Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on February 20, 2010 at 2:50pm

Beth would give the best and I'm sure she will reply as she just did this a few months ago. In about 2 weeks she should be feeling comfortable and after about a month she should be having a great time! Good luck with your new addition! Also remember she is coming into a totally different world than what she has known so she will have to "learn" thinks that most of our dogs take for granted!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on February 20, 2010 at 2:52pm

Usually it takes about 2 weeks for a foster dog to open up from my experience, they start to learn the new pack order in the house, know where everything's at and a schedule to follow. Depending on what she 's been through, it may take a little time for her to adjust. Moving and adapting to a new environment is stressful to the dog, sometimes they react by having loose stool, hairloss...etc. Some may be shy at first, as you build and earn her trust, her true colors will finally reveal. Feel free to ask us any questions!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on February 20, 2010 at 4:13pm

I agree, it will take time. It varies from dog to dog depending on their adjust ability but once she feels confident in her surroundings her personality will come through.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on February 20, 2010 at 4:36pm

I give dogs 30 days before I start to think that what I'm seeing is "real," and problems with being anxious/insecure can take even longer. Just be confident for her, help her feel safe, and bond with her individually. Don't push her into playing with other dogs before she's ready - it's a gift to have a quiet dog, at least at first! A lot of one-on-one time now, and then in a few weeks an obedience class to help you communicate, will have her showing you who she really is AND set your relationship off on the right foot.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Beth on February 20, 2010 at 7:15pm

Hi Laura! Congrats on your new addition!

We already had one Corgi, Jack, who was born in April of 2007. We had him from a pup. When it came time to add a second, we were looking for a pup but ended up getting a then-almost-five-year-old retired show female from the same breeder where we got Jack. This was at the end of August of 2009. She'd had one litter when she arrived.

She, too, is a very sweet submissive girl. We were told to expect it to take two weeks to a month for her to adjust, but I would say in reality it was nearer two months before we saw her true sparkly personality. I think it might take the submissive ones a bit longer to adjust; it seems to me the submissive ones look more to their "pack leaders", both human and dog, for how to react to new situations, and therefore the change might be a bit more disruptive for them.

Here is a recap of our story and the little bumps along the road, if you are interested. Note the dates of the posts:

http://www.mycorgi.com/forum/topics/introducing-an-adult-part-2

If you have a chance to read that thread, you'll see that I was a bit concerned that she wasn't adjusting, and then in the end she did just fine.

Don't worry if she seems afraid of stuff at first; that won't mean she really is afraid. When Maddie came to us, she seemed terrified of big dogs. Her breeder assured us she was not, and as she got more comfortable with us the fear evaporated (though she can sometimes be a bit snarky on-leash).

My suggestion would be to take things slow. For the first week or two, hold off on meet-and-greets with your friends and neighbors and their dogs, unless she is acting eager to meet them, and even then use caution. Give her plenty of space. If she is crate-trained, give her some alone time in her crate in a quiet room with a favorite toy. Take her on plenty of short walks. Is there something she really likes? Maddie loves swimming, and taking her swimming gave us an early glimpse of her "real" personality. Just like a person, if they get caught up in something they love, they forget about the newness of everything else. If she likes belly rubs, offer her those. If she likes being brushed, spend quiet time grooming her. If she is mad for tennis balls, take her to a fenced area and let her chase them. You get the idea. Mix short periods of fun interaction with times when you just ignore her and give her the space to adjust and adapt to your home; to her, learning the smells and sounds will be very important, and they can manage that best if given time to do it at their own speed.

If they come from a breeder where the numbers were high, they are perhaps used to a much more structured life than the typical pet home offers. We LOVE our breeder and she does a fabulous job socializing her dogs and exposing them to all sorts of experiences so that they are ready for anything. The fact is, though, that Maddie came from a home with something like a total of 9 dogs plus any litters that were around over the course of the years. When there are that many dogs, meal time and play time and sleep time and all the rest tend to follow a very specific routine; in Maddie's case, her owner would rotate smaller groups of dogs between house and yard and in some cases crate or pen throughout the course of each day. So if your new girl came from a situation with a larger number of dogs, again she is probably used to a very set routine and of course she may be wondering what the heck happened to everyone else she used to know! Because if that, it takes a little time for rehomed adults to adjust.

Good luck! She'll be fine and you'll see her spunky personality eventually, be it in a few weeks or a few months.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Laura Rentz on February 20, 2010 at 8:15pm

Thank you all so much! I will post a picture of her soon and let you know how it goes.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Julie on February 25, 2010 at 12:05am

I'd say at least give it a month, but just so you don't freak out if it takes a bit longer, it took Caleb around 6 months to come completely out of his shell, eat 2 meals a day without coaxing, and start to consistently display that typical corgi behavior. I know nothing about his past before he came to me, so there's no telling what he was working through, all you can be do is be patient and loving. :-)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kathryn Graham on February 25, 2010 at 9:20am

The recent spaying could be a factor too. She probably shouldn't be frapping much until all healed up. She will benefit from a class where you bond over training, as several people have suggested. When she's fully recovered from spaying, perhaps an agility class? It is a wonderful way to work on intercommunication skills and give a dog an outlet for his/her natural urges. One of the members of our agility class was a dog who was grieving the loss of the other dog in the family. It strengthened the bond with his human and seemed to bring him out of his lethargy. Can't wait to see pictures of your new girl!

• ▶ Reply