"THW" wrote in message
...
We're considering adopting a dog from rescue, and we're finding (not
surprisingly) that just about all dogs that are available have one or more
problems. I'm wondering what people's experience is in dealing with
problems like:

1. housebreaking (if we know that the dog is clean in the crate, but
having
a few accidents within first week at a foster home)

Accidents in a new home are normal and not a behavioral or training issue.
The dog doesn't know where to go or how to tell the new people he/she needs
to go out. The new people don't know the dog's habits so may not be
offering to take him/her out as often as needed. Its just an adjustment
period thing. If it continues for more than a week, on a frequent basis,
then I'd call it either a housetraining issue or an infection in the urinary
tract or bladder.

2. car sickness (severe drooling and stress)

This is a fairly normal thing. Even if you bought a puppy from a breeder,
there's every chance that it may not be a great traveler either. If you do
alot of traveling and have plans to take the dog with you then there are
medications such as dramamine that are made for car sickness/anxiety.


3. jumping up (the dog is going up on hind legs and wrapping legs around
your waist...foster doesn't think it is aggressive/dominance thing, rather
wants attention). The dog is about 40 pounds.

Its not generally an aggressive or dominant gesture at all. Its a lack of
training which is easily remedied.


Also, how long can it take for the hormones of a spayed female to settle
down?

1-3 months for the hormones to completely leave the body. If you're looking
for a behavioral change such as going from very energetic to
not-so-energetic then you're banking on the wrong remedy. The only thing
that will permanently affect a dog's energy level is age.


The dogs we're looking at are, for the most part, 1 to 2 years old.
Thanks
very much.

Then you are looking at puppies in big-dog bodies...adolescents. They need
obedience training, patience and plenty of exercise. The lack of training
in rescue dogs is pretty prominent which is one of the reasons the original
owners don't want the dog anymore. Even if you'd raised a dog this age from
puppyhood, you'd still need to keep up with the training due to this age
window. Its a prime time for well-behaved, trained dogs to suddenly lose
their brains and is often referred to as the terrible teens or terrible twos
because they are going through a major transition from baby to adult. Its a
time when they'll test your patience and their limits just to see what
happens.


--
Tara