It’s day one and over comes Bela to my home in Baulkham Hills. Whilst I have already visited her in foster care and had a chance to assess her in areas such as soft mouthing she isn’t coming to a situation that will be without its adjustments. For a start she will have two other dogs to relate to (after being on her own for the first three years of her life) - Deakin (my Collie Rough) and Buster (my niece’s Golden Retriever). She’ll also have my niece (who she has met) and her two-year old daughter (who she has also met briefly). So it is going to be quite a busy day for Bela!

I don’t believe that good handling of dogs can ever come by chance. Right from the start as Bela is released into our back yard my mind is ticking over and thinking dog. How will Bela react to her new pack? What I study first is how the three dogs are going to relate to each other. This is where it helps to know the basics about dog body language – the inevitable difference between play behaviour and problem behaviour. Some novice dog owners freak out about this and think that the dog doing the typical “play bow” is about to attack! It doesn’t take long to realize that Bela is getting on well with our two boys and without my intervention the pack dynamics start to work. Deakin is the alpha male dog around here and it doesn’t take Bela long to realize this as he firmly puts her in her place when he perceives her taking liberties (by day two Bela will not do anything such as jumping over him to get through a tight corner). Buster, on the other hand is soon perceived as being a bit of a push over. He is the usual easy-going retriever who is actually a bit lethargic at times from a thyroid condition and easily treated. So Bela pushes the parameters with him a bit more – trying to wear him out and generally not according him the same respect as Deakin.

Above having fun observing dogs at play though I am seriously assessing how the pack is going to work. If Deakin, for example, feels that this newcomer is going to get all the attention then potential problems aren’t far away. If you are bringing a rescue into a situation with other dogs you have to watch out for this as it is no different to bringing home a puppy to an older dog then wondering why the older dog suffers a behavioural change when the new puppy gets all the attention. But by day four it doesn’t take me long to see that Deakin (who is still being fussed over) isn’t about to get upset. The potential problem is with Buster who is forced partly through his lack of energy at times to drop back in the pecking order. The situation is fixed by instructing my niece to give Buster extra attention (he is her dog). As his level of security rises (and his energy level is restored by thyroid tablets) he feels comfortable in his position in the pack and in fact begins to assert himself more especially in regards to staying close to my niece when she is at home.

Of course part of Buster’s problem relates to another area I am monitoring – the two year old. Buster has been the centre of attention when he is active as he is pretty bomb proof around kids whereas I tend to supervise Deakin more (he is a wonderful dog who has worked in pets-as-therapy but can become stressed in hot weather). Yet it becomes obvious under supervised control that Bela is a great kid’s dog who is very gentle and now she is fascinated by the newcomer to the household and wants to be with her. Hence my instruction to be extra careful that Buster doesn’t get neglected. But above all there is another issue that is sorted – as long as the usual house rules about supervision are kept then Bela will be right at home with a toddler around. I can’t stress the need for supervision and assessment enough as many good dogs have been surrendered at times because of lack of supervision and handling around young kids.

I am also introducing Bela into the role of house dog to see how she will adapt. She certainly appears to revel in her new role of being allowed inside. She is quickly trained to the word “toilet” and by applying standard house training rules about frequent pit stops I experience only one or two very small incidents (and not on the carpet – spills are much easier to clean up if you watch the dog even more closely around carpeted areas and mishaps only occur in the kitchen or laundry). By day three Miss Bela has decided that the dog mats in my room are an appealing place to sleep at night and she happily retreats to them. I give her a trial that night after toileting her and she sleeps right through until I get up. Hmm – she certainly seems to be enjoying her new lifestyle.

What about training? I believe that I will spend most of the first two or three weeks on one thing: getting Bela’s attention. Whilst I will make sure I have control of the food bowl by getting Bela to sit at mealtimes (and whilst I will also do some very basic heel work) I am not going attempt to cram a lot of training into Bela. I just want her to settle into her new home and make sure she is comfortable. The training will come later an obedience or agility class but nothing will work if she can’t focus on me. I have taken on board advice that huskies learn best in small increments and I am determined not to make training an onerous task. Patience is the best virtue and I want to give Bela plenty of time to just feel at home in her new family. And to have plenty of stimulation – she has walks, lots of play with the other two dogs, plenty of human companionship and exposure to some basic training such as my attention getting exercises.  In the meantime I also enforce my pack leadership – no running through doorways in front of me and yes, I will allow you into my room but I draw the line at getting on my bed! Of course some of the lines drawn here will depend on how dominant a dog you have. It may, for example, it would be better to restrict access to more areas of the home for the really dominant dog – certainly don’t give them the run of the house.

As I watch Bela I soon perceive that there are no major destructive problems. But she probably hasn’t much exposure to toys so it is interesting to see what dog toys she takes to. It doesn’t take long to see that our retriever’s stuffed duck is easily wrecked (I’d forgotten about it) but that Bela really takes to rubber squeaky toys and is soon playing a game of fetch. So now squeaky rubber toys rule! I really aim to keep Bela motivated so there is plenty of play time, plenty of socialization and plenty of exercise. I’m also providing plenty of rawhides and bones to amuse her to make sure that any need to chew is satisfied. We have a secure yard but I also spend time de-sensitizing Bela from running to the front door when there is a knock (or someone is going out) just to make sure I am not having to go after a fleeing husky! Things seem to be working well and I just sit back and watch the smile on Bela’s face. I imagine she must be thinking “Boy-this is soooo much better than my old life!”

So how is Bela going over three months down the track? Very nicely thank you. She has become a much loved addition to our extended family and continues to socialize well with other dogs-and thoroughly enjoys playing with Deakin and Buster. She is much loved by our two year old and tends to charm those that she meets. She has settled very well into the routine of being an inside dog and shows no problem behaviours. My exercises at getting her focus worked and I generally find training a pleasure. After only eight weeks at obedience training she graduates to first class – one of only two dogs to be promoted for the month out of a largish group. (Author’s note: if one more dog person tells me huskies can’t concentrate for very long I’ll scream.)  Now she has started agility and has really enjoyed her first two weeks – again partly due to her ability to focus on me.

Would I recommend a rescue to anyone? You bet! As long as you pick the right dog for your situation there is nothing more rewarding than succeeding in giving a new life to a neglected dog. Try it and see!