 Monty was about 17 months old when we met him and took him home. His world had changed when he was taken to the shelter a couple of weeks before and it was about to change again just as ours was. We had had German Shepherds for many years and unfortunately both had died within about 18 months and I had been keen to get another so was delighted to meet Monty out on one of his walks. There were many unknowns when we met Monty and he has surprised us with behaviours that contrast with the initial contact we had with him at the shelter. We have been given many views on this - maybe he is adapting to the environment or responding to the stress in his life, even he was tired at the shelter due to the number of animals, the smells or the confinement of a pen, maybe Monty was feeling safer to be himself with us - if only we could understand a dogs world. The journey home was surprisingly good with Monty settling well in the car for the hour or so trip from AAPS Monty presented as a bouncy and excitable dog that wanted to please. As he faced the ‘newworld’ he began jumping and mouthing -behaviours that were manageable with clear limits being set. As the weeks rolled by Monty became more confident in his new environment and his behaviour changed some positive some not.
On a good day and there are many Monty is a happy bouncy boy who gives us heaps of pleasure and laughs with his eagerness. mannerisms and clumsiness. He loves his food, exercise and generally being part of a family and he has lots of character and expression, he is especially protective of the family. Unfortunately there is a flipside and there are bad days as we expected. Monty soon settled in to his new home and with this became more confident and with behaviours that have been challenging. We initially thought the behaviours were dominance and aggression based but ultimately it seems that they are likely to be due to the lack of good socialisation in his early experiences. We now face the challenge of these behaviours with the knowledge that it is likely to be a real battle to change these due to his current age and development. We have learned lots and each day learn more about him and about how best to manage the situation. The best we can expect is to modify behaviours to ensure it is more acceptable. We are currently checking that there is no medical reason for his behaviour Any regrets in taking him home - no maybe to have been better prepared yes - having had dogs for a long time had given us so much and taught us about the importance of being a responsible owner and ensuring that the dogs were well trained. Monty has reinforced this and highlighted the importance of patience, consistency, persistence and individuality - it is about ensuring that we balance his good attributes with managing the undesirable behaviours. Whilst this is not the ‘typical’ story of ‘new beginnings’ it is our story and I am sure not an isolated story of a pet from a shelter. It is about commitment and reflects an individual’s belief in the principles of the shelter to offer animals such as Monty a second chance to have a good quality of life. I still feel positive and the good outweighs the bad. I would encourage others to consider a shelter animal but be prepared as there are likely to be unknowns and we cannot expect the shelter to know it all unless they have good information from the original owners. Special thanks to Nicky who has made enormous effort to support us through the journey. HS March 2006.
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