should have all been given at the start.

 

[Aitch]

I'm amazed they didn't tell you all this beforehand.
The dog whisperer??? Oh Dog!!! I'm sure when you get some positive training in with her she will settle nicely. Alex had his problems but he has really responded to positive training.
Good luck and well done for giving this beautiful girl a chance at a happy new home.

 

[Atemas]

Hope your chat with Andy is helpful. I really do think people should be given as much information from the get go. It’s then hard when you have already fallen in love

 

[Charlie]

I'm pretty horrified they didn't give you this information beforehand, though, tbh.

I think this is par for the course with rescue centres. They are so desperate to rehome the many, many dogs they have so don't quite divuldge everything. We had exactly the same thing happen when we adopted Charlie. At no time did the fosterer ever mention he had zero recall and would abscond for hours, also that he had never walked on a lead as we found out when he crawled on his tummy, he also had no manners at all. She didn't tell us that we were his fourth home and that everyone else had given up on him due to his difficulties, even a Labrador owner of 40 years. She admitted this weeks and weeks later when I contacted her to say we were struggling. But we and our children had fallen in love with him and couldn't give up. It's all so very wrong and it makes me very sad that these poor dogs end up being bounced from owner to owner.

I know Meg will have the best home with you Sue, you will show her the way with Coco's help. xxx

 

[snowbunny]

I think @Boogie and @Jelinga have both hit the nail on the head. It sounds like she probably has some fearfulness based on dodgy handling and also the collie influence in her, which might cause her to herd and nip, something that could be misinterpreted as aggression.
It must be a bit of a shock to read that at this stage, but I think all you can do is wait to see if the behaviour emerges in your care and, if it does, I think you have great skills to be able to understand what is going on and how to help her overcome it.

 

[edzbird]

Thank you. I think with what I've learned so far, and the fabulous support here, we're going to be OK.

 

[Beanwood]

I honestly think it is the most rewarding thing in the world to have a dog with "issues" trust you. BRX laughs at me when I ask for the difficult ones to foster!

The hardest one was Dougal. He was originally offered on Facebook, to an uproar! Most thought, because he has shown aggression, AND bitten a child, he should be put down.It was horrible, a vet plus 2 behaviourists advised he should be euthanised. We had that dear boy for a month, and he was the only foster that made @Mr.Beanwood cry when he left...out he gets emotional at all of them, but those two were joined at the hip, literally!

He went eventually to a lovely man with PTSD, and they both are very happy. One blip when he took him to a home with 2 dogs and just let them sort it out, but well we all make mistakes and no-one or dog was hurt.

I usually get some sort of history, with Casper it was sad, handwritten note, ( I still have it) and most make some kind of sense, and in some part relate to the dog in front of me. Where they highlight what they think is a serious problem, and most have, after all, it would be the reason for giving the dog up... it has always been fairly manageable with a plan in place, and a bit of consistency.

Work with the dog in front of you, but plan for the worst, and you will fine

 

[Joy]

I'm so glad she's going to be yours! It does seem wrong that the rescue didn't give you a complete history before you became attached but you sound the ideal home for her. Wishing you much happiness.

 

[Charlie]

I honestly think it is the most rewarding thing in the world to have a dog with "issues" trust you.

I would totally second that. A dog with "issues" also teaches you things about yourself and makes you learn how to help the dog in return. Love it xx

 

[SwampDonkey]

I know plenty of collies who can be like this. You often see this I kind of stuff at agility plus she sounds like she's had some rough unsympathetic handling.
You've not seen this thing with her. I would give her a go too. She's young lacks confidence and she needs some understanding. When Mic took Solomon on he would attack other dogs on sight and be aggressive with men. It took time care and careful introductions to calm confident dogs and friendly understanding people to get him over his fear. I wouldn't he put off either you're going in knowing a bit more about her now and will find a way to work with her.

 

[MaccieD]

‘Never been abused’ but they used dog whisperer (#%^*£&@##!!) methods?

Hmmmm

That's rather a large assumption to make. The transcript says that they watched The Dog Whisperer. I've watched the programme, as has my OH, so does that mean my dog is abused ? Let's not make assumptions - it sounds as if this couple tried very hard to work with Meg and do their best for her.

 

[Boogie]

I hope they didn’t, but I’m not sure why they’d mention it otherwise.

I continue to wonder

.

 

[kateincornwall]

Unfortunately , some rescues can be a little economical with the truth , not always intentionally but they are under such pressure to keep places open for the next dog .
Nelly came direct from her previous owner and apart from her deafness , she has been the easiest dog on earth , settled in a treat with no underlying issues .
Millie did have issues which were skimmed over and minimalized , she just didn't like other dogs, apart from Sam, but we worked on this and overcame . I took much joy from helping her , it brought about a lovely bond .

 

[Plum's mum]

Had another good meet today. Subject to home check on Monday, she's coming home next Saturday. What a super birthday present

View attachment 1851
View attachment 1852

Coco looks so buff in the bottom pic! And I love his stripy legs contrasting with Meg's spotty ones

 

[edzbird]

Well I spoke with Andy tonight. He said her main problem is she's very territorial in the house, she will rush aggressively at people who come in. He spent some time working with her in her home and he had her just being a lovely playful dog, but the family failed to put any of his advice into action, and went back to crating her to keep her away from the children. He thinks we will be fine as long as we don't allow her to be in charge (he can be a bit old-school, but I understand what he means). I'm thinking Boundary Games will be good for her for starters.

I'm looking forward to Saturday.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Just catching up on this and wanted to say a big congratulations and that Meg will be coming home on Saturday. You are very well equipped to deal with come what may but your situation is all around SO different from what she had before that I can imagine it helping immensely. Don't you think that simply not being crated for hours a day and having such a great new play buddy will already make a huge difference?

 

[SwampDonkey]

Her life will be stimulating and fun, she'll be a different dog. The fact that she will be understood will make a big change for her.

 

[edzbird]

OH went to see and walk Meg yesterday. He said she is absolutely UBER quick to learn (?the collie in her). Last time I saw her she did "down" with a lure, she now does it 90% on verbal. She can "leave" a row of treats and "look" (at me), she can "sit" or "down" while you circle her. She can "sit" and wait while you step back then "come". I thought Coco was quick!

I'm quite nervous for tomorrow. New bed & harness have arrived. She can have Coco's old 5-loop Grippy, OH doesn't use it any more, he likes the double ended one. Belle's old food bowl is ready. I have picked out a couple of Belle's hand made collars having measured her neck to be the same, and we have a spare ID tag.

I think it's sweet that OH is doing all these training things on his own, shows how much he's picked up from me & Coco. Ladies, you CAN train your OHs (sorry gents, that's very sexist).