Pet of the Month

Avery

Click here to see the rest of our Adoptables  

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Thank you to everyone who came out to our Annual Picture with Santa and showed your continued support for Buffalo C.A.R.E.S. 

Thanks to your support, we were able to donate all proceeds to our fellow rescuer in the Bahamas, Chella, who was seriously injured while protecting stray dogs.  

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We’re making this post to talk about decompression when bringing a new animal into your home. We’ve recently had an increase in returns on newly adopted dogs. Dogs that come back to us through no fault of their own. Dogs that are returned and are living in homes with other dogs and kids, just as they were prior to being adopted.

We are frustrated.

These dogs then get relisted, and people wonder what’s wrong with them - because it must be the dog, right? It’s like when a house is pending and then relisted. It looks like there’s something bad about the house but in all reality the buyers financing fell through.

The truth of it all, is that it all comes down to decompression. It is one of the most important things we stress when adopting out our animals. It’s so important, in fact, that it’s a specific piece of our contract.

Newly adopted dogs need decompression and structure. They need YOU to guide them. All of our dogs come from all different backgrounds and experiences. It is completely normal, when adapting to a new home environment for them to revert back or be nervous. There is where YOU come in as their leader. They need you to listen to the advice given to use by trainers. They need you to guide them, to tell them it’s ok.

And please note, guiding them absolutely does not mean free run of the house, immediate access to a bucket of toys, laying on beds and couches, having new people over to meet them etc. It does not mean letting them lose in the house to grab all the toys, jump on other animals, jump on furniture and be pushy. These are allowing insecurity to set in and are detrimental to the dog. You can’t do these things and expect it to miraculously work out.

Guiding them means restricting visitors, toys, food, interactions with resident animals until they can get their bearings straight. It means setting a schedule. It means taking the full two weeks to a month to allow them to settle. It means every reward is earned until they can truly relax again. This is SO critical that it’s part of our contract. And yet, returns are increasing.

We are frustrated.

We see the email 24 hours after adoption - dog is guarding toys. Dog is jumping on the kids. You lied about dog and they must be gone today.

• What we really see - dog can do whatever he/she wants and they are insecure so they are acting out.
  
• What we really see - a newly adopted dog who isn’t dragging a leash to be corrected. 
• What we really see - A dog that has complete free roam of the house and is insecure so they are taking the toys and rough housing with the kid.
• What we really see - absolutely no boundaries and decompression.

So we take dog back. Into his foster home with three other dogs and three kids. And dog has structure. Dog doesn’t have unlimited access to everything. And guess what. Dog thrives. Dog is the great dog we adopted out.