Speaker 1: 0:09

Welcome to the Absolute Dog Sex in a Squirrel podcast. I'm Lauren Langman. I'm one of the world's leading dog trainers and it's my mission to help owners become their dog's top priority. In each episode, you'll discover how to gain trust and communicate with your dog like never before, creating unbreakable bonds that make you the most exciting part of their world. Rescue dogs and not just any rescue dog big rescue dogs. You've come with big history, alice. Tell us about it.

Speaker 2: 0:38

Hello, thank you for having me, and this is my absolute passion. So I am the, the proud and happy owner of Bonnie, who is a sort of 40 odd kilo German Shepherd, canny corso, mega mastiff mutt mix, and and yet and she, we got her as a two year old dog from a local rescue centre. And we got her as a two-year-old dog from a local rescue centre and we were made aware that there had been quite a serious incident which had led to her being removed from her previous owner and brought into rescue, which was that, due to some mismanagement with the previous owner, there had actually been a very serious dog fight incident which sadly resulted in the death of the other dog. So, um, bonnie was taken into rescue with this sort of stain on her record and that didn't put us off, because we knew that actually that was down to the management, or rather the mismanagement, of those dogs and that, sadly, that that had been entirely avoidable situation and that she definitely deserved another chance.

Speaker 2: 1:53

Um, I think perhaps we were slightly naive about the uh extent of what a learning curve she was going to be for us. But, um, but she's in a much, much better place now. She's much happier, healthier, much more, um, calmer, um sort of a much more kind of sociably acceptable dog now than she was when we, when we got her, and certainly, uh, than she was before um. So yeah, I'm hugely passionate about rescue dogs and here to absolutely answer questions and help anybody else who might be thinking about taking on a rescue dog or might be struggling with the rescue dog they've just taken on and are maybe just in need of some guidance and some topics let's go now, before we go any further.

Speaker 1: 2:40

One thing we're going to say is because alice is so passionate and she's a big part of the Absolute Dogs community she's a student of Absolute Dogs, but she also is really passionate in the community and in the community spaces we're going to give away to all rescue centres listening or any rescue centre you know, or any rescue centre you want to touch base with or any rescue centre you want to reach out to. We're going to give away rescue resources. We're happy to give away of our courses. We're very happy to even give away physical resources if they want to come past our centre. Our centre is in Devon. We're very happy to give physical resources away Whilst we have everything lasting. You're very welcome to get involved and take some of what we have. But equally, all of the digital resources can go all over the world to rescue centres to help owners, to help owners of rescue dogs, to help rescue centres and all of their teams, all of their staff, their volunteers, their employees and their employers. We want to help rescue dogs and rescue owners stay together. And one of the biggest things we see.

Speaker 1: 3:39

I can't remember the statistic, and neither can Alice, but it's close to 50% of dogs either come back or put to sleep, so they don't make it in rescue. And that isn't because of the dog and that isn't because of the owner. It's because of the mismatch and misalignment often of the expectation and the reality. Now, I know you saw that and please, guys, do get in touch if you've got a rescue dog and if you maybe know of a rescue centre or know of someone in rescue or volunteering for rescue. We have got resources for you, we've got resources for you and we want to help.

Speaker 1: 4:05

You have all of the resources and give them. They're free, no charge whatsoever. There will be no charge, whether you need them for 50 people at the rescue centre or 500 people. There will be no charge to you in the rescue centre and that's our give back to rescue dogs and to celebrate owners who are helping rescue dogs. Now, alice, I know the reality and the expectation. There was a mismatch there because when you brought her home, it wasn't all sort of smelling of roses and perfect scenarios and I know that this was potentially for some people, a space to take the dog back, but actually for you it was a moment of maybe stretch frustration. You made it through, but tell us about that period.

Speaker 2: 4:48

Yeah, it was it for the first kind of couple of weeks or so. Uh, after we got bonnie home, this was no kind of immediately obvious red flags, um, and you know, I think this is just because we have to understand it does take our dogs a little time to actually start to kind of process the change of being in one place one day and then being in your home the next and kind of learning what all that means. So sometimes the behavioral issues can take a little time to show themselves. In Bonnie's case when, when they did, they really did so we found ourselves tackling serious like separation, uh struggles, serious reactivity struggles, um, and you know she's a lot of dogs, she's a big dog.

Speaker 2: 5:39

So this was a big problem for us and we, you know we were determined that if there was, if we could, we were not going to give up on her. That you know. We knew she would be a difficult dog to rehome. We really did not want to fail her, but we obviously needed to make sure that she and we and everyone in our community was safe and that we were handling her responsibly. So we've really sort of dug our heels in and set to work, learning how to make the situation better.

Speaker 2: 6:11

Um, and you know, we we didn't strike gold first time, you know, but I'm so pleased that quite early on into us sort of trying to search for information, trying to search for the right kind of learning, we did find absolute dogs and we did start to then sort of get some traction and start making some improvement.

Speaker 2: 6:31

So if you are listening to this and you are having massive buyer's remorse over the rescue dog you've recently brought home and thinking you're out of your depth and thinking, oh crikey, this could be one of those failed relationships that they were just talking about. Keep listening and stick with us because actually, um, yeah, there's absolutely hope and there's absolutely reason to to sort of actually let those worries go and actually just try playing some games, try sort of doing some of the right kind of things that are gonna build your relationship with your dog and actually maybe start addressing that mismatch between that kind of where you're at now, what you're expecting, what are the skills, what are the concepts that are missing, because we can actually break this down and make what seems like an enormous, insurmountable struggle actually quite bite size and quite easy to start chipping away at.

Speaker 1: 7:26

I love that, I really love that and just explain to people quite how you found Absolute Dogs and what did your pathway in look like and how does it look now.

Speaker 2: 7:38

Yeah, we had amongst the sort of struggles we had with Bonnie was actually the realisation that she had some quite serious paedic issues which needed attention, issues which needed attention. And so the vet advised that, whilst we were awaiting treatment, rest of it that we should just keep her in um. So as much as we didn't consciously know that we were ditching the walks from a behavioral perspective, it was just sort of purely from a kind of physical discomfort perspective. It was whilst we were on that kind of house rest that I found the um, like I said, seven day reactivity workshop um and I thought, well, actually, okay, we've got to keep her in, at least I can maybe try and learn something whilst from home. And, you know, got to stay in with her just see if any of these games are okay for her to do now whilst she has to be on a lot of rest. And I immediately learned about, you know, about the bucket, about concept training, about the importance of calmness, all these things that immediately just started making a lot of sense with where we were at in terms of Bonnie's behavioral struggles. So, whilst we were working on the, the orthopedic issues, I did so much at home training, you know, entering through the kind of naughty but nice route and kind of did boot camps and got into games club and did all of this so that by the time we were actually out of the other side of the orthopedic struggles and we could actually start kind of returning to a bit more sort of normal exercise and things like that.

Speaker 2: 9:14

For her. We had a lot of the right foundations in place then behaviorally and she'd actually come on leaps and bounds from a behavioral perspective, um, even though we'd just been training at home. Um. So you know, it kind of it all kind of dovetailed accidentally for us, um. But but certainly, you know, if, even if you're not having to worry about any kind of veterinary issues and you're just thinking I'm having a horrible time with my dog and having reactivity issues or separation issues or whatever, whatever it might be, um, you know, start learning about those concepts, start kind of playing a few games and stuff, because actually just working a little bit at home and then starting to sort of take those skills into other environments, it was, I mean, it was revolutionary for us.

Speaker 1: 10:07

What would be one of your top tips for someone thinking about getting a rescue dog?

Speaker 2: 10:15

oh, top tips, I'm thinking I get, I mean definitely I I think do it, do it, but do it with lots of research. I think you know um, definitely have you know if you can do kind of several meet and greets and sort of you know see if you can. Uh, maybe even kind of if you look into some to some games and things already you know, have a look on games club. I see kind of what things might be really good, little kind of conversation starters, relationship builders, that you can then go to a meet and greet at your rescue center with with those games in mind, so that you know you can then go to a meet and greet at your rescue center with with those games in mind, so that you know you can maybe have an opportunity to sort of play a couple of little simple games and just sort of um, you know see how, how you gel with the, with the dogs.

Speaker 1: 11:04

I say Do you think and I know your answer here do you think you could have been better prepared if you'd been part of Games Club before getting your rescue dog home?

Speaker 2: 11:13

100%, 100%, because if we have that kind of right structure of learning from day one, then we wouldn't have wasted time on anyone telling us sort of more old fashioned ways of of getting dogs to behave which just didn't sit right for us, um. So you know, we'd have just kind of gotten off on the right foot from day one and that would have been brilliant and I would absolutely just sort of advocate for that really for anyone thinking of getting a rescue dog is. You know, if you can, you? I mean, if you listen to this podcast, you're already in the right sort of space, you're already kind of thinking along those lines. So you know, good work and and completely aligned with Alice here if you listen to this podcast, you're already in the right sort of space, you're already kind of thinking along those lines.

Speaker 1: 11:52

So you know, good work and completely aligned with Alice here. If you can get someone listening to the podcast with you, share it. Get someone who maybe has a dog or a dog struggle or even just getting a puppy, or maybe they're getting an adult dog or maybe they look after another dog. For me, the more owners we have that are educated and educated in a games-based, concept-based way, actually you're going to meet better owners when you're out there walking.

Speaker 1: 12:11

Now, alice, another one I'm thinking and this one's quite a cool one is that anyone who's out there again either thinking of getting a rescue dog or recently got a rescue dog or has had a rescue dog with struggles or problems, what sort of little tips would you have for them in terms of maybe ditch the bowl, ditch the routine, ditch the walk, because it is going to be different. I like that you sort of touched base on that. Really, it's going to be different to some other trainers that are out there and I know that big breeds, especially like Bonnie. A lot of people would go to aversive or police dog style trainers for a dog like that, maybe using chains or correction collars or sort of prongs and and tools. Really, what tips would you have surrounding that?

Speaker 2: 12:56

I think that the most important thing and this not just for rescue dogs, for any, any dog that you, that you have it's the relationship you have with your dog is the most important thing to you. Know, because you want to be a team, you know you want to be each other's companions, you want to have that, that sort of mutual trust and affection, and that doesn't come about naturally through, like you say, like kind of the, the use of aversives, and I can understand the human temptation to go in that direction. When you've got a big, powerful animal that you are worried could potentially do some damage or that you know has done damage in the past, and you know you're riddled with anxiety about what if it happens on my watch or what have you. I know I can understand that the people could, could be sort of persuaded that that would be. You, you know a necessary course of action, but not only is it not necessary, it's actually not as effective. It's just, you know, if we actually rewind that and and forget that idea and we actually focus on building a relationship, building that um, mutual trust with your dog, then you, you get much better results and much more reliable results.

Speaker 2: 14:16

You know that I am five foot three, sub 50 kilos and I have this sleeping, snoring giant breed dog and and I can walk here safely, you know, on my own, and that is not through use of force or that she has to do as she's told.

Speaker 2: 14:38

It's because she wants to move, move with me, she wants to work with me. We are a team and so that that makes her a joy to live with and a joy to train. And we, you know, we have a much happier existence together than um, than if we, than if we weren't playing games. Um, and I mean, like I say, she's enormous and that means we've got an awful lot of food that we can play with every day. So it it makes it very easy to build that relationship and train using games, because, I mean, I don't need to worry about thinking, oh, she's going to be given loads of treats and things, I just use the food she's going to eat anyway and we can put that value into the things that I want her to learn to have value for, um. So it's, it's just, it's very simple stuff really. It just works it's completely.

Speaker 1: 15:30

For me, it's common sense. So much of it, yeah, but what I have learned in the recent world is common sense is not that common and actually it's better to help and to teach and to coach. So, with that in mind, I want to just reiterate to everyone if you've got a rescue dog, if you know of a rescue centre, if you know of a rescue centre that is in need of help, if you know of a volunteer for a rescue centre, an employee of a rescue centre, a managing director of a rescue centre, someone who is helping rescue dogs anywhere in the world, from Spain to New Zealand, australia, right down to the depths of Devon, where we live If it's physical resources, they can come past the centre and collect them. If it's feasible. If it's not a physical resource and it's a digital resource, something that you want, a course or something that we can help you with and we've got so many good rescue dog resources they are completely free to you and we're going to make sure we take care of you. So please, please, please, please, please, do reach out to us. Head over to absolute-dogscom, fill in the help form or email us or touch base with us, and we want to help rescue dogs. So, alice, I'm going to leave with one tip for rescue dogs, and my tip is going to be before you ever get your rescue dog, do your research. Do your research on the rescue, do your research on the type of dog that you want.

Speaker 1: 16:38

And I'm going to give an example. I was doing a little puppy party. This was about 15 years ago. A lady had two Jack looked at them and I thought how do I tell her she's got two murderers sat on her lap? Because, ultimately, jack Russell Terriers are bred to kill bite. It's a different kind of bite and, as much as they are gorgeous little dogs, they are bred with a job in mind. And I think it's really important, equally with the Border Collie, that the lady said yeah, yeah, this is a perfect pet dog, came from a family. Both parents are pet dogs. If you got one that just sits and sleeps and curls up on the sofa, then you did get yourself a dud. Border collies are bred to work and they're bred to do a job, and for me, my border collies do a job, even if it's brave herding the chickens post spinal surgeries and post spinal problems, and so for me, it's really really vital that your dog has a job so brave's job even as a rehab dog and a dog who's in like spinal care. She has a job so Brave's job even as a rehab dog and a dog who's in like spinal care. She has a job and her job is to look after our chickens and that is her job and she takes it seriously. She is very diligent about making sure everyone goes to bed.

Speaker 1: 17:38

I want you to think about doing your research. Get your free resources. There's loads of free resources. You're better to take your time. Henry Ford says fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Let's not fail a rescue dog, because there are enough failures out there already. We're here to help you succeed. What would your tip be, alice, for rescue dogs or rescue dog owners or rescue dog volunteers or centres all over the world?

Speaker 2: 18:02

Get the resources and start with games-based training from day one. Training from day one, but also I mean if you can then jump into the community as well, because actually sometimes you know dog training or finding your feet with a brand new dog, a dog that's maybe got a bit of an odd history to it. It can be a lonely space, it can. You can easily feel overwhelmed if you are, if you don't have some support around you. So if you can get into games club, if you can get into PDT club, if you can get into PDT Club, if you can join in the community, you're going to be surrounded by people who have also rehomed rescue dogs, have you know, overcome training struggles, and who've got huge amounts of knowledge and tips to share, and who can just be there to support you and help you along your way and help you make a success of that relationship.

Speaker 1: 18:49

Absolutely super Guys. That was this episode of the Sex and Squirrel podcast. Please share it with rescue owners, rescue centres, anybody who's been involved in rescue at any level. We are here to help. Thank you, alice, and the wonderful Bonnie, who I know is at your feet, for joining us. It's been a pleasure and I know there are more sessions together. Make sure you share the podcast. It is your duty, it is our mission and we'll see you next week. Remember, stay sexy.