To those who have adopted a dog through a rescue,

[TNDemo]

was your dog a little ... unusual? We adopted one last year and have taken to calling her Abby Norma since she is not exactly normal. She is very sweet and housetrained but does some odd stuff at times. Is this typical for rescue dogs or is she just one of those dogs that does odd stuff?

[flvegan]

1. I run a rescue.

All dogs, like people, have little quirks. Goes with their personality.

What kind of odd stuff are you talking about? Cute name...

[OffWithTheirHeads]

2. Yup

Ours is as wierd as we are.

[TNDemo]

7. Actually her name is Daisy

but we call her Abby Norma when she is doing strange things. When you sit with your leg crossed (anyone in the room) she will hang her neck over your foot. If you cross legs she will go to the other side. She will do it over and over no matter how many times you change your legs. Looks like it is choking her. Some people have taken to tucking their legs under them when they come over so she won't do that. Sometimes she will hang her eyelid on your big toe. I keep thinking that must hurt but she still does it. Also she wants to stick her nose in your face. It is like this guy I knew in college who had no perception of personal space and would get about three inches from your face and just stare. We don't mind her being on the bed or couch with us but she cannot just lay beside us or on us, she has to stick her nose right on our face and stare. We have tried to modify this behavior with no luck. Just keeping your hand on her or around her doesn't work. She will lie down beside you but start creeping back up. We usually end up putting a pillow between us.

[lukasahero]

8. Sounds like she's "clingy"

That's common among rescue dogs especially if they've been abandoned or left alone. Even if they've never been abused and had wonderful owners who "up and died" on them, it's common for the dogs to feel abandoned and insecure.

Google "separation anxiety" and you might be able to come up with some behavioral modification techniques that work specifically towards resolving this issue.

[rucky]

3. rescue dogs are the bestest

and yes, they have personality.

I worry more about those overbred purebreds. you wanna see weird, check out my neighbors labs.

[AlabamaYankee]

4. Friends of mine have rescued many beagles

Each one has been through its own version of hell, and has been affected differently. So yes, it is not unusual for rescue dogs to have "issues" or odd behaviors. You are to be congratulated for taking in one of these very special and needy pets. Enjoy her.

[Sadie5]

5. I have two rescued dogs

The first one we adopted two years ago and he has definitely been a challenge. His two previous owners were both cruel to him, but like an abused child we have worked with him and he now trusts us. The other I got this past December and she has worked out well. Mostly housebroken, but lots of medical problems. Allergies, etc. We refer to them as 'the kids'.

[MuseRider]

6. We always have

at least one dog from rescue. We have had some doozies but since you never know what they have been through it often takes a while to figure them out, especially if you rescued an older dog. Most of ours seem to have had abusive backgrounds and it takes a while to socialize them and gain their trust. Once they trust you it gets much easier. Good luck. I love the name.

[Bonhomme Richard]

9. Our dog, who is around twelve now, is a...................

pit bull/lab mix and he did have a few quirks. One was cooking pots. It seemed that whenever the pots came out in the kitchen he would hightail it out of there. We don't know if he was beaten with a pot or what but we learned that if he was really bothering us all we had to say was "Pots and Pans" and he would take off. He was also afraid of ironing boards and once we were down the shore and a guy across the street was walking carrying a surfboard. All of a sudden the dog started barking at the guy and we realized that he thought the guy had a ironing board. LOL.
All in all he is a great friend and companion.

[kodi]

10. 4 of my 6 dog are rescues, its the previous owners who are usually odd

lots of people adopt dogs as a fashion item without checking on what is entailed(love that word when speaking about dogs!) in raising them.

i have rescued a kuvasz, a lab, a chihuahua, and a mutt. the previous kuvasz owners of my beloved AJA (the Second)were told by the breeder that a kuvasz needed a strong, alpha-type owner or the dog would domnate the family; as AJA did. she was so wild and head strong when i got her it was difficult even for me to tame her and I had raised 3 kuvasz already and had decades of "kuvasz-dog year ownership" experience beneath my belt.

the other doggies were just dumped off near my property and found their way to my gate, and sanctuary.

oddly, when i returned from a trip this past thanksgiving, i found that another dog had dug his way under my fence and into my yard... i found him a great home in a few days with a young couple with a 5 year old girl and a year old lab as a yard mate.

so, i think doggies have some sort of doggie ESP that directs them to my house knowing they will be safe once they get here.

[yellowcanine]

11. Yes - rescue dogs (and cats) are sometimespoorly socialized either from

neglect or outright abuse. A good rescue organization will screen out animals that really aren't suitable for adoption and may need to go to a person that is experienced with dealing with the animal's particular problem. Unfortunately some of the worst cases may need to be euthanized.

[DancingBear]

12. Yes, but that is what makes them so special

Kate the Newfie/something else mix will hang out her foot to you when she wants attention. She's not giving you her paw -she just hangs her foot in the air, and when you come over to her she puts it down.

Dan the big Newfie will always have to give you something - a leaf, a twig, anything, and will feel very hurt if you don't take it from him and say "thank you, Dan."

[noonwitch]

13. My previous dog had some difficulties

Rosie, who I had from 1985 to 1998. I adopted her from the K-Zoo county pound, not from the Humane Society. She was in bad shape when I got her, and she was only about 2 months old. She had worms so badly she had to have been born with them. She was underweight and malnourished.
Rosie was intellectually challenged. I think that the combination of worms and malnourishment had caused some brain damage. She was a very sweet dog, but very hyperactive as a puppy and I could never train her to do anything beyond housebreaking.

I adopted Katie from the Humane Society in 1998, after Rosie died. Katie had a slight case of worms, but the vet there had already given her the first dose of the worming medicine. She was otherwise healthy and well-fed, and again, about 2 months old. She is a very sweet, obedient and smart dog. She is very good with children, and will roll all over the floor with them. She has strong instincts about people and there are some that she will not go near, and they are generally people who have either hit their kids or their wives at some point.

The only strange behavior Katie has is that she is terrified by thunderstorms. She totally panics-either she sits/lays as close to me as she can get, or she hides in the closet. She also hides in the closet when I say the word bath, but that's kind of funny.