Rescuing Ex-Street Dogs & Meeting Their Needs
Becoming a pet-parent to an ex-street dog is something that is gaining popularity. Let’s be honest, we’ve all seen the pictures of the conditions these dogs are kept in, and with reports of some countries allegedly attempting a mass cull of these street dogs, it’s no wonder well-meaning people want to jump in and help where they can.
On a personal level, I adore ex-street dogs. They aren’t really like our pet dogs, they aren’t even really like any working dogs I have met. They are truly in a field of their own, aloof enough to survive alone, and equally connected to humans enough to survive alongside us. To me, they are the perfect mixture of dependant and independent, of curious and careful, of playful and restful. Above all, my favourite thing about every ex-street dog I have never met, whether from Crete or Romania, is their response to fear. Their fear, no matter how scared or shut down they have been, almost always morphs into curiosity. Their need to know who you are, what you are about and why you want to make friends with them seems to, at some point, override the worry they may be feeling. How can you not love that about them?
I get my fair share of questions from ex-street dog owners, and a (semi) recent Tiktok I did gained some traction when I shared my thought on meeting the needs of these dogs, and how they are really quiet different from meeting the needs of our pet dogs, who are raised to be pet dogs, in pet homes. The truth is, I could write whole books on these dogs; the rescue process, how to set up, train and care for them, but I thought it best to focus on their needs first.
All dogs, like humans, have a hierarchy of needs. Just like in the human hierarchy of needs, this is really generalised overview of a very large and very individually driven picture. For example, for some dogs their social needs will be less important than their breed-specific needs. All of these aspects of a dog life can also be effected by health, location, age and availability of the needs; a great example would be that a dog who doesn’t have any of their social needs met might be really obsessed with socialising, therefore making it more important to them.
Biological, social and even training needs are the same for the majoirty of pet dogs. Every pet dogs needs a safe place to rest, food in their belly, access to water, to have emotional express and to have the skills needed to adapt and survive in our human world. But the pet dog, raised from a puppy to be a pet dog, has had all of these expectations bestowed upon them from day one. Toileting outside, access to things like other dogs, big parks, the T.V, the hoover, stairs, a safe place to sleep, all of these things are the norm for a pet dog puppy. But not for an ex-street dog.
What was the norm for an ex-street dog? Scavenging, avoiding other bands of dogs they don’t know, never going to big parks where there is a high pressure for social interaction, spending time laying out in the sun, the freedom to roam, the freedom the flee, spending time behind shops, digging through bags, getting affection from random people, getting abuse from random people. The list goes on, and it is very different from our pet dog list.
If this is how these dogs were raised, and this is what their nervous system is adapted to, used to, and ultimately enjoys, shouldn’t we just follow their nose on this one? The truth is, trying to get an ex-street dog to behave like the average pet dog is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. You could do it…but why would you want to? You didn’t get a dog who has been a pet their whole life, you got an ex-street dog. So, instead of trying to change them, or worse punishing them for who they are, why don’t we just embrace it?
Here are my top tips on how to meet the unique needs of your ex-street dog:
(Note, this is once they have settled in)
Embrace the Weird (and ditch the dog park)
Ex-street dogs are a little unique to say the least, but it really is just how they have been raised. Now, not all of them will be the same, but I have found more often than not, these dogs find the dog park, or even just a field that is populated with a lot of dogs, super overwhelming. If we really look at how these dogs were raised, they didn’t have a lot of interaction with dogs they didn’t know, and would have likely avoided any dogs they were not familiar with. Dropping them into large group walks with new dogs, enclosed parks or local popular dog walking spots could be too much for them. Zoomies, digging their feet in, avoiding eye contact, avoiding coming back to you or gluing themselves to your side are all signs they are not feeling okay with their current situation. I see the zoomies (otherwise known as FRAPS) one the most; well-meaning owners think this is their dog enjoying themselves, when it’s really their dog trying desperately to regulate themselves in a pro-social way. We can try other places to walk them, like town on a quiet Sunday morning before the shops open, down the back of shops and let them rummage through the cardboard, wide alleyways between houses, public footpaths instead of big open fields, and anywhere they are able to explore. I have found more often than not, these dogs LOVE being on a longline and going off on a real exploration with you. Their whole life would have been lounging in the sun and exploring with their pals; sorry, you’re their pals now!
Ditch the One Night (Day) Stands
Going out on a walk and ‘saying hi’ to every dog you see could be, and often is, highly stressful for a dog who would have only ever interacted with other dogs that they had long-standing relationships with. Long-term relationships are good for dogs; they know what to expect and can rehearse certain behaviours with their friends, safely testing boundaries and knowing how to bounce back from conflict. Rather than inducing the stress of needing your dog to re-introduce and create a relationship with a new dog on every walk, why not create some new friends for them that they get to see on a regular basis?
Expression and Enrichment
Ahhhh ‘enrichment’, it has come to mean putting a snuffle mat in front of your dog (I am so pro-snuffle mat, just hear me out), when in my books, what it really should mean is getting out and leading an enriching life with your dog. Letting them dig, bark, investigate, roll around,climb, jump and generally be a goof, is important for all dogs, but especially ex-street dogs. There would have been no bounds for all of these behaviours in their street-life, apart from being scolded by humans they didn’t know and whom has little control over them. Now they have you, and it is your job to allow and encourage them to get these needs met. Take your enrichment on the road; can you set a bag for life full of plastic recycling with treats thrown in there for some fun on your walks? Maybe you could teach them an ‘up’ cue for climbing on unassuming neighbours’ garden walls, or is there a dusty spot somewhere in a local field your dog could have a roll in? My favorite thing to do with one of my ex-street dog clients was to take her to see a neighbour who had a pet pig. They used to let it out in their front garden and little Willow and I would often go up and just watch.
Down Time is Good Time
Down time for these dogs is just as important as their play or rest time. Ex-street dogs spend a lot, and I mean A LOT of time lounging about. They rest in groups, close to humans, basking in the sun or curling up in any warm spot that they can find. They need this time to help with self-regulation and recovering the energy needed to survive out on the streets. They probably really enjoy one or two safe, soft and warm spots in your home, and I encourage you to encourage them to use them. Try not to bother them whilst they are in these spaces. The great thing about these dogs is that they lack a schedule, which means you don’t need to have one either. Sleeping right now? Okay, we can walk later. Wanna walk now? Okay, we can have breakfast after. Dogs can thrive off of a routine, but it can also hugely hinder them if there comes a day where you need to change it for any reason. Being ‘reliably unreliable’ is great for dogs, this way they know their needs are going to be met, but there isn’t a timer in the shape of a dog licking your ears at 6:30 each morning to remind you that breakfast must be served at 7:00.
Triggers
Working directly with triggers in a gradual and confidence-building way is something I hugely encourage for all ex-street dog owners. I know you probably see a lot of ‘exposure' training videos from other pet dog owners and although I am sure they have the best intentions, and it probably even works for many pet dogs, you do not have a pet dog. You have an ex-street dog. What I have found time and time again is that these dogs do best when their triggers are worked with directly, and by that I do not mean chucking them in the deep end. What I mean is this: when we work on general ‘exposures’ to things for dogs, what we so often end up doing to trigger stacking them. This leads to dogs doing things ‘out of nowhere’. Ever wondered why your dog ‘randomly explodes’ at something they have seen 100 times before? They are trigger stacked. You weren’t able to discern all the cues they were giving to try and let you know they were not comfortable, and finally, they snapped. Now, I do think learning your dog’s body language is imperative, but truth be told that is a whole other blog post AND it takes years to become proficient in it. I am not saying you can’t, I am saying it takes time. Humans, for the most part, are just pretty awful at reading dogs, so I rarely recommend the ‘random exposure’ theory. Instead, what I encourage is counter conditioning directly with the trigger. This means rather than random exposures, we have planned out, gradual exposures. We work at a distance where the dog can be in their thinking brain, not their reactive brain. We work in gradually increasing durations with their trigger, and even pairing it with something rewarding if needs be. It is a thought-out process, and we work on a quick turnaround for those moments we get caught close to a trigger whilst we are in the training process. Random exposures may work for an already generally confident dog, I don’t think they work for a dog who lacks any understanding of safety in the situation that is causing them strife. They are not being bad, they are doing what they have always done to protect themselves when they don’t have the option to flee.
Just like humans, most dogs will have the same basic needs as their neighbours, there is no denying that. But how we go about meeting those needs is as unique as their nose print. We wouldn’t scold a spaniel for their love of water, or a sighthound for wanting to watch the rabbits. It is the same with our ex-street dogs. Loving them for exactly who they are and what they enjoy is the key to success, and more importantly, building a relationship based in understanding and trust with them.
