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Adopting an abused and neglected TM

BeeJay

Member
Hi, I'm new to the forum and we're in the process of adopting a 2 year old TM. He was abused and neglected by the first owner and he's now in a shelter. We've visited him 4 times now and he seems to like us and our dog. So far he gets along with everybody that lives in our house and his guardian instinct is on point. Now what's left is for him to do a home visit. Any advice from TM owners? I never had a TM before but I've read about them and I have experience with LGD's before.
 

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DennasMom

Well-Known Member
I don't have a TM... just an EM... but, I would see how they two dogs interact - are they happy to see each other, just disinterested or do they avoid contact?

We adopted a 1 yr old Bulldox/boxer to be a sibling for our 3 yr old Dane/Lab/x a while back (we don't have either, anymore... it was a while ago), and their first interactions were mostly disinterest (especially on the new dog looking at our resident dog). They had some good play time, but never did hit it off as comfortable siblings in the long run.

I would look for a spark of happiness between the two - that the TM is interested in knowing more about your resident dog, even if he's shy about contact... interest in a soft, polite manner would be a very positive reaction in my book.

I would make sure you stand up for your resident dog, ignore the TM more in the beginning (so he can assimilate by observation), and step in anytime you see things getting 'out of hand' (to YOUR comfort level). Make sure they both respect each other's space, and enforce the house rules fairly.

Also, know that it will take a few months (at least) for the TM to show his 'true colors' once in your house. Once he's comfortable, he'll open up and let you know who he really is... hopefully that is a Very Good Thing. If it's not... which is what happened with us... make sure you are ok with finding him a home where he's more comfortable.

That's just my very small experience talking... hopefully you'll get a lot more (and better) info from the great group of experts here on the forum.

Oh.. and... WELCOME to the Forum!
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
I agree with Denna's Mom. I was going to say that usually the dog you bring home isn't the dog you have three months later. Sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it's not. I fostered boxers for many years. Almost all of them were injured, had been neglected and/or abused, or had temperament issues. When you say the dog was abused and neglected - can you expand on that? How do you know there was abuse? What kind of neglect? Knowing these things may give a clue to any type of baggage you'll be dealing with.

Basic things I always did when bringing a new foster in, sometimes these were unnecessary and sometimes I had to expand upon them:
Feed is separate areas.
No high value toys or treats.
Never leave the dogs unsupervised.
Strict adherence to house rules.
Let the dog drag a leash around. That's assuming that your other dog won't see it as a toy and that you will be supervising 100% of the time.
Don't feel sorry for the rescue. Be aware of his past and understanding of any issues that may need to be worked through, but feeling sorry won't do him any favors.
Have lots of patience. If necessary tether the new dog to you so you can give him 100% of your attention.

Wishing you the best of luck. Please keep us posted.
 

BeeJay

Member
Thanks for the feedback. According to the shelter he is in right now, Leo was imported from China only to be caged his entire life till he got rescued. He had skin problems, eye problems, and musculoskeletal issues. Also, I believe that socialization started when he arrived at the shelter 10 months ago.

At first, they were ignoring each other but after a while, they started playing and Leo even played with us. So far so good, he has some issues like being leash reactive so we gotta work on that. He barks a lot like a TM should be but I kinda found out that once I acknowledge what he's barking at, it stops.
 

BeeJay

Member
Home visit went well... He seems to like our house and seems relaxed inside the house and alert on the yard. He's very tolerant of our Penny. As usual it took them a couple of minutes before they started playing. Hopefully we get him and we're now waiting for their decision by the end of the week.
 

BeeJay

Member
Well, even with my experience with the breed, we got denied because of too much foot traffic outside our house. I swear it's easier to adopt a human child than rescuing a dog nowadays. Anyways, we ended up reserving to buy a puppy. I feel bad for that TM as I believe that after he hits the 2 year mark this February and if they don't do anything about his behaviors the way I told them to, he would be there for the rest of his life in a kennel.
 

Jeremyd1960

Active Member
We have 2 fosters at the moment, one is a kelpie mastiff x and he and our own lab Corgi x just luv each other. The other is an American Bull Dog x Bull Arab who has the wobbles, he and our Daniff are best buds. Oh and the female terrier rules the roost.

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chicagoTM

Active Member
I have one. They tend to get along mofe with females than males. They do like to dig and they arent overly affectionate but like to be by you. They like to bark at night - mine does but not annoying. Once it coola down they generally rather be outside than inside so it might be rough at times calling them to.come in. They are great dogs and everyone that comes to him he has been very friendly to. If it were a puppy i would had said its not a dog to be by kids while its very young but after they are great.

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