Nala is a 6 month old female German Shepherd Cross. She is fostered in North Walsham Norfolk. Nala and her sister have come to us recently from the Botosani public shelter in Romania.
They had initially been reserved to go to Germany but then deemed too timid to go there. Nala is indeed initially quite shy but mostly just inexperienced.
Nala has grown up in a shelter environment and missed out on all the life lessons that a young puppy should have. She will be playing catch-up for a while but is already well on the path to confidence.
Nala will need a confident companion dog in her new home to help show her the ropes. She will need to continue to be introduced to the big wide world at a slow but steady pace.
Nala is young enough to be safely introduced to cats and could live with respectful children aged ten and over.
As usual, we iterate that puppies can be expected to pee, pooh, chew stuff and cry at night until trained not to do so and adopters should be prepared to work through these behaviours. When you adopt a Safe Rescue dog, you MUST use a slip lead.
This will keep your dog safe: your new dog will be nervous and will not trust you, and you will not know which situations might upset your dog.
If your dog panics, then a slip lead is the only way to prevent your dog from escaping (many dogs can escape from a collar and/or harness). It will take AT LEAST 3-6 months for your dog to settle in and for you to know your dog fully (longer for nervous dogs).
The slip lead must ALWAYS be used during this settling-in period. Even after your dog is settled, it is safest to use the slip lead in situations where your dog may become scared (e.g. visiting new places, around unfamiliar people, at the vet), and in situations where unexpected triggers might happen (e.g. around bonfire night).
Nervous dogs may always need to wear a slip-lead as a backup safety measure. The slip lead is a safety device and must NEVER be used as a training tool. Using the lead to apply pressure to the dog’s neck is damaging.
If your dog pulls on the lead, then we can advise you on training methods that avoid harm. Once your dog is settled, you may want to consider using a harness (together with the slip lead) if your dog is comfortable with being handled when it is fitted.
Most harnesses are not escape-proof, but harnesses with a strap behind the ribcage (e.g. Ruffwear Webmaster or Perfect Fit Harnesses) are safer. Retractable/extendable leads must never be used on our dogs. Adopted dogs must be collected from the rescue and transported straight home in a crate.
